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However much US President Joe Biden may wish it, Turkey is unlikely to change the broad outlines of its policy towards Russia if the opposition candidate Kemal Kilicdaroglu captures the presidency on 14 May.

For one thing, much of that policy is set on tram lines. The incumbent president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, will activate the first phase of theAkkuyu Nuclear Power Plant on Thursday, which is being built and operated by Russia. The opposition have vowed not to close it.

Similarly, opposition foreign policy specialists interviewed by Middle East Eye praised the agreement securing the passage of grain from Ukraine that Erdogan's government negotiated in its role as Black Sea mediator. Nor would a Kilicdaroglu-led government join western sanctions against Moscow.

Nonetheless, since 2016 Erdogan has deepened Turkeys already-rich ties with Moscow, and has raised eyebrows in the West with steps like purchasing the Russian S-400 missile system and cutting energy and trade deals.

So what kind of Russia policy would Kilicdaroglus government and the coalition of six parties that backs himcarry out?

Many in the West expect Turkey to turn increasingly anti-Russia and join the sanctions imposed on Moscow since the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The signals coming out of Kilicdaroglus own mouth have been mixed. That suggests Kilicdaroglu doesnt have an outright anti-Russia policy, but more of a nuanced take.

While western countries have not provided many technologies to Turkey, Russia did, Kilicdaroglu said in October while paying a visit to Washington. For example, Russia has provided technology in areas such as aluminum, the glass industry, the petrochemical industry. But Turkey also has developed that technology, it has become more perfect. We will maintain our economic relations [with Russia].

What Kilicdaroglu references is the USSRs investments in Turkey following the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire. The Soviets extended credit to Turkey in the 30s and 50s, helping it establish some of the first factories in the post-Ottoman era, and later set up Iskenderun steel factory, Seydisehir aluminum factory, and petrochemical plants in the 60s. All became essential for the Turkish economy and its industry.

We think that we should stand by Ukraine in the Russia-Ukraine war, Kilicdaroglu said. It is not right for a nuclear-armed country to invade the territory of a non-nuclear-weapon country, to start a war.

Turkey, under Erdogan, has done exactly what Kilicdaroglu suggested.

'Im afraid to say Turkey has been quite successful in its Russia policy since the invasion'

- Turkish opposition official

Ankara condemnedthe Russian invasion on every international level, and voted with the Nato bloc in the UN against Moscow. It delivered weaponsto Kyiv, from simple armour to sophisticated armed drones and laser-guided missiles. It facilitated prisoner exchanges and mediated a landmark grain deal which is functional to this day. It also hosted Ukrainian and Russian foreign ministers in Antalya for ceasefire talks.

However, Turkey pointedly refused to joint western sanctions. It accepted Russian refugees, sold citizenships to them, and largely allowed trade with Moscow. Russian airplanes and ships still freely visit the country, bringing tourists and cash.

Im afraid to say Turkey has been quite successful in its Russia policy since the invasion, one senior Turkish opposition official told MEE. The grain deal, for example, is a major achievement that possibly stopped a food crisis.

The opposition official said Ankara also managed to prevent Russia from infiltrating the Turkish banking system and largely succeeded in stopping Russian moves to circumvent sanctions through Turkish companies.

After the elections, we will put more work into the grain deal to make sure the Russians are happy about their own wishes, the official said, referring to Moscow's displeasure over the lack of progress in Russian food and fertiliser exports through the Black Sea. We will continue to put our hands under the stone, the official added, using a Turkish idiom that could be translated as "we will do our part".

The official said Turkey, under a Kilicdaroglu government, would re-institutionalise its relations with Russia but continue to promote dialogue and engagement between Moscow and Kyiv through diplomacy. Turkey has been very neutral towards the USSR in the past, why cant I do it now? the official said, adding that Ankara will continue to uphold the Montreux Conventionthat governs the passage of vessels to the Black Sea and deny thetransit of all warships to there.

A second senior Turkish opposition official said that Russia-Turkey relations are older than some of the western powers national history, and Ankara has concrete experience in dealing with Moscow going back centuries.

We are over-dependent on Russia and of course we wont try to antagonise them, the second official said. We wont do things like buying another S-400systemfrom them or throwing them another contract for a nuclear power plant, but we will be balanced.

Both officials said Ankara wouldnt join the western sanctions but also wont allow them to be circumvented through Turkey.

Kilicdaroglu, in an interview last month,saidunder his leadership Turkey would only follow sanctions on foreign countries voted through by the UN Security Council.

The position of Russia in Turkish foreign policy is clear, Kilicdaroglu said in the same interview. On the basis of mutual respect, I do not think there is a reason for this situation to change. On the contrary, I believe that existing positions will be further consolidated rather than facing new challenges.

Like top officials in Erdogans administration, opposition sources express concern about a forthcoming Ukrainian counteroffensive and spoke about the need for a face-saving solution for both sides. In doing this, they are veering off Natos script.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he will accept nothing less than the return of all territories Kyiv previously held.

Both opposition officials added they were worried that a Ukrainian counteroffensive would be counterproductive and wouldnt result in genuine progress other than shedding more blood.

Turkey elections: All you need to know about the oppositions foreign policy

Russia isnt easy to defeat and history teaches us they can survive very long, the first official said. "This war can expand to a regional and global conflict. It is quite dangerous, we will have to prioritise efforts to resolve it.

The official said everyone needs a face-saving solution. Russia needs a respectable defeat and Ukraine needs a considerable victory, the official added. Im sorry to say it, but [for Ukraine] it may not include Crimea. And there needs to be administrative solutions for the areas in the east, like Donbas.

The opposition officials say the West needs to find a solution where Russia is once again incorporated into the European security architecture. We need a stable architecture and we cannot leave Russia out of the picture, the first official said.

Russian president Vladimir Putin in recent years established a personal rapport with Erdogan, pumping billions of dollars to Turkish Central Bank through Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant last year, which helped stabilise the Turkish lira months before the elections.

Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of Wagner group Russian private paramilitary that is closely linked with Putin, told Turkish Eurasianist daily Aydinlik this weekend that Erdogan is a courageous and strong-willed leader who developed his own national agenda.

He is seizing more territories, taking them under Turkeys control, and no doubt doing the right thing with respect to national greatness, he said. Hence, his aim is to establish an Ottoman Empire, and ours is extending Russias reach in the world from Alaska to South Africa.

Asked about possible help to Erdogan from Putin to win the elections, Kilicdaroglu said in the interview last month that he also hears similar comments but he doesnt want to believe that it reflects the truth.

The most important element of relations between Turkey and Russia should be trust, he said. It is necessary not to interfere in one anothers internal affairs, and especially not to take sides in matters such as elections or be interpreted as such, he added.

Russia is also a country that frequently expresses its discomfort with the interference in the internal affairs of countries and is aware of the gravity of the steps in this direction. An opposite behaviour erodes and destroys mutual trust.

The second Turkish opposition official said everyone would re-adjust themselves if Kilicdaroglu captures the presidency, the Russian leadership included.

There are signs that the Russians are now rethinking their position and concerned that they put all their eggs in one basket, the official said, smiling.

Originally posted here:
Turkey elections: What is the oppositions Russia policy? - Middle East Eye

April 23, 2023 (KHARTOUM) A Sudanese diplomatic official disclosed to the Sudan Tribune that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan suggested to Sudans military leaders to hold negotiations in Turkey.

The ongoing military conflicts between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have lasted for nine days, resulting in sporadic clashes in various regions of Khartoum.

According to the diplomatic official, Erdogan in phone calls over the past two days, spoke to Al-Burhan and Hemetti, conveying Turkeys desire to mediate an end to the war.

The Turkish leader offered to host direct negotiations in Ankara, with assurances to the rapid support commander, the official added.

There is no clear indication of the two mens position on the Turkish proposal.

However, sources have confirmed that Al-Burhan refused to negotiate with the commander of the Rapid Support Forces before they withdrew from Khartoum.

For his part, Hemetti told Sky News Arabia on Sunday that he refuses to negotiate with al-Burhan, but accepts to sit with the honourable members of the Sudan Armed Forces.

In a separate development, three Gulf countries on April 22, proposed an initiative for the conflicting military parties to resolve the crisis and stop the violent confrontations in Khartoum.

In addition, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken contacted his counterparts in Sudans neighbouring countries to extend the humanitarian truce that ends on April 25, 2023.

Due to the destruction of several central markets caused by the war, a severe food crisis has emerged in Khartoum.

Residents of Khartoum have fled to other neighbourhoods and states to avoid the bloody confrontations between the army and the Rapid Support Forces.

There have also been reports of attacks and looting by the Rapid Support Forces against families trying to leave the capital.

(ST)

See original here:
Erdogan proposes negotiations in Turkey to end war in Sudan - Sudan Tribune

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says Trkiye aims to produce 1 million units of Togg cars by 2030.

Trkiye owns a car and brand that can compete with the best ones in the world, Erdogan says. ( AA )

Trkiye will begin exporting its first indigenous electric car Togg as of 2025, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said.

"As of 2025, we will export Togg and sell it to the world," Erdogan said at the groundbreaking ceremony of SIRO battery development and production facility in the northwestern industrial province of Bursa on Monday.

Trkiye aims to produce 1 million units of Togg car by 2030, Erdogan added.

"With our domestic and national cars being on the road, our country owns a car and brand that can compete with the best ones in the world," Erdogan said, adding that brotherly countries also demanded Togg from Trkiye.

Early in April, Togg took to the road after its ceremonial delivery to Erdogan, who said Togg has reached its current level as a symbol of Trkiye's technological advancement, economic development and global reputation.

'Production hub'

Regarding the new battery facility in Gemlik district, Erdogan said it will start the first production in 2024.

"As of 2026, this campus will become an integrated centre producing high-nickel battery modules and packages, including battery cells," he added, saying this investment will make Trkiye a "powerful actor" in battery technologies.

"We set our heart on this journey to make Trkiye the production hub of Europe in charging and battery technologies along with electric vehicles," the president stressed.

READ MORE:'Fulfillment of a 60-year dream': Trkiye rolls out first electric car TOGG

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Trkiye to begin exporting its indigenous electric car by 2025: Erdogan - TRT World

ISTANBUL While Turkey fights to return its earthquake-hit provinces to a semblance of normality, questions about the viability of next months elections in the southern region are growing increasingly urgent.

The mayor of Hatay, the worst-hit of 11 provinces in the disaster zone, questioned Wednesday why the citys airport will be closed until after the May 14 polls, preventing voters from returning to cast their ballots.

Lutfu Savas, who represents the Republican Peoples Party (CHP) that leads the Nation Alliance opposition bloc, said it was not possible to book flights to Hatay Airport.

Everyone is wondering why tickets cannot be bought to Hatay until May 17, he said in a statement to Cumhuriyet. If there is a problem with the runway, let them explain it; otherwise they should tell us why the planes cannot land full of passengers.

Hatay airports runway was destroyed in the quakes that struck on Feb. 6 but reopened a week later for cargo planes carrying aid and commercial passenger flights.

Savas added, Our citizens want to go back and vote. More than two months have passed since the earthquake. While flights should have been made more frequent than before, the flights were stopped.

According to a tweet by HaberTurk journalist Sevilay Yilman, Savas told her that at least 500,000 Hatay voters were away from the province and suggested their absence would harm the opposition alliance.

A report from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs published Monday said at least 3 million people have relocated from their homes in the quake zone, many of them heading to other parts of Turkey.

In the week after the Feb. 6 quakes, more than 2 million left the region, according to President Recep Tayyip Erdogans office, a number that rose to 3.3 million by March.

Erdogan, who is facing the most closely contested polls in his 20-year tenure, announced last month that the presidential and general elections would go ahead in May despite the chaos caused by earthquakes that killed more than 50,000 people and left millions homeless.

Ahmet Yener, head of the High Election Board, said Monday that at least 133,000 people affected by the earthquakes will vote outside their home provinces. Election officials are visiting the earthquake region to oversee preparations, he told reporters.

The board previously said the elections would be facilitated through ballot boxes set up in temporary shelters and by allowing those who had moved away to easily change their registered address.

However, there are fears that voters who left their home provinces will encounter difficulties in voting or that irregularities in voting or ballot counting will go unchecked in the stricken region, which has been under a state of emergency that is due to expire on May 7.

The state of emergency significantly curtails freedoms of assembly, association, expression and press for nearly one-sixth of the countrys population, according to Soner Cagaptay, director of the Turkish Research Program at The Washington Institute.

In addition to the nationwide restrictions on liberty that [Erdogans] government had already instituted before the disaster, [a state of emergency] would render the campaign distinctly unfree and unfair, he added.

In a statement following the last parliamentary and presidential elections in 2018, observers from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe noted unequal campaigning conditions. Erdogan and his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) enjoyed an undue advantage, including in excessive coverage by government-affiliated public and private media outlets.

The state of emergency imposed after a 2016 coup attempt ended days before polling day, also restricting the media and freedoms of assembly and expression, the observers said.

They added that important legally prescribed steps were often omitted during the ballot count. The restrictions we have seen on fundamental freedoms have had an impact on these elections, said Ignacio Sanchez Amor, leader of the observer mission.

Similar concerns face election monitors ahead of next month.

A decision by the election board during a 2017 referendum that transitioned Turkey to a presidential system allowed unsealed ballot papers to be considered valid, contradicting election law.

Turgut Kazan, former president of the Istanbul Bar Association, described the decision, which still stands, as completely unlawful and arbitrary.

Meanwhile, Adem Sozuer of Istanbul Universitys law faculty said voters had lost confidence in the High Election Board.

There is widespread suspicion in a significant part of society that elections will be rigged, he said. Changes to election law seen as favoring the AKP and the removal of senior judges as the heads of local election boards also raised suspicions, Sozuer said.

Erdogan and his ministers have been allowed to harness state resources during the campaign while the election authorities turned a blind eye to this illegality.

Sozuer added, The most important thing to do now is to prepare to prevent fraud and irregularities on and after the voting day.

See the article here:
Is Turkey's shutdown of Hatay airport designed to help Erdogan in ... - Al-Monitor

11 April 2023

President Erdogan's powers have increased dramatically since he first led Turkey in 2003

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has launched his ruling party's bid to stay in power, as he seeks to extend his leadership of Turkey beyond 20 years.

He is facing his stiffest challenge yet from six opposition parties who have combined forces for presidential and parliamentary elections on 14 May.

Turkey faces soaring inflation and is reeling from twin earthquakes that have left 50,000 people dead. Mr Erdogan and his ruling AK Party say they will bring inflation down to single figures, a commitment already made by their opponents.

Turkey has become increasingly authoritarian under President Erdogan and the opposition is seeking to reverse that.

Any candidate that can secure more than half the presidential vote on 14 May is the outright winner. Failing that, the race goes to a run-off two weeks later.

Whichever party wins the parliamentary vote is seen as having a psychological advantage if the presidential election goes to a second round.

Erdogan's challenge

Turkey's voters have been polarised for years, but Mr Erdogan, 69, is under pressure as never before. Turkey has become increasingly authoritarian under its current leader, who runs Turkey from a vast palace with much of the media controlled by his allies.

He has ruled Turkey since 2003, initially as prime minister but then as president since 2014, dramatically increasing his powers three years later after a failed 2016 coup. His AK Party has been in power since November 2002.

Increasing numbers of Turks have blamed him for soaring inflation, because of his unorthodox refusal to raise interest rates. The official inflation rate is just above 50%, but academics say it is actually higher than 100%.

Image source, Mustafa Kamaci/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

President Erdogan's government has been criticised for its response to the twin earthquakes

Turkey's president and ruling party have also been widely criticised for failing to adapt Turkey's construction practices before the 6 February earthquakes and for mishandling the search and rescue efforts afterwards.

Millions of Turks were left homeless in the 11 provinces affected by the quakes. Since many of them are seen as Erdogan party strongholds, the election could be won and lost in the east.

His AK Party is rooted in political Islam, but he has forged an alliance with the ultra-nationalist MHP.

Six opposition parties - one candidate

Kemal Kilicdaroglu, 74, comes across as a mild-mannered, bookish opponent and he has presided over a string of election defeats at the helm of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP).

But this time could be different as he is fighting as a unity candidate for six opposition parties, ranging from his own centre-left party and the nationalist Good party to four smaller groups, which include two former Erdogan allies one of whom co-founded the AK Party.

Image source, ERDEM SAHIN/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock

Kemal Kilicdaroglu has agreed that the leaders of his alliance will all share the role of vice president

Mr Kilicdaroglu also has the unofficial backing of Turkey's pro-Kurdish HDP, which is running for parliament under the banner of another party, the Green Left, because of a court case alleging links to Kurdish militants.

His selection was not universally popular, because some considered the mayors of Istanbul and Ankara as better candidates after they took control of the cities in 2019 for the CHP for the first time since 1994.

A former civil servant who is part of the Alevi minority, Mr Kilicdaroglu led a 24-day march for justice in 2017 which was seen as the biggest show of defiance against President Erdogan's rule for years.

His Nation's Alliance, also known as the Table of Six, are united in their desire to return Turkey from the presidential system created under Mr Erdogan to one led by parliament. To change the system, they need to win 400 of Turkey's 600 MPs, or 360 MPs to take a proposal to a referendum.

The leaders of the other five members of the alliance have agreed to take on the roles of vice-president.

Turkish opinion polls are notoriously unreliable, but any chance Mr Kilicdaroglu had of winning the election outright in the first round appears to have been dashed by the decision of a former centre-left party colleague, Muharrem Ince, to join the presidential race.

Mr Ince, 58, was the Republican People's Party presidential candidate in 2018, but left two years later because of differences with Kemal Kilicdaroglu, He now runs the secular nationalist Homeland Party and has faced accusations of diluting the opposition vote and playing into President Erdogan's hands.

But he has a strong presence on social media and young voters in particular have been impressed by his dance moves on TikTok.

One other candidate with little chance of significant success is ultra-nationalist Sinan Ogan, but he too has the potential to be a kingmaker.

How does the vote work?

To enter the 600-seat parliament, a party needs to attract 7% of the vote or be part of an alliance that does. That is why alliances have become so important in Turkey, and the six-party opposition have highlighted changing that as one of their proposed reforms.

Meral Aksener, leader of the Good Party, is one of the main backers of the opposition alliance

Turks vote for party lists rather than candidates under proportional representation, so seat numbers correspond to votes cast per party rather than alliances. In some seats, the opposition has agreed to fight under one party banner.

Candidates running for the Green Left instead of the pro-Kurdish party are part of the Labour and Freedom Alliance.

Under the Erdogan reforms, it is now the president who chooses the government, so there is no prime minister. And if his broad People's Alliance fails to win a majority in parliament, he may struggle to rule in the same way as now. The pro-Erdogan People's Alliance currently has 334 MPs.

Mr Erdogan has already served two terms as president, so a third appears to go against the rules of Turkey's constitution.

But Turkey's YSK election board ruled that his first term should be seen as starting not in 2014 but in 2018, when the new presidential system began with elections for parliament and president on the same day.

Opposition politicians had earlier asked the YSK to block his candidacy.

How would the opposition change Turkey?

The Kilicdaroglu-led Nation's Alliance alliance wants to restore Turkey's parliamentary system and reform the presidency, removing the head of state's right to veto legislation, cutting the post's ties to political parties and making it electable every seven years.

The six parties also want to kickstart Turkey's decades-long bid to join the European Union and restore "mutual trust" with the US, after years of fractious relations during the Erdogan years.

They have pledged to bring inflation below 10% within two years and send Syrian refugees home voluntarily. Turkey currently hosts some 3.6 million Syrian refugees.

Read more here:
Turkish elections: Erdogan kicks off race to hold on to power - BBC