Archive for the ‘Erdogan’ Category

Turkey’s Erdogan touts ‘special relationship’ with Putin, stands by his refusal to impose sanctions – CNBC

Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to meet Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday.

Anadolu Agency | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan touted his country's "special relationship" with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, speaking to CNN during an interview broadcast Friday.

"We are not at a point where we would impose sanctions on Russia like the West have done. We are not bound by the West's sanctions," Erdogan told the network. "We are a strong state and we have a positive relationship with Russia."

"Russia and Turkey need each other in every field possible," Erdogan said.

He added that the U.N. and Turkey-brokered Black Sea Grain Corridor Initiative, in which he played a key role helping to unlock crucial Ukrainian grain exports blocked by Russia's invasion, "was possible because of our special relationship with President Putin."

"The West is not leading a very balanced approach. You need a balanced approach towards a country such as Russia, which would have been a much more fortunate approach," he said.

The powerful Turkish leader's closeness to Putin, despite its membership in NATO, has made many Western leaders and diplomats nervous.

The comments came ahead of Turkey's runoff presidential election vote, the second round in a highly-charged and tense race being held on May 28 because neither Erdogan nor his rival Kemal Kilicdaroglu won more than 50% of the vote in the first round.

Erdogan finished ahead by a few points in the initial vote, and is leaning into his image of a strong nationalist leader that pushes back against Western dominance, despite Turkey being a member of NATO. Kilicdaroglu, meanwhile, has pledged to strengthen Turkey's ties with the West and NATO. Turkey is home to the alliance's second-largest military after the United States, and houses 50 American tactical nuclear warheads.

Erdogan has played a mediating role between Ukraine and Russia since the war began, sending aid and weapons to Ukraine and brokering prisoner swaps, but has also significantly expanded its trade ties with Russia.

His decision not to abide by Western calls to sanction Russia has served Turkey's economy well so far; its trade with Russia doubled to $68.19 billion in 2022 from $34.73 billion in 2021, according to the Turkish Statistical Institute. Russian tourists and expatriates, including billionaire oligarchs escaping sanctions, have poured into the country as their options for travel became severely limited.

Earlier in 2023, Putin waived the cost of Russian gas exports to Turkey, a move broadly seen as an effort to help Erdogan's election chances.

Turkish imports from Russia also nearly doubled last year to $58.85 billion, pushing Russia ahead of China as Turkey's top trading partner. Turkey is now the destination for 7% of Russian exports, up from 2% in 2021.

Erdogan is also accused of stymying NATO's expansion with his refusal to approve the membership of Sweden, which applied to join the bloc in the aftermath of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Approving a new country into the alliance requires unanimous approval by its existing members. Turkey accepted Finland's membership in March after much negotiation, but is holding out against Sweden over Ankara's conviction that Stockholm backs terrorist groups that have harmed Turkey. Whether Erdogan will relent on Sweden if he wins the May 28 election is an open question.

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Turkey's Erdogan touts 'special relationship' with Putin, stands by his refusal to impose sanctions - CNBC

Erdogan Arrested and Expelled International Officials Observing … – The Intercept

The government of Recep Tayyip Erdogan swept up and jailed a team of international observers on hand to monitor election day activity in Turkey on Sunday, members of the team told The Intercept in a statement.

The delegation had not been granted official observer accreditation by the Erdogan government, but were formally invited by the HDP, the leading Kurdish party and a key member of the opposition coalition.

The election held on Sunday was the closest contest Erdogan has faced in the two decades he has been in power. Immediately, the opposition coalition, led by Kemal Kilicdaroglu, charged election irregularities, zeroing in on what Kilicdaroglu said was an extremely large number of objections to ballot boxes in Istanbul and Ankara urban areas where the opposition dominated. You are blocking the will of Turkey, Kilicdaroglu said.

Erdogan fell short of the 50 percent needed to avoid a runoff, officially winning more than 49.5 percent of the vote with fewer than 100,000 overseas ballots remaining to be tallied. A runoff will be held on May 28. Sinan Ogan, whose 5 percent of the vote forced the runoff by keeping both candidates under 50 percent, also made allegations of vote-counting manipulation by the government.

The Spanish observers included members of the left-leaning Podemos party; EH Bildu, a Basque nationalist coalition; and a senator from Esquerra Republicana, a Catalonian leftist party. The observers were in the Kurdish-majority city of Siirt when they were arrested and taken to a police station on Sunday, the day of the election. Officers then went to the hotel where the observers were staying and arrested the remaining members of the delegation, who joined their comrades in detention at the police station. They were held until Monday morning and released on the condition they leave the country, escorted to the airport and flown back to Spain on Monday and Tuesday.

Ismael Corts, a national congressional deputy with Podemos, and Miriam Ojeda, a representative of the International Secretariat of Podemos, were among those detained. Spain and Turkey are both members of NATO.

The situation of the retention and expulsion as a delegation that we have experienced is just one example of the greater context of repression and persecution of the opposition that has been experienced for years in Turkey and that has the Kurdish people as a special objective, said Corts. We are concerned about the situation of the members and supporters of the YSP and HDP party and the respect for their fundamental, civil, and political rights.

The observers also said in a statement to The Intercept that several members of the Kurdish YSP party were also arrested. Their fate is not known, and the Erdogan government did not respond to requests for comment. This new and intolerable example of repression demonstrates the authoritarian drift of the regime of Erdogan, which undermines the democratic principles and fundamental rights of the Turkish citizenry and, especially, of the peoples present in this territory, such as the Kurdish, the observers said in the statement.

Polls taken ahead of the election had the opposition ahead of Erdogan, sometimes by as much as 5 or 6 percentage points, leaving observers stunned at Erdogan beating the opposition by at least 4 points in the first round. Selim Koru, an analyst at the Ankara-based Economic Policy Research Foundation of Turkey and a critic of Erdogan, said that he doesnt believe most of the vote-counting claims being made by the opposition will hold up. The big thing is that most people in the opposition space came to trust the polls. Most of the evidence really favored the opposition, he said. But polling these days has a problem detecting right-wing bias. Something similar happened in the U.S. in 2016. We thought the pollsters took that into account, but I guess they didnt.

Ahead of the election, Erdogans government pressured Twitter to censor opposition voices and critical journalists a request to which Twitters outgoing CEO Elon Musk instantly capitulated. In response to legal process and to ensure Twitter remains available to the people of Turkey, we have taken action to restrict access to some content in Turkey today, Twitter posted.

Musk acknowledged that the government had threatened to take the site down, as Erdogan did in 2014 when Twitter refused to comply with a similar demand. The previous Twitter leadership, however, took Turkeys government to court and prevailed in its Supreme Court.

Update: May 16, 2023, 7:15 a.m.This piece has been updated with a quote from Ismael Corts.

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Erdogan Arrested and Expelled International Officials Observing ... - The Intercept

Turkey Election Result Means Erdogan Likely to Remain in Power – Foreign Policy

Emma Ashford: Hey Matt, have you seen the new Netflix show The Diplomat? I hear its making the State Department look more exciting than it has in years.

Matt Kroenig: I have seen all eight episodes! I was worried that I was wasting my time, but then it was reported that U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan have also watched the series and even quizzed U.S. Ambassador to the U.K. Jane Hartley on the details. If they can make time, I guess I can, too.

It is pretty good, but also pretty unrealistic. I never knew, for example, that the U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom basically runs the world!

Have you seen it?

EA: Not yet. But Im sure ambassador is a nice upgrade for Keri Russell from her previous role as a Russian illegal! We have a lot of things to chat about this week: elections in Turkey and Thailand and developments in Ukraine. Shall we start with the Turkish election? Were we all wrong to hope that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan would be given the boot by Turkish voters?

MK: I think we were wrong. Erdogan won a plurality, but not a majority, of votes, so it will go to a runoff election. But some of the voters for the now-eliminated candidates are likely to swing to Erdogan. If so, that will be too bad for Turkish institutions and also, potentially, for the NATO alliance. His major opponent, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, is promising the restoration of Turkish democracy and a normalization of Turkeys international role. Lets see how the runoff election goes. Its not over until its over. But I think Washington will need to manage with several more years of Erdogan in power.

EA: At least Kilicdaroglu was on the ballot, unlike some other candidates. But the obstacles he faced in running were in many ways worse. All the major Turkish media outlets highlighted Erdogan and ignored Kilicdaroglu, who ended up making home videos at his kitchen table for the internet.

Some other opposition leadersmost notably the former head of the Peoples Democratic Party, Selahattin Demirtashave been in prison for years on trumped-up charges. The government even put pressure on Twitter to censor the opposition in the runup to the election. Its small wonder that Kilicdaroglu wasnt able to pull off an upset and that observers have described the election as mostly free, anything but fair.

Erdogans victory will not be good for the Biden administration, though Im less convinced its bad for the United States more generally. Erdogan has always been very transactional and self-interested; not the ideal ally, but you can work with him. But President Joe Bidens choice to emphasize democracy as the most important facet of U.S. foreign policy makes it more difficult to do so. Whatever you call the Turkish government these daysilliberal democracy, hybrid regimeits the only game in town on some issues.

MK: Well, I think the outcome will matter for the United States. Erdogan has been transactional, as you point out, whereas Kilicdaroglu promised a more pro-Western, pro-NATO foreign policy. That would be better. If Erdogan wins in the end, however, I agree that Washington will have no choice but to work with him.

Fortunately, on the near-term item that matters most, there might not be much difference. The best Turkey experts I talk to still expect Erdogan to approve Swedens entry into NATObut not before the NATO summit in July, and maybe not until this fall.

So, you agree that Biden should work with Erdogan because he is the only game in town? I thought you were skeptical of the value of this alliance.

EA: Oh, I dont think the Turks are good allies. Im not convinced its a great idea to have them in NATO. But the last couple of years have also highlighted that the country still has significant geostrategic importancelook at its role controlling access into the Black Seaas well as a key role to play in mediating between the West and other parties.

I view the U.S. relationship with Turkey very much like I view the relationship with Saudi Arabia: I dont think either merits a formal defense commitment, but Ankaras importance means Washington needs to maintain good diplomatic and economic ties with it. Not every country in the world has to be an ally.

MK: OK. We are not as far apart as I thought. Turkey is not a great ally, but Washington and Ankara still have shared interests when it comes to Iran, terrorism, and for some aspects of the Russia problem. I agree that it occupies an important geopolitical position. And given that Turkey is a long-standing member of NATO, it doesnt make sense to kick them out as some have suggested.

In this new, more contested geopolitical environment, Americans need more, not fewer, friends.

EA: Or maybe talking about countries the way my kids talk about their preschool class is the wrong approach? Countries dont have friends. They have relationships with other states that vary based on their interests.

Not every country wants to be a friend, and not every country wants to fall in line on some giant democracy-vs.-autocracy crusade. Turkey is the perfect example. And the sooner U.S. officials grasp that reality, the better the country will do in this contested environment.

MK: Well, weve debated this before. I think the democracy-vs.-autocracy framing is not a bad shorthand but agree that the Biden doctrine should be more flexible in allowing for cooperative relationships with pro-American non-democracies.

But there are other items in the news this week. There are obvious tensions between the Russian government and Roman Lenkovs private military contractors. The United Kingdom Special Forces are planning a raid in France to arrest Lenkov, but some think Prime Minister Trowbridge is only ordering the operation to cover up his past shady dealings with Lenkov.

EA: Matt, are you watching Netflix while were meant to be writing this column?

MK: Oops. Sorry. I am not a great multitasker. Back to the column.

In the real world, there are tensions between the Russian military and the Wagner Group, a Russian private military contractor. There were even recent reports that Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of Wagner, was offering to provide information on Russian troop locations to Ukraine in exchange for laying off Wagner forces in Bakhmut. Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction.

EA: Prigozhin has certainly been getting crazier in recent monthsor at least more public in his madness. Hes been recording videos ranting about insufficient supplies and ammunition for his forces assaulting Bakhmut and complaining about the regular Russian military leadership. Many, myself included, suspect that hes having a hard time making himself heard in Moscows upper echelons of power and so is resorting to kicking up a fuss publicly to try to get what he wants.

But he may soon cross a line, or indeed, may have already done so. He was already unpopular with many in the regular Russian military, but reports suggesting he opened a private channel to Ukraine may undermine his standing with Russian President Vladimir Putin. And either way, its a reminder that the war is not going well for Russia: Wagner convict soldiers have made most of the concrete gains in the conflict in recent months, and even those have been limited to tiny slices of one city.

On a related note, though, what happened to the Ukrainian offensive that was expected this spring? Its almost June, and weve seen no real signs of a major push from Ukrainian forces.

MK: Let me say a word first on Prigozhin. Some have talked about Russia possibly breaking up due to the stresses of this war. I still think that is a long shot, but given the escalating dispute between Prigozhin and the Russian military, it is not unimaginable that they could turn on each other at some point. I dont know that anyone is prepared for another Russian civil war.

EA: I think its implausible, but if weve learned one thing from history, it is that if you wish for a Russian civil war, you might get more than you bargained for.

MK: On the Ukrainian counteroffensive, I think it is coming. The Ukrainians need it. Their goal is to take back all of the lost Ukrainian territory, and they cannot do that without a successful counteroffensive. They also need it to show progress, which will be helpful for maintaining support from the West. And, given the evident lack of morale and ammunition in the Russian military, there is a real chance it could be successful.

I, too, am puzzled by the delay. I would have expected it sooner. I dont know why they havent moved yet. The element of surprise is important for military matters, and this has perhaps been the most widely publicized military counteroffensive in history. Perhaps the Ukrainians are at least trying to surprise the Russians when it comes to timing? But I really dont know.

EA: As you say, its particularly surprising because there are strong incentives for the Ukrainians to do this sooner rather than later. Western funding will start to dry up, and the Russians are likely to get stronger over time, particularly if theres another mobilization wave later this year. I worry that the Ukrainians have poured so much into defending Bakhmut that they have left themselves with too few resources for a good offensive. Or perhaps we are seeing an offensive now, and its not particularly successful?

MK: Nah, I still think it is coming. And Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is doing his best to maintain Western support. Over the weekend, he made a four-country tourthrough Italy, Germany, France, and the United Kingdomin which he was promised billions of dollars in additional aid. It doesnt look like the Western funding will dry up any time soon.

In fact, the British and the Dutch announced a plan to train Ukrainian pilots to fly F-16s, and to transfer several jets. And other Western-provided weapon systems are proving effective on the battlefield, with Ukraine using air defenses to shoot down multiple Russian hypersonic missiles this week.

EA: Yes, I know Im often down on the United States European allies, so I want to give them a round of applause for their commitments on Zelenskys trip! Its nice to see the countries closer to the conflict and with more at stake stepping up so that the United States doesnt have to do it all. But I do wonder how long this support will last in the absence of a successful Ukrainian offensive.

Theres also the question of the recent leaks about Zelensky and some of the proposals hes made in private about the conduct of the war. Theyre pretty extreme. Hes apparently suggested blowing up the Druzhba oil pipeline to cut off oil to Hungary and trying to seize Russian towns in order to gain leverage. Im not exactly comfortable to learn that these options are being discussed by the Ukrainians.

MK: I dont know about the oil pipeline, but seizing Russian towns should be fair game. This is war, not tiddlywinks. The Russian homeland should not be a sanctuary. To be most effective, Ukrainian forces should defend themselves from attacking Russian forces and military supply lines located in both Ukraine and Russia.

EA: Thats fine, but I think the Ukrainians might find European statesalong with many members of the U.S. Congressare far less happy to be supplying and funding them if they take such drastic steps. Not to mention how they might feel if Ukraine effectively destroyed the economies of several European Union and NATO member states who have exemptions to import Russian pipeline gas. If this is true, it certainly makes me wonder how much the Ukrainian government actually knew about the sabotage of Nord Stream.

Anyway, I suspect well be back in a few weeks to discuss a Ukrainian offensive. Anything else before we wrap up?

MK: How about something that might turn out to be good news? In Thailands elections, the reformist Move Forward Party won a plurality of votes. They and their Harvard-educated leader, Pita Limjaroenrat, won on a campaign of reducing the influence of the military and the monarchy and strengthening Thailands democracy and business environment. They are even promising to relax Thailands draconian lse-majest laws, which prohibit criticism of the monarchy.

They still have some hurdles to overcome to form an effective government, but this could be a move in the right direction for a country that is technically a formal treaty ally of the United States.

EA: It certainly came as a surprise to me, and to many others, who had regretfully written off Thai democracy in recent years. But the new party appears to be reasonable, not excessively anti-monarchical, and also not connected to the Pheu Thai Party of Yingluck Shinawatra, the daughter of divisive former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. The real question is whether the Thai military will let the new government actually take the helm. But with such an outpouring of popular support, hopefully the generals will feel pressure to cede at least some power.

Its nice to have a good news story for once!

MK: Well, I hope the military cedes power. If not, we can always send in Ambassador Kate Wyler and Foreign Minister Austin Dennison. I just hope their obvious romantic chemistry does not get in the way of the mission.

EA: Dammit. Im gonna have to watch this TV show just so I get the references, arent I?

MK: Yes. Well, only if you dont want to be stuck with Hal on the sidelines of the real action.

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Turkey Election Result Means Erdogan Likely to Remain in Power - Foreign Policy

Turkey slams Charlie Hebdos cover of electrocuted Erdogan in tub – Al Jazeera English

Government officials say the May 28 run-off will prove Erdogans popularity as magazines cover called inhumane.

Turkey has hit back at the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo for its latest cover, which features a cartoon of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan being electrocuted in a bathtub.

The magazine released its weekly issue on Wednesday, three days after Turkish elections, and it features the presidential candidate naked and being shocked by an electrical bulb.

The cover blurb with the bright yellow and red cartoon reads Erdogan: Like Cloclo, only fate will rid us of him!

Cloclo was the nickname of the French pop singer Claude Francois, who died in 1978 when he was electrocuted trying to fix a lightbulb from his bathtub.

Several Turkish officials lambasted the publication for its cover as Erdogan prepared to compete in a run-off at the end of the month to extend his 20 years in power.

Publications like Charlie Hebdo, whose only motivation is to spew hate against Islam, continue to target our President Erdogan clearly because he is one of the most consequential Muslim leaders in modern times, Turkish Communications Director Fahrettin Altun said in a lengthy tweet.

We will not fall into their trap but we will continue to call out their disgusting xenophobia that they try to sell as freedom of expression, he said.

Ibrahim Kalin, an adviser to Erdogan, also said in a tweet that the second round of presidential voting on May 28 would prove how popular the incumbent is.

If the Charlie Hebdo rag went so crazy were on the right path, he said. Our nation will give you the best answer, with an even louder voice, on May 28.

Translation: If the Charlie Hebdo rag went so crazy were on the right path. Evil is like this sometimes. It guides the good. Dont worry CH. Our nation will give you the best answer, with an even louder voice, on May 28.

Vice President Fuat Oktay also condemned the cover, reiterating the significance of the run-off.

Translation: I strongly condemn Charlie Hebdos targeting of our President and the will of the Turkish nation under the guise of freedom of expression. Our nation and we, too, can see who, where and how they were bothered by the success of our President on May 14. Our beloved nation will give the necessary answer to this mentality once again on May 28.

Going into Sundays election, most opinion polls showed Erdogan trailing opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu, but the president outdid Kilicdaroglu by 5 percentage points and narrowly missed winning outright in the first round.

Erdogans foreign minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, joined the chorus of criticism against Charlie Hebdo, calling the publication inhumane.

Translation: The inhumane, ignoble Charlie Hebdo continues to insult the Turkish Nation. Let us not forget! Those who praise evil always drown in their own hatred and mischief. The real lesson is that those who cannot defeat the free will of the Turkish Nation with various games are desperately relying on fate.

Charlie Hebdo has for years sparked controversies. Its content directed at the Muslim world in particular has incited anger most notably, its cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad.

Recently, the magazine had also made light of Turkeys devastating February earthquakes, which killed more than 50,000 people.

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Turkey slams Charlie Hebdos cover of electrocuted Erdogan in tub - Al Jazeera English

Turkey election results show Erdogan dominating in quake-hit region – Reuters

[1/2] Ayse Kekec, an earthquake survivor living in a tent with her son, stands in front of their tent with a poster of Turkish President Erdogan on it, in Kahramanmaras, Turkey May 11, 2023.... Read more

ANKARA, May 16 (Reuters) - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan's AK Party came out on top in Sunday's elections in 10 of the 11 provinces hit by February's earthquakes, with analysts saying his vow to rebuild devastated cities had reassured voters in what are mostly AKP strongholds.

The ruling party's strong showing, defying initial expectations in February that the quakes would hurt its support, was also driven by doubts about the opposition's ability to meet voters' expectations.

Nationwide, the Islamist-rooted AKP won a new parliamentary majority with its alliance partners, while Erdogan, 69, led comfortably in the presidential vote ahead of a runoff with his main rival on May 28.

The powerful earthquakes on Feb. 6 killed more than 50,000 people and left millions homeless in Turkey, causing destruction across 11 provinces from Adana near the Mediterranean coast to Diyarbakir in the mainly Kurdish southeast.

Despite the huge toll of deaths and injuries and mass migration afterwards, voter turnout was still very high in the region, at between 85-89% in most of the 11 provinces and above 80% in the others. The nationwide average was 88.9%.

Many Turks who fled the region returned to vote.

Kurdish voters in the region came out strongly in support of Erdogan's main rival, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, in the presidential race, but the president was still ahead in voting in eight of the affected provinces.

Kilicdaroglu, 74, was clearly ahead in two provinces and in the worst-hit province of Hatay, they each got 48% support, with the opposition leader marginally ahead.

Critics and earthquake survivors had expressed anger over a slow initial quake response by Erdogan's government and lax enforcement of building rules - failures they said cost lives.

But dozens of people Reuters spoke to soon after the quake were thankful for the aid of the government and security forces, while also complaining that they had arrived late. Interviews since then provided little evidence that the issue would change how people voted.

Ibrahim Kadir Demir, who lost his daughter and grandchildren in the earthquake, said he was happy with government services, adding: "I wish our president had won outright (in the first round)."

A supporter of the opposition, Aslihan Cengiz, said she had expected a bigger backlash against the AKP in her native province of Hatay - the worst affected by the quakes - but added that its more pious electoral base probably helped it.

"(AKP voters) say the earthquake was an act of God," said Cengiz, who also said AKP-voting districts of Hatay had seen less destruction than areas that tended to back the opposition.

Erdogan's AKP has prioritised construction during its 20 years in power and this has helped to drive economic growth.

Pollster Mehmet Ali Kulat said the opposition alliance had failed to win over enough voters and they had ultimately put their faith in the government to improve their plight.

"Earthquake survivors had seriously criticised the government response in polls and they said they would not vote for them. But these people were also looking for an answer to the question of who 'will rebuild my house, who will rebuild my workplace?'" Kulat said.

"They see that it is Erdogan who can do this. This is one of the most important factors," he added.

Additional reporting by Daren ButlerEditing by Gareth Jones

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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Turkey election results show Erdogan dominating in quake-hit region - Reuters