President Trump’s National Security Advisor John Bolton’s visit to Ankara ended up causing more controversy than creating a common ground to work toward a serious strategy. In a previous column, I had warned that “if the U.S. tries to impose conditions […]
A month ago, Turkey was planning to launch a major operation to clear its border of terror groups. Turkey did it twice in the last two years in Operation Euphrates Shield and Operation Olive Branch. The U.S. administration’s statements of […]
U.S. President Donald Trump’s National Security Adviser John Bolton’s visit to Turkey was an important opportunity to clarify some of the vagueness that stemmed from the conflicting statements coming from Washington, D.C. in the last three weeks in regards to […]
U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to pull all of his country’s troops from northern Syria has generated a major debate in regards to Washington’s policies. Trump’s decision was not something totally unexpected. Both during his presidential campaign and earlier this […]
Executive Director of the SETA Foundation at Washington D.C., Kadir Ustun, spoke with TRT World on December 19, 2018 regarding the recent announcement of the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Syria. This video was first published by TRT World on […]
Just after the strained relations between the U.S. and Turkey this summer finally began to heal, it seems a new crisis will emerge to test the NATO allies’ relationship. Turkey has long expressed its concerns about the U.S.’ partnership with […]
Since the very beginning of the U.S.-People’s Protection Units (YPG) partnership, Turkey has been sending a clear and strong message about its opposition. By now all of the Turkey observers know the main concerns of Turkey about the empowerment of […]
The U.S. wants to cooperate with Turkey on all issues related to the Syrian conflict and sees it as critical to end the civil war. The U.S. Syria envoy James Jeffrey points to the Manbij agreement as a good model […]
For the first time since the 2008 global crisis, the G20 summit is being held at the world leader level in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The purpose of the meeting is to reduce the effects of the crisis and to pioneer […]
Since the resolution of the Brunson issue between Turkey and the U.S., there has been an increasing level of high-level diplomatic interaction between the two countries. The presidents of the two countries talked multiple times on the phone on many […]
The U.S.-Turkey relationship is going through interesting times, as both allies are willing to work through their differences despite serious disagreements over a host of issues. Turkey has been pressing the U.S. as well as the international community to take […]
U.S. President Donald Trump said his Turkish counterpart President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has personally let him down by refusing to release American pastor Andrew Brunson. His remarks represent a new level of escalation between Turkey and the United States. It […]
Turkish-U.S. relations have been going through rough times for the last few years. In multiple instances in this column, the alarming degree of deterioration in relations was pointed out. However, even the most pessimistic observers of bilateral relations did not […]
Within two years since the July 15 coup attempt, Turkey has overcome several monumental challenges. The first and foremost challenge was the coup attempt which was thwarted in its tracks by civilian initiative thus setting the path for future challenges. […]
In the previous column I discussed Turkish foreign policy in the new period with a new governing system in Turkey. Together with the change in the decision-making mechanism in Turkey, foreign policy will also experience some changes, as well as […]
After the elections in Turkey, which gave a mandate for President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to run the country for the next five years, one important question that has been frequently repeated was what impact will this have on foreign policy. […]
Since the announcement of the Turkey-U.S. agreement on the city of Manbij, there have been a lot of comments about its significance for the future of Turkish-American relations. It is important to reiterate certain significant dimensions of this agreement. First […]
Ever since Turkey launched Operation Olive Branch in northwestern Syria, its goals have been mischaracterized and quite a few myths continue to thrive. One of these is that Turkey is conducting the operation because it cannot tolerate any “Kurdish” gains […]
On Thursday, March 1st, the SETA Foundation at Washington DC hosted an event “Allies at Odds: US-Turkey Differences in Northern Syria,” focused on recent developments in northern Syria and their effect on the US-Turkey relationship. Panelists included Richard Outzen, Senior […]
The U.S. must end its military and political support to the YPG not only to repair ties with Turkey but also to bring long lasting stability to Syria. If the U.S. is interested in a semblance of stability in Syria, […]
In one of the most debated books in the U.S., “Political Tribes: Group Instinct and the Fate of the Nations,” Amy Chua, a Yale University professor, wrote about how identity politics abroad is often missed by the U.S. and how […]
Arriving at a common Syria policy, however much needed, will likely remain an elusive goal. In the meantime, however, Turkey should be able to expect the US to take its security concerns much more seriously. This means ceasing military support to the YPG dominated SDF in the short term and start a comprehensive strategic policy conversation with Turkey, both to prioritize the security of its NATO ally and also to ensure stability in Syria.
Turkey took a new step toward influencing the post-Daesh future of Syria by launching a military operation against the militants of the People’s Protection Units (YPG) in Afrin. The French request for a meeting of the U.N. Security Council, coupled […]
The capture of the city of Raqqa from Daesh terrorists last week was a major development in the conflict in Syria. However, operations in this city and its aftermath have left important questions that need to be worked on in […]
United States Senator John McCain has it right that the US has underestimated and, at times, disregarded Turkey’s concern over its support for the People’s Protection Units (YPG) in Syria. The US’ rationale for helping the YPG was predicated on […]
Executive Director Kadir Ustun’s interview with TRT World on August 29th, 2016.
Since DAESH’s attack on Kobani, there has been an increasing amount of debate about the Democratic Union Party (YPG) and the nature of the organization. The optimism of the international coalition and Western countries about the usefulness of the YPG in […]
Interview with Kadir Ustun over US-Turkey relations on YPG on February 11th, 2016.
Vice President of the United States Joe Biden visited Istanbul this weekend after addressing the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. As expected, the weekend’s meetings with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, and other government officials […]
The latest report by Amnesty International about a new wave of the forced displacement of the people in PYD-controlled areas reveals the lack of human security in the region. Last June, in the aftermath of clashes between the People’s Protection […]
