Politics
Historic Greek Orthodox seminary in Istanbul seeks reopening
Once at the heart of a debate on the rights of minorities, Halki seminary in Istanbul’s Heybeliada may soon welcome new students.
Hopes are growing that the long-closed seminary on the island off Türkiye’s most populated city could reopen soon, with formulas for its new status under discussion, Bishop Aravissu Kassianos Nikolar told Agence France-Presse (AFP).
The seminary opened in the mid-19th century and was the main theological school for the Eastern Orthodox Church until it was closed under a Turkish law in 1971. The school has remained closed for decades despite efforts by the Fener Greek Orthodox Patriarchate, whose patriarch counts millions across the world as followers.
The seminary made headlines in September when US President Donald Trump raised the issue with his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, raising hopes the deadlock could soon be broken. “At this stage, we are making quite good progress overall. Things are positive at the moment, 100% positive,” the bishop told AFP in a rare interview just days before Trump was to fly in on his first official visit to attend the July 7-8 NATO summit.
The seminary has symbolic significance for the world’s Orthodox community.
Perched on a hill, the historic seminary was shrouded in scaffolding, the sprawling complex undergoing extensive renovation ahead of its eventual reopening. As well as the seminary, the site incorporates a monastery and a high school, although it too has long sat empty. Inside, an AFP team saw the renovation work in full swing ahead of what the patriarch has said would be a September deadline for it to be completed.
In one classroom, rows of new chairs faced an electronic display as a portrait of modern Türkiye’s founder, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, gazed down from the wall, a mirror image of classrooms across the country.
What brought about its closure was a 1971 court ruling that all private educational institutions must come under state control, a decision rejected by the patriarchate as it wanted to preserve the seminary’s independence. But after years of closure, the patriarchate has agreed to accept a formula that would let the seminary reopen, operating under Turkish oversight.
Renewed interest in the site was sparked in 2024 when Education Minister Yusuf Tekin visited and spoke of the importance of preserving the building’s original character in any renovation. He also conveyed a message from Erdoğan that a solution had to be found to reopen the institution.
“That kicked off negotiations with Ankara,” Nikolar said, with plans for its reopening gaining real momentum after last September’s White House talks.
The initial proposal was to reopen the seminary as a university operating under Türkiye’s Higher Education Board (YÖK).
That later evolved into the idea of establishing an institute offering postgraduate theological training over a two-year period that would be affiliated with a Turkish university, and a quota of 60-70 students. The latest talks in Ankara last month were attended by Erdoğan and Patriarch Bartholomew, said Nikolar who was also present.
Nikolar told AFP there was “no set time” for the reopening, but said Erdoğan had urged all parties to finalize the matter swiftly, saying: “Don’t lose too much time.” As for Trump’s involvement, the bishop said he was someone who held Patriarch Bartholomew “in high regard.”
Not only did the seminary have a history of educating distinguished clergy, but it also reached out to other faiths, he said. “We should not look at it solely from the perspective of Christianity, it also achieved major success in interfaith dialogue. The school’s mission was to educate broad-minded students, not people with a narrow outlook on the world,” Nikolar said.
“That is why this school is valuable to Trump, and our president is also aware of its importance. The fact that such a valuable institution has remained closed and been unable to train clergy is a major loss.” Even though it is still closed, there’s already a high demand to study at the seminary, he said. “It’s a valuable institution. This school has never been forgotten.”
U.S. President Donald Trump arrived in Ankara on Tuesday to attend the NATO leaders’ summit, joining heads of state and government from across the alliance for talks expected to focus on collective defense, regional security and burden sharing.
Trump’s aircraft landed at Ankara Airport, where he was welcomed by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan before departing for the Presidential Complex where he was expected to hold talks with the president. On Air Force One, Trump was accompanied by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. This was also the inaugural flight abroad for the new presidential plane gifted by Qatar with Trump aboard. Ankara Airport, originally Etimesgut Airport, was heavily modified and had its runways expanded specifically for leaders and delegations arriving for the NATO summit.
The two-day gathering is expected to bring together leaders from NATO’s 32 member states, with discussions set to cover defense spending, Russia’s war in Ukraine, the alliance’s deterrence posture and broader security challenges.
The U.S. president will hold one-on-one talks with Erdoğan at the Presidential Complex in the capital, and U.S.-Turkish delegations will hold talks separately on the margins of the summit.
It was also reported that the agenda in the Erdoğan-Trump meeting will be diverse, but four topics will be the main items in discussions. These include the lifting of Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) sanctions, Türkiye’s readmission to the F-35 program, the U.S. sale of engines for Türkiye’s locally made fighter jet Kaan and new defense projects.
Additionally, Trump and Erdoğan are expected to discuss boosting bilateral trade volume and possible collaboration on energy.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Tuesday held talks with his Finnish counterpart Alexander Stubb as the latter arrived for a two-day NATO summit in the Turkish capital.
Later on Tuesday, Stubb will attend a dinner hosted by Erdoğan and first lady Emine Erdoğan in honor of the heads of state and government and their spouses.
Finland became a full member of NATO in 2023. It shares a long 1,340-kilometer (832.64-mile) border with Russia, the longest of any NATO ally, and has built its defense posture around that reality for decades, with the USSR’s successful invasion in 1939-1940 still long remembered. Its spending reflects post-Ukraine urgency and a long tradition of credible territorial defense.
Türkiye was instrumental in Finland’s membership of NATO, as well as in the admission of Sweden. Ankara initially objected to the memberships, conditioning that both countries should take more action to combat terrorism, and consented to their admission after Finland and Sweden demonstrated commitment to that extent.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan hosted his U.S. counterpart, Donald Trump, at the Presidential Complex on Tuesday as the latter arrived for bilateral talks and a key NATO summit in Ankara. While delivering comments, the U.S. president vowed that they would lift CAATSA sanctions.
Speaking alongside President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan at the Presidential Complex after arriving in Ankara for the NATO leaders summit, Trump said the time had come to remove sanctions that have strained relations between the two NATO allies.
“We’re going to lift the sanctions,” Trump said. “We don’t want to sanction our friends. I don’t want to choke my friend with sanctions.”
The sanctions were imposed under the U.S. Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) after Türkiye purchased the Russian-made S-400 air defense system, leading Washington to suspend Ankara from the multinational F-35 fighter jet program in 2019.
Asked whether Türkiye could rejoin the program, Trump praised Ankara as a reliable ally.
“Türkiye has been a much more loyal partner than many others,” he said.
Moreover, Trump also said he might not have attended the NATO summit had it not been hosted by Türkiye.
“Frankly, if this summit had not been held in Türkiye, and if my friend, a very strong leader, a very strong person, had not been here, I probably would not have come,” he underlined, referring to Erdoğan.
Calling Türkiye a militarily powerful country under Erdoğan’s leadership, Trump remarked that relations between Washington and Ankara were at their strongest point in years.
“I have great respect for President Erdoğan,” he said. “This is truly in the interest of both countries. I can say that our relationship with Türkiye is better now than it has ever been.”
Trump also defended U.S. spending within NATO, saying Washington had invested “trillions of dollars” in the alliance to protect European allies from security threats, including those posed by Russia.
The U.S. president was scheduled to attend the summit’s official dinner later Tuesday. On Wednesday, he is expected to hold bilateral meetings with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa before concluding his visit with a news conference and departing Ankara.
Trump’s arrival in Ankara
The two men, who often refer to each other as “friend,” first met on the tarmac of Ankara Airport, a military airport redesigned for Air Force One and other presidential planes. They later proceeded to the airport’s guest house and, later, to the Presidential Complex.
A ceremonial team of guardsmen dressed in historical costumes of Turkish states of the past, from Seljuks to Ottomans, attended the welcoming ceremony for Trump at the complex.
This is Trump’s first visit to Türkiye in his two presidential terms and the first by a sitting U.S. president after the end of the Biden administration. Erdoğan visited the White House last year, and the two leaders often hold phone calls in critical times, including the recent U.S.-Israel-Iran conflict. Trump, however, is no stranger to Türkiye, where skyscrapers bearing the name of his franchise tower over central Istanbul. He attended the opening ceremony of the towers in 2012, alongside Erdoğan, then prime minister.
Speaking to journalists before their meeting, the two leaders affirmed good ties and friendship. “We feel stronger now having my precious friend here in Ankara,” Erdoğan said.
“We are very good friends, you are a respected leader,” Trump said in turn. “We are going to talk about trade, military, Iran,” the U.S. leader said. Trump also expressed his frustration with NATO. “I was very disappointed with NATO. I am not sure they would be there for us. Why are we spending hundreds of billions of dollars if they are not there for us?” he said.
On Türkiye’s return to the F-35 program, Erdoğan said he trusted Trump as “a man of his word.”
The Turkish president also said he will discuss engines for Türkiye’s indigenous Kaan fighter jet with Trump during the NATO leaders’ summit, adding he expects Trump to reiterate positive commitments.
In the aftermath of the ouster of Özgür Özel as chair of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), the party’s divide between supporters of Özel and reinstated Chair Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu continues to grow.
This is most evident in acts of vandalism at the party’s provincial branches, where pro-Özel chairs are replaced with pro-Kılıçdaroğlu ones.
Özel himself resisted evacuation from the party’s headquarters in May, and his loyalists followed his example in their refusal to vacate party offices in provinces.
Provincial chairpersons who made headlines for their criticism of Kılıçdaroğlu, who is often branded as a “traitor” for accepting the reinstatement, are being dismissed by the new administration gradually. Repeatedly emphasizing that it will not allow a dual power structure within the party, the Kılıçdaroğlu administration is appointing new provincial chairpersons to replace those who have been removed. With these appointments, tensions over the evacuation have shifted from the party headquarters to provincial offices.
In some provinces, party buildings are not being vacated, while in others, property inside provincial headquarters is being vandalized. Walls are being covered with profanity and insulting graffiti, and in many provinces, bank accounts, vehicles and official record books have not been handed over to the new administrations. It is alleged that Özgür Özel and his associates have promised parliamentary candidacies to former provincial chairpersons who, despite repeated calls for calm, continue to fuel unrest by refusing to comply.
During this process, the provincial headquarters in Izmir was taken over only after a confrontation involving kicking, punching and shouting obscenities. In Malatya, a building that had not been vacated was entered only with the assistance of a locksmith late at night. Supporters of Özel, who are accused of continuing unlawful actions, stormed the building and wrote the word “Traitor” over a poster of Kılıçdaroğlu. In Batman, it was revealed that the provincial headquarters had been thoroughly ransacked by the previous administration. In Çanakkale, the provincial headquarters has likewise not been vacated.
As in many other provinces, a chaotic situation is continuing at the Ankara provincial headquarters of the party. The former administration, which is accused of unlawfully occupying the building, has been paying individuals to stand guard during the night. In addition, as in many other provinces, the official record books and bank accounts have not been handed over to the new administration. Sources close to the Kılıçdaroğlu administration claimed that these transfers are being deliberately delayed because of suspicious financial transactions in the bank accounts. It is also claimed that former administrators across the country, who are vacating buildings under police supervision while staging what is described as “resistance demonstrations,” are attempting to create a new narrative of victimization through these incidents.
The Israeli and Greek air forces have resumed joint military exercises after a long pause over the Israeli wars in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran, Israeli media outlets reported on Monday, a move that is expected to anger Greece’s neighbor Türkiye.
“The Air Force has returned to training with the Hellenic Air Force after a long period in which joint training did not take place due to the fighting,” Channel 12 said. It added that footage released by the Greek air force showed Israeli aircraft refueling Greek F-16 fighter jets during a flight over the Aegean Sea. “The cooperation between the Israeli and Greek air forces is not a random choice. It is part of a broader strategic plan taking shape in the region,” the channel said.
Türkiye is a major critic of Israel over its genocidal policy in Gaza and is wary of the Netanyahu administration’s expansionism across the region. As for Greece, Türkiye seeks common ground to improve ties, although the rapid pace of armament of Athens is a source of concern. The maritime borders in the Aegean are a major source of contention between Türkiye and Greece. Turkish officials have not commented yet on the joint drills. Türkiye is also following developments regarding multilateral ties between Israel, Greece and the Greek Cypriots.
Last month, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan warned that Israel and its accomplices were engaged in starting “a fire” in the Mediterranean, especially the island of Cyprus, and said they were following the developments. Türkiye is a guarantor state on the divided island and recognizes the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC). It has no ties to the Greek Cypriot administration based in parts of southern Cyprus. The president said, “some small circles whose ambitions are bigger than their size” have jumped on the Israeli bandwagon and served as “contractors of Zionism.” “They are chasing dreams in the Eastern Mediterranean. Let me be clear: Do not engage in adventures, do not ride on the tails of the Zionist network of murderers. Our response to the attempts at the rights and sovereignty of Türkiye and Turkish Cypriots in the Eastern Mediterranean will be clear and very strong,” he said.
Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s relationship with U.S. President Donald Trump could help ease differences within NATO as alliance leaders gather in Ankara this week for a summit focused on security, defense spending and transatlantic cooperation.
In an interview with The New York Times ahead of the July 7-8 NATO summit, Fidan said Türkiye hopes to use the close ties between Erdoğan and Trump to promote unity within the alliance.
“The relationship between President Erdoğan and President Trump can help reduce tensions within NATO,” Fidan noted, describing the relationship as one based on mutual trust and friendship.
He said Türkiye intends to use that relationship “for a greater good and for the benefit of the entire NATO family.”
Addressing Trump’s past criticism of NATO, Fidan said he expected technical discussions at the Ankara summit to proceed smoothly despite political disagreements.
“I don’t see any problems in that regard,” he remarked, adding that although allies often exchange strong rhetoric, little has changed in practical terms.
Fidan also stressed that Türkiye shares a common understanding with its European allies on NATO’s importance, saying the alliance remains indispensable to European security.
“No one is questioning NATO’s necessity,” he said.
While noting that the European Union is expanding defense cooperation, Fidan argued that such efforts should complement rather than replace NATO. He said Türkiye and European countries should continue to view one another as essential partners in their collective security.
“We are also part of Europe,” Fidan said. “Unless we come together in Europe and build our common security platform, we will never feel sufficiently secure.”
On regional issues, Fidan welcomed recent diplomatic progress between the United States and Iran, saying both sides appeared committed to reaching their long-term objectives, while noting that key issues including Iran’s nuclear program, sanctions relief and navigation through the Strait of Hormuz remain subject to further negotiations.
Fidan also reiterated Türkiye’s readiness to host new peace talks between Russia and Ukraine but said he did not expect negotiations to resume in the near term, emphasizing that meaningful progress would require continued U.S. involvement and a genuine commitment to peace from both sides.
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