Politics
Ankara criticizes EU document saying it lacks strategic vision
Ankara on Friday criticized the European Union over a policy document released earlier this week, saying its references to the country ignored Türkiye’s status as an EU candidate and failed to reflect its strategic role in European security.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Öncü Keçeli said the EU’s “Common Understanding” document, published on July 15, lacked “a strategic and fair approach” toward Türkiye.
“The document ignores Türkiye’s candidate status and demonstrates the EU’s inability to develop a shared vision for the future with our country,” Keçeli noted in a statement posted on social media.
Keçeli underlined that the document was issued shortly after the NATO summit in Ankara, where allies reaffirmed Türkiye’s role in Euro-Atlantic security.
“It is evident that the document was drafted in a tone that seeks to overshadow this reality,” he said, referring to Türkiye’s indispensable role within NATO as allies assume greater responsibilities under the alliance.
The spokesperson also rejected references in the document to the Eastern Mediterranean, saying they reflected what he described as the EU’s “biased and distorted understanding” of regional issues.
On Cyprus, Keçeli said responsibility for the failure of reunification efforts rested with the Greek Cypriot side, citing its rejection of the U.N.-backed Annan Plan in 2004 and its uncompromising position during the 2017 Cyprus Conference.
He called on the EU to adopt “a realistic vision and discourse that serves the interests of both sides.”
Communications Director Burhanettin Duran also criticized the EU document, saying its assessments of Türkiye lacked objectivity and strategic foresight.
In a separate statement, Duran said the document overlooked Türkiye’s candidate status and ignored the country’s contribution to European security despite clear recognition of its role during the NATO summit in Ankara.
He also rejected the document’s references to the Eastern Mediterranean and Cyprus, arguing that they did not reflect international law or historical realities.
Duran called on the EU to adopt a more responsible approach based on mutual respect, impartiality and shared interests, saying such an approach would better serve efforts to strengthen dialogue between the two sides.
Türkiye’s Center for Countering Disinformation (DMM) rejected Monday claims circulating on social media that Türkiye is an occupying power on the island of Cyprus, saying its military presence there is lawful under international agreements.
In a statement, the center said Türkiye’s 1974 Cyprus Peace Operation was carried out to stop attacks and systematic massacres targeting the Turkish Cypriot community.
The DMM said the intervention was conducted within the framework of Türkiye’s rights and obligations under the 1960 Treaty of Guarantee, arguing that the operation helped restore peace on the island and paved the way for the collapse of Greece’s military junta.
The center dismissed claims that the presence of Turkish troops in northern Cyprus is illegitimate, saying they remain a guarantor of the security, sovereignty and safety of the Turkish Cypriot people.
It also accused unnamed actors of spreading disinformation by portraying Türkiye’s actions as an occupation, arguing that such narratives ignore international law and historical developments.
Türkiye has maintained that its military presence in northern Cyprus is based on its guarantor status under the 1960 Treaty of Guarantee. Under the leadership of President Erdoğan, Türkiye continues to implement policies that provide full support to Turkish Cypriots.
Greek Cypriots advocate for the reunification of the island with a bi-communal administrative system, while the TRNC insists on a two-state solution where it will be recognized as a sovereign state.
Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan met with his Qatari counterpart, Qatar’s Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, on Sunday, a few days after President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s visit to the country to extend condolences for the late emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani. Fidan was also received by Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.
During his visit to Doha, Fidan is expected to reaffirm Türkiye’s solidarity with Qatar following the recent attacks on the Gulf nation and underscore Ankara’s continued support during talks with Qatari officials, according to Turkish diplomatic sources.
The meetings between Turkish and Qatari officials will also focus on the growing strategic partnership between the two countries and ways to deepen cooperation across a range of sectors. The discussions are expected to cover preparations for the 12th meeting of the Türkiye-Qatar High Strategic Committee, which is scheduled to take place in Türkiye later this year under the co-chairmanship of Erdoğan and Emir Al Thani. Fidan is also expected to emphasize that recent regional developments have once again highlighted the strategic importance of defense and military cooperation between Türkiye and Qatar. The agenda will include discussions on the need to address regional issues through dialogue and diplomacy, based on the principle of regional ownership, while calling for stronger joint efforts to advance that approach. The talks will also focus on enhancing cooperation on connectivity, which has become increasingly important for economic stability and energy security.
According to the sources, Fidan is expected to say that achieving a lasting resolution to tensions in the Gulf and preventing renewed escalation remain the most urgent priorities. He is also expected to exchange views on ongoing diplomatic initiatives and mediation efforts, underscore the importance of ensuring safe navigation through the Strait of Hormuz and stress the need to remain vigilant against Israel’s destabilizing activities. The minister will also share Türkiye’s assessment of the situation in Gaza and recent developments related to the Gaza Peace Plan.
Fidan last visited Qatar on May 11 and 12. Türkiye-Qatar ties Türkiye and Qatar have steadily deepened their strategic partnership since establishing it in 2014 through high-level exchanges and bilateral agreements spanning a wide range of fields. The Türkiye-Qatar High Strategic Committee, the highest institutional mechanism guiding bilateral relations, has met annually since 2015, alternating between the two countries. The most recent meeting was held in Doha on Oct. 22, 2025. The next session is expected to take place in Türkiye later this year. Bilateral trade reached $1.1 billion in 2025, and both countries aim to increase it to $5 billion in the coming years. The Türkiye-Qatar Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement entered into force on Aug. 1, 2025.
Türkiye’s Peace Operation in 1974 brought immense relief to oppressed Turkish Cypriots in divided Cyprus and paved the way for the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC). As Türkiye and the TRNC prepare to mark its anniversary, the future still remains uncertain for Turkish Cypriots, except for the unwavering support in all venues by the guarantor state, Türkiye.
Little progress has been made since the 1974 operation to end the uncertainty over the status of Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots on the Mediterranean island. The TRNC remains widely unrecognized by the international community while Türkiye is steadfast in protecting them amid a lingering threat from Greek Cypriots, who managed to secure recognition as the so-called Republic of Cyprus that excludes Turkish Cypriots.
Turkish Cypriots’ equal sovereign rights remain an unresolved issue in ongoing talks between the two sides on the island, while Greek Cypriots expand their partnerships, especially with rivals of Türkiye in the Mediterranean.
Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz is expected to represent Türkiye at the events in Lefkoşa (Nicosia) in the TRNC to mark the anniversary, along with a large delegation from the country, including Minister of National Defense Yaşar Güler and the military brass. Yılmaz already visited the TRNC on July 10 and attended the signing of a memorandum of understanding between Türkiye and the TRNC for the delivery of natural gas through an undersea pipeline. The Turkish navy will also dispatch a submarine and two vessels to the TRNC for port visits, and they will open to public visits on Monday. Around the same time, a center jointly established by the Turkish Cypriot and Turkish governments to monitor shipping traffic in the eastern Mediterranean will be inaugurated in Gazimağusa (Famagusta).
Ahead of the events, the Turkish Ministry of National Defense announced that Turkish fighter jets carried out a training flight south of the island in international airspace, in an apparent message to the Greek Cypriot administration, which often contests international waters and airspace around the island.
On Saturday, a group of Greek Cypriots converged near the Metehan border crossing for a provocative protest against Türkiye and Turkish Cypriots. The group chanted slogans calling for Türkiye’s expulsion from the island, referring to the Turkish military deployed on the northern side. The group also voiced opposition to the idea of a federation with Turkish Cypriots. The same group also announced that it would hold a parade at the Ledra Palace border crossing on Monday. According to media reports, Greek Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides will also visit the Dherynia border crossing on Aug. 8 for an event to commemorate Tassos Isaac and Solomos Solomou, who died in riots in August 1996 near the border crossing. Isaac died during a confrontation between Greek and Turkish Cypriot protesters. His cousin, Solomou, died a few days later when Turkish troops shot him as he attempted to take down a Turkish flag in the buffer zone.
In the second half of the 20th century, Cyprus was the scene of Greek efforts to erase the Turkish Cypriot existence on the island. Fearing a Greek Cypriot plot to unite with Greece, which would ultimately put Turkish Cypriots under Greek Cypriot dominance, Türkiye launched the Cyprus Peace Operation in the summer of 1974. The operation led to a cease-fire two days later, but ongoing hostilities prompted Türkiye to launch the second stage of the operation on Aug. 14, 1974. The operations cost the lives of 498 Turkish soldiers and 786 Turkish Cypriot “mücahits,” members of paramilitary groups resisting Greek Cypriot attacks. The operation ensured a cessation of attacks by Greek Cypriots, and one year later, Turkish Cypriots declared the Turkish Federated State of Cyprus under the leadership of Rauf Denktaş. The state was renamed the TRNC in 1983.
The TRNC, however, faced major setbacks as it was not recognized globally and faced economic and political embargoes. It also sought to reconcile with Greek Cypriots, and the two sides agreed upon a series of talks in the early 2000s. Yet, after the Greek Cypriot administration was admitted to the European Union in 2004, efforts collapsed. The last round of concrete talks to end the division failed in 2017.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will travel to Cyprus later this month to discuss the future of talks between the two sides. He will meet with representatives of both sides, U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said last Thursday, to underline a “strong demonstrated commitment to the Cyprus issue.”
On the anniversary of the operation, Ankara is expected to deliver stern messages regarding moves by Greek Cypriots and their backers to escalate tensions on the island, especially Greek Cypriots’ increasing military cooperation with Europe. France signaled earlier that it would boost its military presence on the island, while Greek Cypriots strengthened their alliance with Israel in defense and security, laying bare a new threat to Türkiye, which is concerned about Israel’s expansionist policies in the region. Türkiye was also angered by a recent report approved by the European Parliament that accused Turkish soldiers participating in the 1974 operation of sexual crimes against Greek Cypriots.
Speaking ahead of the anniversary, Turkish Cypriot Foreign Minister Tahsin Ertuğruloğlu said they would never give up Türkiye’s right to intervene in Cyprus.
Drawing attention to the failure of negotiations on the Cyprus issue over the past 60 years, Ertuğruloğlu told Anadolu Agency (AA): “As our founding President Rauf Denktaş also stated, the Cyprus issue is a question of status. While the Greek Cypriot side is viewed as the ruler and sole owner of a Hellenic island, the Turkish Cypriot side seeks to be reduced to minority status. If you sit at the negotiating table without equality, you will leave without equality. The 60-year negotiation process has failed because of this approach.” Ertuğruloğlu pointed out that the United Nations’ granting the Greek Cypriot side the status of the “Republic of Cyprus” was what created the Cyprus issue, and recalled that the European Union made a similar mistake in 2004. “The U.N. made this mistake, and in 2004 the EU repeated the same mistake. Now they expect us to legalize their mistakes. You can wait a very long time,” Ertuğruloğlu said, stressing that the EU could not be impartial on the Cyprus issue.
Emphasizing that the EU would remain detached from reality as long as it approached the Cyprus issue as though there were a Turkish occupation on the island, Ertuğruloğlu said there could be no solution unless Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots were granted equal status in Cyprus.
Sovereign and equal
Ertuğruloğlu explained that the foreign policy of the TRNC would not abandon its policy of two sovereign and equal states with equal international status, saying: “We have our own state, we have our motherland, and we have our army. Let no one come here hoping to deceive us.”
Minister Ertuğruloğlu also addressed the issue of the “guarantor powers” in Cyprus, saying: “Britain and Greece have not fulfilled their responsibilities as guarantors throughout history. The only country that has fulfilled its responsibility as a guarantor is the Republic of Türkiye.”
Underlining that the Cyprus issue stemmed from Greek Cypriot aggression that began in 1963 and the denial of the political equality of the two partners, Ertuğruloğlu said: “We will not give up Türkiye’s right to intervene in Cyprus. Türkiye’s right of unilateral intervention is indispensable for Turkish Cypriots. We will never give that up either.”
Ertuğruloğlu said the Cyprus issue began in 1963 and that approaches portraying Türkiye as having intervened in Cyprus on July 20, 1974, “for no reason,” without acknowledging this fact, were entirely incompatible with historical realities. “The Cyprus Peace Operation was not the beginning of the problem; in a sense, it was the solution,” he said.
Recalling that the intervention of the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) in Cyprus on July 20, 1974, saved the Turkish people on the island from genocide and enabled them to rebuild their lives, Ertuğruloğlu said that 52 years ago, the island was prevented from becoming a Hellenic island through the shoulder-to-shoulder struggle of Turkish soldiers and Turkish Cypriot fighters.
Pointing out that the Turkish army was a deterrent, rather than an aggressive force, Ertuğruloğlu stressed that Türkiye’s strength was evident in every field.
Ertuğruloğlu concluded by saying that they commemorated with mercy those who were martyred and with gratitude those who became veterans during the Cyprus Peace Operation, adding that as long as Türkiye exists, the Turkish Cypriot people will never again experience the painful days of the past.
This week will be a busy one for Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş, who will hold talks with representatives of political parties on the terror-free Türkiye initiative. The main topic will be a “framework law” that will mark another milestone in the initiative, which aims to dissolve and disarm the PKK terrorist group.
Kurtulmuş’s meetings will follow talks between a delegation formed by the pro-PKK Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) and representatives of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) and its ally, the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP). MHP leader Devlet Bahçeli informally launched the initiative in 2024, and since then, the DEM Party has acted as an intermediary between imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan and Parliament. Öcalan’s call for the PKK to lay down its arms in February 2025 was followed by a message of compliance from the terrorist group. The disarmament process is still underway, and Parliament plans to enact laws and regulations once authorities confirm that the group has fully abandoned its arms. The laws and regulations will pave the way for more lenient sentences for PKK members who were not involved in acts of terrorism.
The DEM Party, MHP and AK Party have exchanged views on the content and scope of the framework law, while President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan seeks the broadest possible consensus in Parliament on the matter. To that end, Kurtulmuş will hold talks with the parties to seek their support. His talks will also focus on the political parties’ expectations regarding the initiative.
After the talks, the framework law, which is expected to contain up to 10 articles, will be presented to Parliament as a draft bill. Parliament will work throughout August to put the final touches on the law.
The framework law will have a time limit, and those who give up their arms and surrender to the authorities within a defined period will benefit from the law. The law will include all regulations being considered for imprisoned PKK members and those on the run. Unconfirmed reports say that those who were not involved in any crimes while active in the PKK will be subject to judicial control measures, such as house arrest, a ban on traveling abroad and regularly reporting their whereabouts to the authorities. Those who were convicted only of aiding and abetting the group will also have their sentences reduced under the law.
Justice Minister Akın Gürlek said Sunday that the state would pursue those responsible at all costs as an investigation into the 2009 death of politician Muhsin Yazıcıoğlu deepened.
Earlier this week, 29 suspects were detained, 19 of whom were arrested, as part of a probe focusing on the Gülenist Terror Group’s (FETÖ) alleged role in the helicopter crash that killed Yazıcıoğlu.
Yazıcıoğlu, the chair of the Great Unity Party (BBP), was known for his opposition to the terrorist group, which at the time portrayed itself as a charity movement. Yazıcıoğlu’s family has claimed that FETÖ played a role in his death, and a renewed investigation has focused on allegations that F-4 fighter jets piloted by FETÖ-linked officers caused the crash by flying too close to the helicopter before the accident in southern Türkiye’s Kahramanmaraş province. Yazıcıoğlu was on an election campaign tour when the helicopter crashed into a snow-covered mountain, killing him, his aides and a journalist.
Ali Armağan and his wife, Şerife, were among the suspects detained earlier this week. Investigators discovered several links between the couple and FETÖ, although they flatly denied the charges. Armağan was the pilot of one of the F-4 jets flying near the helicopter, but he denied the charges. Investigators discovered that he had contacts with several top FETÖ figures, including Adil Öksüz, one of the fugitive masterminds of FETÖ’s 2016 coup attempt who was in charge of the group’s military infiltrators. Şerife Armağan’s fingerprints were also discovered in a book found at Öksüz’s residence after he disappeared in 2016. Media reports say that a phone number belonging to Ali Armağan was involved in 152 calls with Öksüz between 2012 and 2014.
In a social media post, Gürlek, who has ordered investigations into several well-known unresolved murder cases since taking office last February, said the Yazıcıoğlu case had left deep scars on “the nation’s conscience.”
“The case is being meticulously assessed with regard to the clandestine structure of FETÖ, organizational links, connections to Adil Öksüz, ByLock communications – an encrypted app used exclusively by FETÖ – and the fact that numerous suspects had previously been investigated or prosecuted in connection with FETÖ,” Gürlek said.
“I would particularly like to emphasize this: No matter where the investigation leads, our state will pursue it to the end within the framework of the law. We will not allow any suspicion to remain unanswered or any organized structure to stand in the way of our nation’s expectation of justice,” he added.
Turkish authorities on Monday destroyed an explosive device found on a suspected kamikaze drone that washed ashore along the Black Sea coast in Istanbul’s Karaburun district, officials said.
The object was discovered by members of the public on a stretch of coastline between Karaburun and Ormanlı beaches, who alerted authorities after spotting the damaged wreckage.
Initial examinations indicated the debris likely belonged to a crashed kamikaze unmanned aerial vehicle, according to officials.
Teams from the Turkish Coast Guard Command’s Marmara and Straits Regional Command and the Underwater Defense (SAS) Group Command were dispatched to the scene.
During a technical inspection, SAS personnel identified an explosive charge attached to the wreckage. After securing the area, bomb disposal specialists carried out a controlled detonation to neutralize the device.
No injuries or damage were reported.
An investigation is underway to determine how the unmanned aircraft entered Turkish territory and the circumstances surrounding the incident.
Speaking alongside Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha in Kyiv last week, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan warned that the risk of the Russia-Ukraine war expanding remains a serious threat, saying recent developments in the Black Sea have heightened those concerns.
Fidan said Türkiye does not want the conflict to spread into the Black Sea, stressing that regional stability must be preserved. He said attacks targeting ports, tankers and fishing vessels that endanger civilian lives were unacceptable and called on all parties to act with restraint and responsibility.
Fidan also said Türkiye is exploring new strategic approaches to help break the deadlock in the Russia-Ukraine war. He said Ankara has developed new ideas and is discussing them with both the warring parties and international mediators as part of ongoing diplomatic efforts to advance a negotiated settlement.
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