Politics
FM Fidan talks Gaza, Ukraine in calls with German, UK counterparts
Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan held separate phone calls Tuesday with his German and British counterparts to discuss efforts to end Russia’s war in Ukraine and ongoing cease-fire talks in Gaza, Turkish diplomatic sources said.
The outcome of the recent meetings held in Alaska and Washington to end Russia’s war on Ukraine was discussed in Fidan’s calls with U.K. Foreign Secretary David Lammy and German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul.
The calls also addressed the current situation in Gaza and progress in cease-fire negotiations.
Hamas this week agreed to a 60-day cease-fire proposal with Israel that would include the release of about half of the hostages held in Gaza in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, according to Egyptian officials.
Mediators from Egypt and Qatar, with U.S. backing, have been shuttling between the sides, but Israel has yet to respond formally. The proposal comes as Israeli forces press deeper into Gaza City, prompting tens of thousands of residents to flee.
The talks follow weeks of heavy Israeli bombing in Gaza, where at least 62,000 Palestinians have been killed since October 2023.
The diplomatic push also coincides with efforts to end Russia’s war in Ukraine.
U.S. President Donald Trump pledged this week to provide security guarantees to Kyiv as part of any eventual peace deal, a commitment Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy hailed as a “major step forward.”
Trump has floated the prospect of a trilateral summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Zelenskyy, though European leaders have urged him to secure a cease-fire first. The Kremlin, however, has so far ruled out any NATO role in enforcing an agreement.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan used the occasion of World Humanitarian Day on Tuesday to call for stronger international solidarity in the face of global crises, urging nations to embrace “compassion beyond borders” in an article published in Spain’s El Pais.
In the piece, titled “Compassion Beyond Borders: The Alliance of Civilizations and Humanitarian Diplomacy,” Erdoğan argued that peace, security and prosperity can only be achieved through cooperation built on justice and respect.
He underscored the long-standing friendship between Türkiye and Spain, describing the two nations as “standing at the two poles of the Mediterranean” and sharing common goals in trade, energy, defense and diplomacy.
“Spain stands among our most reliable allies within NATO,” Erdoğan wrote, citing Madrid’s deployment of a Patriot air defense system in Türkiye’s southern Adana province.
He also thanked Spain for supporting Türkiye’s European Union accession bid and recalled the solidarity shown after the Feb. 6, 2023, earthquakes, when Spanish rescue teams and medical staff provided emergency aid.
Humanitarian emphasis
Framing Türkiye as one of the world’s most generous nations relative to its economic size, Erdoğan highlighted Ankara’s humanitarian diplomacy, which he said reaches across regions from Gaza to Sudan, Somalia to Bangladesh and as far as Latin America. He noted Türkiye’s hosting of the first-ever U.N. World Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul in 2016 as a milestone in shaping the global aid agenda.
According to Erdoğan, Turkish aid agencies, such as the Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD), the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA), the Red Crescent and religious foundations, provide assistance not only during emergencies but also through long-term development projects.
He pointed to Türkiye’s “Goodness Trains,” which supply food and medicine to Afghanistan, field hospitals serving Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, agricultural projects in Sudan and widespread COVID-19 vaccine donations to more than 160 countries.
“Humanitarian aid is the most advanced form of diplomacy,” Erdoğan said, adding that Türkiye’s outreach aims to safeguard human dignity and offer “a voice to the conscience of humanity.”
The president also condemned the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza, citing what he described as Israel’s “inhumane” blockade and military operations. He said Türkiye has provided more than 101,000 tons of aid to Palestinians and will continue supporting international relief efforts.
Türkiye-Spain cooperation
Erdoğan emphasized the symbolic importance of publishing his article in El Pais, noting that this year marks the 20th anniversary of the Alliance of Civilizations, a joint Turkish-Spanish initiative launched under the U.N. framework to foster intercultural dialogue.
He argued that the shared humanitarian traditions of Türkiye and Spain offer hope in an era of war, famine, forced migration and climate disasters. “The spirit of solidarity unites the two peoples in a profound bond that transcends geographical boundaries,” he wrote.
Despite global geopolitical tensions, Erdoğan pledged that Türkiye will persist in humanitarian outreach. “For humanitarian aid transcends political considerations,” he concluded, “it is fundamentally a matter of conscience.”
Seeking to build on their longstanding relations, Türkiye and Japan eye cooperation on defense.
Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani met his Turkish counterpart, Yaşar Güler, in Ankara on Tuesday for talks on defense industry cooperation, including the possible supply of Turkish-made drones, as Tokyo expands the role of unmanned systems in its armed forces.
Nakatani is the first Japanese defense minister to make such an official trip to Türkiye. This NATO member country is keen to expand its economic and other ties beyond Europe and the Middle East. Türkiye and Japan are both U.S. allies.
Nakatani and Güler are expected to “discuss ways to expand cooperation on defense equipment and technology and exchange views on regional developments,” a diplomatic source in Ankara said.
They also aim to increase contacts between the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) and Japan’s Self-Defense Forces at the unit level, the source added. Nakatani is also scheduled to visit Istanbul on Wednesday.
Turkish and Japanese defense ministries did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
During the visit, Nakatani will tour Turkish defense companies and facilities, including Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI), navy shipyards, and drone maker Baykar, according to a Defense Ministry source.
“Apart from general matters, defense industry cooperation will be on the agenda … They will hold inspections regarding drones, but an agreement is not expected. It is too early for an agreement,” the Defense Ministry source said.
Turkish firms have supplied drones to several countries, including Ukraine, while Japan is preparing to expand the use of uncrewed aerial vehicles across its ground, air and naval forces.
Japan is considering Turkish drones as one of the potential options for this effort, a diplomatic source said. Nakatani’s visit to Türkiye is part of a regional tour from Aug. 17 to Aug. 22, which also includes stops in Djibouti and Jordan.
A Turkish court on Monday ordered the arrest of 17 suspects, including Beyoğlu District Mayor Inan Güney, as part of a corruption probe into the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IBB), while 27 others were released under judicial control measures.
The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office is conducting the investigation into alleged fraud involving Medya A.Ş., Kültür A.Ş., and other municipal subsidiaries. Authorities say the network was linked to former IBB spokesman Murat Ongun and fugitive suspect Emrah Bağdatlı.
Police detained 44 suspects, including Güney, after identifying their involvement in multiple fraud schemes and social media operations allegedly coordinated under Ongun’s oversight. The suspects were taken to Bayrampaşa State Hospital for medical checks before being transferred to the Istanbul Courthouse in Çağlayan.
Prosecutors questioned the suspects, later referring 20 of them, including Güney, to the court for arrest and 24 others for judicial control. In total, 45 people have been detained in connection with the investigation so far.
Municipalities controlled by the CHP have faced waves of arrests this year, beginning in March.
The Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office is conducting an investigation into the suspects, including Ekrem Imamoğlu, who was suspended from his position as Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality mayor after his arrest, on charges of “leading a criminal organization,” “membership in a criminal organization,” “extortion,” “bribery,” “aggravated fraud,” “unlawful acquisition of personal data” and “tender rigging.”
The Istanbul police office’s teams from the Financial Crimes Department determined that those held in the latest operation are suspected of involvement in fraudulent activities at companies linked to the Istanbul municipality.
The ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) took a significant blow in the March 2024 municipal elections, but it has since been recouping losses as opposition mayors switch sides. A total of 56 mayors from opposition parties and independents have joined the party since the elections. Currently, the AK Party holds mayoral seats in 599 out of 1,401 seats across Türkiye.
The party has won mayoral seats in 12 metropolitan municipalities, 12 city municipalities, 347 district municipalities and 170 town municipalities in the 2024 elections. Last week, nine more mayors joined the AK Party during a ceremony to mark the party’s 24th anniversary, including Özlem Çerçioğlu, a renowned and long-serving mayor for the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) in the western province of Aydın.
The AK Party has made a name for itself with its municipal services and has enjoyed a streak of election success in all municipal elections since the early 2000s. Yet, the 2024 elections curbed its nationwide influence slightly, especially after losing several strongholds to the CHP.
The majority of those joining the AK Party as mayors are from the New Welfare Party (YRP), which positions itself with a similar ideology to the party. The party has supported the People’s Alliance, led by the AK Party, in the 2023 general elections, although it later went its own way and fielded candidates in the 2024 municipal elections. Fourteen independent mayors have also joined the AK Party since the municipal vote. The AK Party gained seven mayors from the CHP, mostly those who fell out with the new administration of Türkiye’s oldest party, which took office after an intraparty election in November 2023. The CHP portrays itself as the exact opposite of the AK Party, although it courted several prominent figures who have been ideologically aligned with the ruling party in the past.
In the 2023 general elections, the CHP helped several former members of the AK Party win parliamentary seats, as they were nominated from CHP lists instead of running for their own parties, which had a weak chance of success. The AK Party also saw seven mayors from the Good Party (IP) joining it. The rest of the mayors switching allegiance to the AK Party were from the Felicity Party (SP), the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party), and the Democracy and Progress Party (DEVA).
The AK Party’s losses in the 2024 local vote are widely regarded as the electorate’s reaction to certain underperforming mayors and the party in general amid worries over the heightened cost of living. But the longstanding party hopes to recover in the next election, relying on boosting what it calls “the 1994 spirit.” The party’s founder and incumbent president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, is credited with introducing a new model of municipal governance when he won the municipal elections in Türkiye’s most populated city, Istanbul, that year. Erdoğan’s accomplishments as mayor set an example for future municipalities of the AK Party. The AK Party secured successive victories in municipal elections, following in the footsteps of Erdoğan, and is credited with turning around the fortunes of most cities and districts, which had suffered from negligence in public services under the reign of mayors from opposition parties.
The Republican People’s Party (CHP) has plunged into turmoil as neighborhood delegate elections that began on Aug. 13 have been marred by chaos, fights and allegations of fraud within the first week, exposing deep rifts within the main opposition party.
What began as routine elections to select neighborhood delegates quickly turned into battlegrounds across Türkiye. From Samsun to Izmit and Erzurum, incidents of violence, shouting matches and police intervention have highlighted the widening divide between the CHP’s central leadership and internal opposition groups.
The most violent episode erupted in Atakum, a district of northern Samsun province, where a verbal dispute between rival camps escalated into a fistfight on Tuesday.
Witnesses reported that one man suffered a brain hemorrhage during the melee, and the district chairperson candidate, Şevket Özkaya, was kicked. Police detained two individuals after the altercation.
Amid the brawl, Atakum District Chair Adem Kürek was heard shouting “God damn you” at opponents, sparking public outrage and making him a target of criticism online.
In western Izmit province, tensions spilled over into what party members described as a dispute over which place to hold the elections.
A group protesting the election for the Alikahya Fatih area inside the Izmit district’s building clashed with municipal officials. The argument soon turned physical, drawing in other party members. Reports stated that it took officials a long time to restore order after the fight broke out.
Meanwhile, the eastern Erzurum province has become the latest flashpoint, as opposition members accused the Palandöken District Directorate of attempting to manipulate the electoral process.
The district leadership allegedly moved the election date forward without authorization, in what critics described as a blatant violation of party bylaws. Opposition representatives vowed to file a criminal complaint, saying the maneuver was designed to block challengers and protect the interests of the party’s entrenched leadership.
The clashes underscore long-standing tensions between the party headquarters and dissident members, many of whom accuse the central leadership of stifling democracy and sidelining grassroots voices.
The turmoil also comes as the CHP faces mounting scrutiny over corruption allegations in municipalities it controls. Dozens, including the ousted mayor of Istanbul, Ekrem Imamoğlu, have been arrested in investigations on a criminal organization that profited from rigged tenders and bribery schemes.
The CHP is also fighting a court case over alleged vote buying in its 2023 leadership elections, which also targets Imamoğlu, who is accused of “buying” delegate support to oust current Chair Özgür Özel’s predecessor, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu.
Meanwhile, the CHP is preparing to unveil a new party program aimed at redefining its political agenda. A “Program Workshop” is scheduled for Sept. 4-9 in Ankara, bringing together Özel, central executive board members, party council representatives and provincial delegates from across Türkiye.
The draft program, shaped by fieldwork in all 81 provinces and 973 districts, covers key areas such as education, health care, justice, the economy, foreign policy and youth. Overseen by Secretary-General Selin Sayek Böke, the process has incorporated public feedback gathered by local organizations.
The finalized program will be submitted for approval to 1,323 delegates at the CHP’s 39th Ordinary Congress, expected in November. A simple majority will be required to adopt the changes.
Main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) Chairperson Özgür Özel appeared not to have gotten over one of his party’s mayors joining the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party). Özel held a rally in Aydın, whose mayor, Özlem Çerçioğlu, left for the ruling party last week and accused the AK Party of “political pickpocketing.”
His remarks drew outrage from the AK Party as its spokesperson Ömer Çelik lambasted Özel “going beyond politics.”
“His words targeting our party are simply delirium,” Çelik said in a social media post on Tuesday.
“Özgür Özel’s third-class politics is not sufficient to grasp the reality that what the political leadership of our president meant for the nation. His ugly expressions hurled at our president mean nothing to us. It is Özel himself who is politically weak. It is his party that resorted to political pickpocketing for years by standing hostile against the nation’s will and by failing to confront the shameful outlook today,” he said, referring to corruption allegations against CHP-run municipalities.
“Özel would contribute to our political life if he could confront political scandals within his party. Otherwise, his remarks are merely an attempt to cover up the truth,” he said.
The CHP leader lashed out at Çerçioğlu in his speech in Aydın as he called for her resignation and branded her a “coward.”
“We are after you,” he said, before mocking Çerçioğlu over her nickname “efe,” a local Turkish name in Aydın used for fearless people. Çerçioğlu, in return, announced that she’d filed a lawsuit against Özel over the latter’s alleged insults.
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