A Reuters report that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has instructed officials to hold talks on reopening the Greek Orthodox Halki Seminary, which has remained closed since 1971, along with his recent meeting with Greek Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew and previous remarks made alongside U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House, has renewed questions over the future of the historic theological school.

“The fundamental issue is not whether the seminary should reopen, but under what legal framework it would operate,” Zakir Avşar, a professor from Ankara Hacı Bayram Veli University, told Daily Sabah. “If such an institution were established outside Türkiye’s higher education system as an autonomous or semi-sovereign entity, it could erode the state’s authority to regulate and oversee education.”

According to a report by Reuters, President Erdoğan has reportedly instructed officials to begin talks on reopening the Greek Orthodox Halki Seminary.

The move followed Erdoğan’s June 16 meeting with Bartholomew at the Presidential Complex in Ankara.

The meeting, which was held behind closed doors, has fueled speculation that efforts to reopen the historic seminary may be gaining momentum.

“The question of reopening the Halki Seminary is frequently reduced to a debate over religious freedom in Türkiye,” Avşar said.

He noted that the issue is far more layered, involving constitutional law, minority rights, international law, state sovereignty and diplomatic negotiations. It cannot be properly assessed without taking into account both its historical background and its legal foundations.

The Halki Seminary, located on Heybeliada, was founded in 1844 under the name Higher Orthodox School of Theology to train Orthodox clergy.

The seminary effectively ceased operations in 1971 after its theology department was closed following a ruling by Türkiye’s Constitutional Court requiring private higher education institutions to be affiliated with state universities.

The patriarchate declined to accept the requirement, bringing theological education at the institution to an end.

“In modern state theory, education is regarded as one of the core functions of state sovereignty. The provision of religious education for minority communities cannot be considered outside this constitutional framework,” Avşar said.

He offered that any potential model should therefore be designed in full compliance with the constitutional order and national education legislation.

Following the meeting between Erdoğan and Bartholomew on June 16, Mor Ignatius Aphrem II, the patriarch of the Syriac Orthodox Church, was also received by the Turkish leader on Tuesday in Ankara. The patriarch was accompanied by a delegation of clerics from the community.

The Syriac community had its first church in the republic era built under Erdoğan’s governments. The church was opened in 2023 in Istanbul’s Yeşilköy neighborhood in a ceremony attended by Erdoğan. It is estimated that about 17,000 Syriac residents live in the city. Assyrian Christianity traces its history to communities that lived in the A.D. first century in a region stretching from southeastern Türkiye to Syria and Iraq.

Avşar noted that under international human rights law, the ability of religious communities to train their own clergy is generally recognized as part of the institutional dimension of freedom of religion, adding that this principle has also been reflected in various rulings of the European Court of Human Rights.

“However, contemporary legal scholarship does not treat this as an absolute or unrestricted right,” he said.

Reminding that legitimate limitations based on public order, constitutional sovereignty and national security are recognized even in liberal democracies, he underlined, “The issue is therefore not a conflict between religious freedom and state sovereignty, but rather one of maintaining a careful normative balance between the two.”

The seminary provided a rigorous education in theology, philosophy and the arts, fostering a generation of educated clergy capable of leading the Orthodox community both spiritually and intellectually.

Halki quickly gained a reputation as the premier institution for Orthodox theological education, attracting students from Greece, the Balkans, the Middle East and parts of Eastern Europe. Its curriculum encompassed Orthodox doctrine, biblical studies, liturgics and pastoral care, preparing graduates for leadership roles within the church.

According to Avşar, Erdoğan’s approach to this issue, as well as to other areas involving religious sensitivities, is based on freedom, fairness and the preservation of sovereignty.

“What stands out here is the preference for controlled diplomatic flexibility rather than categorical rejection or unconditional acceptance,” he added.

Moreover, the state of Halki seminary was among the topics discussed between Erdoğan and Trump during the two leaders’ meeting at the White House on Sept. 28, 2025.

Erdoğan signaled that he will soon meet with the Greek Orthodox patriarch to discuss the possible reopening of the school. “We are ready to do whatever is incumbent upon us regarding the Heybeliada school,” Erdoğan told Trump during their meeting. “I will have the opportunity to discuss this matter with Bartholomew upon my return.”

Avşar stressed that a sound solution would require a model that reconciles rights-based demands with the institutional continuity of the state within the same legal framework, rather than treating them as opposing poles.

“Türkiye’s historical state experience, legal tradition and diplomatic capacity provide a strong intellectual and institutional basis for establishing this balance,” he concluded.

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Outgoing Hungarian Ambassador Viktor Matis says he will leave Türkiye with “a part of our hearts,” reflecting on more than 13 years spent in the country as he prepares to conclude his diplomatic mission after overseeing one of the strongest periods in modern Turkish-Hungarian relations.

Speaking in an interview at the former Hungarian Embassy building in Ankara, Matis said his years in Türkiye transformed not only bilateral relations but also his family’s life, making the country a permanent part of their identity.

“My family truly became a family here,” Matis said. “One of my sons was born in Ankara. Türkiye’s capital will always remain a part of our lives.”

Matis first served in Türkiye before being appointed ambassador in 2019, bringing his total time in the country to 13.5 years. During his tenure, he witnessed major events ranging from the July 15, 2016, coup attempt to the devastating earthquakes that struck southern Türkiye in February 2023.

He described the earthquakes as the most unforgettable experience of his diplomatic career.

“I thought July 15 would always remain the most unforgettable night of my life,” he said, recalling his time as Hungary’s charge d’affaires during the failed coup attempt. “But after the earthquakes in 2023, I experienced something I will never forget. That was when I truly saw how resilient and strong the Turkish people are.”

Following the earthquakes, Hungarian search-and-rescue teams were deployed to Türkiye, while Matis and embassy staff traveled to Hatay, one of the hardest-hit provinces.

Outside official duties, Matis said he made a conscious effort to integrate into daily life in Ankara.

For more than seven years, he and his family lived in the Çankaya and Ayrancı districts, buying simit from neighborhood bakeries, shopping at local stores and becoming familiar faces in the community.

“We tried to become real residents of Ankara,” he said.

His travels extended well beyond the capital.

Matis said he had visited 74 of Türkiye’s 81 provinces, often driving with his family rather than traveling solely on official business.

From Kars in the east to Datça on the Aegean coast, he noted that he sought to experience Türkiye’s landscapes, cultural heritage and regional traditions firsthand, while also trying to visit every UNESCO World Heritage Site in the country.

“You have a truly wonderful country,” he said. “For foreign diplomats, it is an extraordinary opportunity.”

Asked which cities left the strongest impression, Matis described Ankara as his family’s first home, praised Istanbul for its history and culture, and said Antalya and its surrounding coastline remained among his favorite destinations for nature.

He also highlighted Mardin’s multicultural atmosphere and Gaziantep’s renowned cuisine.

Known among Turkish football fans for supporting Gençlerbirliği, Matis recalled purchasing a season ticket during his earlier diplomatic posting and continuing to attend matches throughout his time in Ankara.

He laughed while recounting an evening when security staff and fellow supporters were surprised to find Hungary’s ambassador waiting in line with ordinary fans rather than entering through a VIP gate.

“I wanted to watch football like everyone else,” he said.

His children, he added, own several Gençlerbirliği jerseys, which have become some of their favorite clothing.

Matis also reflected on the rapid development of Turkish-Hungarian relations during his tenure.

“When I began my mission in 2019 and compare it with where we are today in 2026, relations have gained remarkable momentum,” he said. “I was in the right place at the right time.”

He further noted that bilateral trade had more than doubled despite temporary disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, reaching approximately $5.5 billion (TL 255.83 billion).

The ambassador also pointed to the decision by Ankara and Budapest to elevate their partnership to an enhanced strategic level in December 2023, coinciding with the centennial of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

Subsequent initiatives, including the Turkish-Hungarian Cultural Year in 2024 and the Turkish-Hungarian Innovation Year in 2025, further expanded cooperation in tourism, education, culture and technology, he said.

Looking ahead, Matis reaffirmed Hungary’s support for Türkiye’s European Union membership process and praised cooperation within NATO, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), and the Organization of Turkic States (OTS), where Hungary holds observer status.

He argued that both countries play significant roles in maintaining regional stability and emphasized Türkiye’s strategic importance within NATO.

“The NATO summit being held in Türkiye is not merely symbolic,” he said. “It represents the beginning of a new period for the alliance.”

As he prepares to return home, Matis said his family would take countless memories, books and handcrafted souvenirs from across Türkiye.

“But if you ask what we are leaving behind,” he said, “it is a part of our hearts.”

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Although briefly, a funeral united the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) on Thursday.

Since he was ousted from office with a court verdict last month, former Chair Özgür Özel saw his successor, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, for the first time at the funeral ceremony at Parliament in Ankara.

The two men, who have savagely reprimanded each other for days, shook hands at the ceremony for former lawmaker Orhan Sür. Yet, this was pretty much the entirety of the encounter. Kılıçdaroğlu left the ceremony minutes later while turning down questions by journalists who inquired how it felt to return to Parliament. Özel, now serving as parliamentary group chair of the party, returned to his office at Parliament following the funeral.

The encounter, however, is not expected to go beyond a simple gesture of kindness as Kılıçdaroğlu was expected to chair a disciplinary board of the party later on Thursday, to consider expulsions of members close to Özel. Özel insists he is still the rightful holder of the office and repeatedly urged Kılıçdaroğlu to hold a new intraparty election, confident of winning again, three years after he defeated the longstanding leader in a November election. An Ankara court has ruled that Özel’s victory was dubious amid allegations of vote-buying and reinstated him to the office. Özel appealed to the verdict, and the case is now before a higher court.

Thursday’s disciplinary board meeting was expected to focus on appeals by CHP members expelled at the earlier meetings. The Sabah newspaper reported on Thursday that the Kılıçdaroğlu administration plans to launch disciplinary actions for two lawmakers at next week’s central executive board meeting at the party. Along with Cemal Enginyurt and Adnan Beker, the two men who staunchly support Özel’s claim to office, the heads of CHP’s provincial branches in Düzce, Sinop and Kars will be referred to the disciplinary board, the newspaper said.

Accepting the job as chairperson of the CHP made Kılıçdaroğlu a target of the pro-Özel camp in the party, who have branded him as a traitor. Although Özel avoided the word so far, he has accused Kılıçdaroğlu of serving the government in what he called a “political” court verdict that removed him from office.

Mounting hatred in the party apparently forced Kılıçdaroğlu to skip an event in Istanbul on Thursday. The party has announced that he would travel to the city for the first time since the reinstatement on Thursday morning, in a motorcade planned as a show of force for the Kılıçdaroğlu supporters. However, the CHP chair scrapped the plans, reasoning that it could be “wrong under current circumstances. He said in a social media post on Thursday that he originally planned to attend an Ashura event in Istanbul but decided to skip it as it would be “better not to attend due to the current atmosphere.”

“The best stance, sometimes, is not joining the crowd. It is also best not to join others to politicize faith,” he said.

Kılıçdaroğlu, who highlighted his Alevi identity during a presidential campaign in 2023, said he has never succumbed to using any faith as a political propaganda at any point in his life. “We won’t allow Ashura, the month of Muharram, one of the most exceptional times of the Islamic faith, to be exploited for political polemics, tensions and propaganda,” he said in the post.

Kılıçdaroğlu’s critics claimed earlier that he planned his entry to Istanbul deliberately in the morning rush hour to give the perception that his supporters had a long convoy, by mingling with rush hour traffic on Istanbul’s Asian side.

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Turkish Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş on Wednesday called for comprehensive reform across the Islamic world, stressing the need for stronger political, economic and institutional cooperation, while welcoming recent progress in negotiations between the United States and Iran.

During the 20th Conference of the Parliamentary Union of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Baku, Kurtulmuş said the Islamic world needs an “A-to-Z reform process,” stressing that reform should not mean abandoning Islamic values but rather reconnecting with them and adapting them to contemporary realities.

“I would like to underline that political, institutional and intellectual reforms are among the most fundamental issues facing Islamic countries,” he said.

He argued that the emerging global order presents significant opportunities for the Islamic world, citing its population of more than 2 billion people, 57 member states, natural resources and economic potential.

The official further called for greater unity and cooperation among Muslim countries, saying sectarian, ethnic and political differences should be viewed as a source of richness rather than conflict.

On regional issues, he welcomed what he described as positive developments in U.S.-Iran negotiations held in Switzerland.

“We appreciate that the negotiations between the U.S. and Iran have reached a positive point,” he said, adding: “We hope this agreement will be respected, the talks will continue positively until the end, and the war imposed on Iran will be permanently ended, paving the way for a genuine atmosphere of peace.”

He also stressed the importance of ending Israeli attacks in Lebanon, saying: “Lebanon belongs to the Lebanese and Palestine belongs to the Palestinians.”

Kurtulmuş further voiced support for ongoing peace negotiations between Azerbaijan and Armenia, expressing hope that they would lead to a lasting settlement and contribute to long-term stability in the South Caucasus.

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U.S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday he would “probably do something” that would make Türkiye happy, signaling a potential shift on Ankara’s requests for F-35 fighter jets and jet engines needed for its indigenous Kaan fighter aircraft program, ahead of the upcoming NATO summit in Ankara.

Speaking to reporters as he met NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte at the White House, Trump pointed to Türkiye’s NATO membership when asked whether he was going to Türkiye “with a big gift bag.”

“Look, he’s a member of NATO. Some people don’t consider himself (a NATO member), but he really is. He’s a strong member of NATO,” Trump said.

“Yeah, I’m going to probably do something that’s going to make him very happy,” he added.

Türkiye is getting ready to host NATO leaders at a summit in the capital Ankara on July 7-8.

Rutte, for his part, said Türkiye has a “huge” defense industrial base.

Trump replied: “People don’t know how big Türkiye is in terms of the military. It’s very strong. They have a lot of our equipment, a very strong military, because of him.”

Trump added that he likely would not have attended the summit had it not been hosted in Türkiye by President Erdoğan.

“I’m going out of respect to President Erdogan,” Trump said.

The engines, produced by General Electric, will power Türkiye’s first indigenous combat jet KAAN, a major project launched in 2016 as part of NATO member Ankara’s efforts to be more self-sufficient in its defense.

President Erdoğan had previously called Türkiye’s removal from the F-35 fighter jet program “unjust,” stressing that its reentry is key to NATO security. Ankara was excluded from the U.S.-led multinational program in 2019 over its purchase of Russian-made S-400 air defense systems. Ever since, it has repeatedly called the move unfair and voiced hope that the sides could overcome the issue during U.S. President Donald Trump’s second term.

Despite boasting NATO’s second-largest army, Türkiye often faced arms embargoes in the past. That pushed it to significantly boost domestic capabilities and curb foreign dependence over the last two decades.

Today, it produces a wide range of vehicles and arms types domestically, including its own drones, missiles and naval vessels. It’s also developing its own fifth-generation fighter jet.

Named Kaan, the stealth fighter is sought to replace the Air Force Command’s aging F-16 fleet, which is planned to be phased out starting in the 2030s.

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Mayors of Seferihisar and Balçova districts of Türkiye’s third largest city Izmir were detained on Thursday in another operation against rampant corruption at municipalities run by the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP).

Seferihisar’s Ismail Yetişkin and Balçova’s Onur Yiğit were among 24 suspects detained on charges of corruption and bribery. This was the third wave of operations against alleged corruption at the Seferihisar municipality that led more detentions earlier. Other suspects include municipal staff and businesspeople.

Suspects alleged of taking and/or giving bribes for construction and zoning permits violating regulations and the evidence against them include suspicious cash flow on bank accounts, especially before March 2024 municipal elections.

Dozens of mayors and municipal bureaucrats from the CHP were detained or arrested in the past two years in investigations focusing on corruption. Majority of allegations involve bribery in return of construction permits which are otherwise subject to strict regulations, and rigging the lucrative tenders of municipalities.

Izmir is a stronghold of the CHP and is among cities most affected by what critics call poor management, especially in terms of financial resources of municipalities. Since the 2024 elections, the district municipalities of the city saw major strikes by employees complaining unpaid wages. Meanwhile, the city’s mayor Cemil Tugay recently announced his resignation from the party after the CHP’s former leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu was reinstated to office by a court verdict in a case of alleged vote-buying in a 2023 intra-party election.

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