Politics
Türkiye opened new chapter after defeating July 15 coup attempt: Erdoğan
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Tuesday that Türkiye opened a new chapter after the failed July 15, 2016, coup attempt was defeated through public resistance, arguing that subsequent reforms strengthened the country’s democratic and institutional resilience.
Erdoğan made the remarks in a written message sent to a symposium titled “July 15 in Its 10th Year: Political and Legal Dimensions,” organized by the Justice and Development Party’s (AK Party) Political and Legal Affairs Department at the party’s headquarters in Ankara.
He said the true intentions of the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ), which is responsible for the coup attempt, became clear on the night of July 15.
Erdoğan accused the group of exploiting people’s religious and charitable sentiments for four decades under the guise of service, donations and education.
“The successful defeat of the coup attempt through the resistance of our cherished nation opened an entirely new chapter for Türkiye,” Erdoğan noted.
He commemorated the 253 people killed during the coup attempt and expressed gratitude to those who were wounded.
Erdoğan said Türkiye had both removed what he described as a clandestine terrorist network embedded in state institutions and taken measures to safeguard its democracy.
He identified the presidential system of government, introduced following a 2017 referendum, as one of the most significant changes made after the coup attempt.
The president said the system eliminated dual authority within the executive branch, accelerated decision-making and strengthened the state’s ability to manage crises.
He cited Türkiye’s response to the Russia-Ukraine war, the COVID-19 pandemic, the Feb. 6 earthquakes and what he described as the latest Iran-centered crisis as examples of the system’s effectiveness.
Turkish leader also vowed that Türkiye would continue its campaign against FETÖ within the framework of the law.
“We will never take a step back in the fight against FETÖ,” he stressed, adding that authorities would continue working to prevent another attempted coup.
TCG Istanbul, a frigate of the Turkish navy, made a port visit to Syria’s Latakia on Monday, the Ministry of National Defense announced. Aboard it was Adm. Ercüment Tatlıoğlu, head of the Turkish Naval Forces Command.
The ministry said it was the first time the navy visited neighboring Syria since the collapse of the Assad regime in 2024.
Latakia has long been a stronghold of Bashar Assad, an avowed enemy of Türkiye, which sought diplomacy with the Assad regime in the first years of the civil war to end the conflict.
After forces led by incumbent President Ahmed al-Sharaa overthrew the Baathist regime, Türkiye rekindled relations with Syria, pledging to help with its rebuilding.
Last week, an engineering brigade of the Turkish army set up a 240-meter-long floating bridge on a part of the Euphrates River in Syria’s Deir Az-Zour.
Al-Sharaa was in Türkiye last week, where he met President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on the margins of a NATO summit in Ankara.
In 2025, two countries signed a comprehensive security agreement that includes joint military training and exchange of expertise and know-how in matters of security.
Latakia, where the frigate anchored at, also carries significance for Türkiye as a major hub in the Eastern Mediterranean where Turkish interests are abundant. Türkiye has been vigilant against Israel-Greek Cypriot cooperation in the region and seeks to defend the rights of Turkish Cypriots in the divided island, especially in terms of maritime borders where Greek Cypriots seek to exploit hydrocarbon resources unilaterally.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan arrived in Doha on Tuesday to offer his condolences following the death of the country’s former emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani.
Upon arrival, Erdoğan met with Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.
Sheikh Hamad, who ruled Qatar from 1995 to 2013, died Sunday at the age of 74 after a prolonged illness. He was laid to rest at Lusail Cemetery in Doha, while Qatari authorities declared four days of national mourning.
The former emir stepped down in 2013, handing power to his son, the current Emir Sheikh Tamim.
In a condolence message shared Sunday, Erdoğan described Sheikh Hamad as “a very valuable friend” and credited him with making significant contributions to the development of Türkiye-Qatar relations.
The Turkish president said the former emir had played an important role in advancing political, economic, military, humanitarian and cultural ties between the two countries during their years of cooperation.
Erdoğan also praised Sheikh Hamad’s efforts for the stability of the region, the well-being of the Qatari people and peace across the Islamic world.
“Türkiye’s place is not in the waiting room of Europe,” Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli said Tuesday.
The government ally lamented that the European Union acted with political calculations instead of seeing the reality about Türkiye. “Türkiye’s membership process has been assessed based more on political judgment than technical criteria,” he told a parliamentary group meeting of his party in Ankara. “They blocked chapters of accession, postponed their responsibility and have not fulfilled their promises while Türkiye’s fair expectations have been overshadowed by (Europe’s own) agenda,” he said.
Bahçeli’s remarks are a reflection of Türkiye’s oft-repeated frustration with the bloc and come at a time when Türkiye strives for another shot at membership as the continent explores collaboration options, especially for security in the shadow of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Earlier this month, Türkiye hosted a NATO summit attended by EU heads of state and government. The summit was also an occasion for Türkiye to call for more cooperation with European Union countries, especially in defense.
The MHP itself has been a target of European Parliament reports critical of the country, with calls for the criminalization of Ülkü Ocakları or Idealists’ Clubs, known as Grey Wolves in Europe, an affiliate of the party.
“Europe narrowed its strategic horizon by keeping Türkiye in its waiting room. They think Europe will remain strong by excluding Türkiye, but I suggest they see the security and stability challenges they face now. Europe is increasingly facing a strategic uncertainty,” Bahçeli stated.
Bahçeli also hit out at Greece’s stance on Türkiye’s relations with the European Union. “It is neither smart nor sustainable to limit Europe’s security with political calculations of Athens,” he said.
“Third countries cannot hold Turkish-European relations hostage,” Bahçeli added. Greece and the Greek Cypriot administration often oppose Türkiye’s ambitions for EU membership or the expansion of security and defense cooperation between the bloc and Ankara.
“No country has the right to present its own problems with other countries as a joint security challenge for the entire Europe,” he underlined.
The office of Özgür Özel, who was ousted from his post as chair of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) last May, announced that they would seek an extraordinary congress in a reelection bid. They formally applied to a local court for an order to the new administration to hold the congress.
An Ankara court has ruled that Özel’s tenure was null and void in a case where his associates were accused of buying votes during a 2023 intraparty election. Özel won that election, ending the lengthy rule of Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu. Kılıçdaroğlu was reinstated to the office after the May verdict. Since then, Özel and his supporters have been plotting a return to the administration of Türkiye’s oldest party.
Kılıçdaroğlu has signaled that his administration may soon hold a congress for a new election, but Özel, who is now reduced to the job of parliamentary group chair of the CHP, sought to speed up the process before the 2028 general elections, which may also be rescheduled to 2027.
Özel’s office said they collected signatures of 833 delegates for a petition for a new congress. The statement said the signatures were delivered to the Kılıçdaroğlu administration on June 17, in line with the legal deadline, but the administration failed to act upon the call. “In line with Article 75 of Turkish Civil Law, application by one member of the administrative board of the party is sufficient to hold a meeting, for formation of a delegation to organize the congress,” the statement said.
Özel and Kılıçdaroğlu are engaged in a well-publicized row over the future of the divided CHP. Kılıçdaroğlu earlier vowed to “cleanse” the CHP of corruption associated with Özel supporters in the party while Özel accused him of serving the interests of the government to disrupt what he calls CHP’s rise to power.
Özel has signaled earlier that he may establish a new party. Speaking to private broadcaster TV100 on Monday, Kılıçdaroğlu said he would respect Özel’s “fight” within the party. “But they have no right to run a parallel structure in the party,” he said, referring to Özel’s nationwide campaign to seek support while the Kılıçdaroğlu administration continues to expel provincial branch directors of the CHP loyal to Özel.
“We may have a debate among ourselves, but we cannot be divided. If they decided to split because I am purging the corrupt ones, this is a grave situation,” he said. “You cannot remain in the party, remain its parliamentary group chair while working to establish a new party,” he stated.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan received Pakistan’s Field Marshal Asim Munir, chief of defense forces, at the Ankara Airport on Tuesday. Erdoğan was about to leave for Qatar on an official visit, while Munir is on a two-day official visit to Türkiye that began on Monday.
The meeting was closed to the press and was also attended by Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz, Turkish Chief of General Staff Selçuk Bayraktaroğlu and National Intelligence Organization (MIT) director Ibrahim Kalın. Munir has held a separate meeting with Bayraktaroğlu on Monday.
Munir raised his profile in recent months as he played a key role in Pakistan’s diplomatic efforts for mediation between the U.S. and Iran.
Türkiye-Pakistan relations reached to new highs under the leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who was also in Türkiye earlier this month.
Türkiye and Pakistan enjoy close and friendly ties, which in recent years have further expanded to also include a new grouping – the Regional Four (R-4), a diplomatic partnership – also involving Egypt and Saudi Arabia. Defense cooperation stands out as one of the strongest pillars of relations between the duo.
Greek Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis defended his country’s foreign policy regarding neighboring Türkiye and stated that closing the communication channels with the country, as government critics said would be “a policy of destruction.”
Türkiye and Greece pursue rapprochement in their relations after decades of hostilities, but thorny issues between them appear to take time to be resolved. Among them is the maritime borders across the Aegean, the sea dividing two countries. Greece’s attempt to expand those borders led Türkiye to declare casus belli or cause of war in the 1990s, and it still remains in place. In an interview with Greece’s ERT, the top diplomat said it has been a “huge burden” on relations and it was “long overdue” to remove the casus belli.
The countries, which came close to an all-out war in the 1990s over the Aegean Sea, remain vigilant, with Türkiye concentrating on developing a domestic defense industry. Greece relies on foreign partners to boost its defenses. Embracing the doctrine of being effective and powerful at sea, as its predecessor, the Ottomans, were, Türkiye in the past two decades, has developed an independent defense industry capable of operating in open waters, thereby shifting geopolitical balances in its favor. The navy plays a critical role in ensuring the security of maritime trade routes in the Eastern Mediterranean, the Black Sea and the Aegean Sea, promoting regional stability.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis was in Ankara earlier this month for the NATO summit and was welcomed by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Answering questions on a possible decision by the United States to sell F-35 fighter jets to Türkiye, Mitsotakis has called on NATO to be sensitive toward “an open threat of war.”
Türkiye is closely following the fate of Taner Balat, who disappeared in Greece
Decade after coup attempt, Turkish business groups hail economic resilience
Directorate of Communications hosts 41 foreign journalists from 21 countries in Türkiye on the occasion of July 15
Türkiye is closely following the fate of Taner Balat, who disappeared in Greece
Decade after coup attempt, Turkish business groups hail economic resilience
Directorate of Communications hosts 41 foreign journalists from 21 countries in Türkiye on the occasion of July 15
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