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The Anatolian Bridge: Hakan Fidan’s Security-First Diplomacy
“The keeper of Turkey’s secrets – and of my own secrets.” This is how Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has described his foreign minister, Hakan Fidan, on more than one occasion. Fidan has sought to position Turkey as a balancing pathway between East and West, in line with what is often referred to as the…
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Through Riyadh and Cairo’s Gateway, Turkey Repositions Itself in the Arab World
The visit of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to Saudi Arabia and Egypt was much more significant and substantive than a mere traditional visit. It rather signaled Ankara’s return to Arab heartland. In addition to closing the chapter on years of strained relations, the visit, according to observers, laid the foundations for a partnership based…
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A New Regional Troika Takes Shape in the Middle East
Since Ahmed al-Sharaa assumed the presidency in Syria in January 2025, relations between Egypt and Syria have been marked by coolness and caution. Cairo has attentively followed developments in Syria, focusing primarily on reaching security understandings to help ensure stability amid rapidly shifting regional dynamics. This engagement, however, largely remained confined to the security sphere.…
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Ankara: Problem or Partner?
Turkey has moved so far into the center of Middle Eastern power that even its rivals can no longer plan without it. In this conversation with Soner Çağaptay, director of the Turkish Research Program at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, for The Diplomat, he captured the shift in one line that explains almost…
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Israel–Turkey: Is Conflict Inevitable?
Two years after the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks and the Gaza war they ignited, Israel and Turkey remain locked in one of the Middle East’s strangest rivalries. Though both countries are U.S. allies and closely bound to each other by trade, they are increasingly at odds over Syria, energy routes, and the politics of Hamas.…