Turkish Factor
Turkey's role in the region
Uzbekistan is guest of honour at a gathering Ankara does not convene
The Kurultaj opens on the Bugac puszta today. Tomorrow’s ceremony lists the secretary general of the Organization of Turkic States, the culture ministers of Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, the president of TURKSOY and one Turkish party official. The host is a Hungarian foundation and the mayor of a village of two thousand.
Ankara's condolences on 10 August went to Colombia
Eight Uzbek citizens and one Tajik citizen were killed at Nizhnekamsk on 10 August. The Turkish foreign ministry issued a condolence statement that day, numbered 155, about an earthquake in Colombia. It has published four releases since 10 August and none of them mentions the nine.
Russia's first answer on the Black Sea moratorium comes from a Duma deputy
Turkey's proposal for a moratorium on maritime strikes drew its first Russian pushback on Tuesday, at parliamentary level.
The shipping war’s damaged ships head for the yards
Two of the vessels hit off Novorossiysk this month now have names and destinations: the container ship LDR Yasar is under damage assessment in Samsun, and the dry cargo carrier Gulluk is sailing to Istanbul for repairs.
Turkey reopens the straits without saying why it closed them
Tankers bound for Novorossiysk are moving again after a pause Ankara never explained and now calls a set of temporary measures. In Astana, the Energy Ministry put its detour list on the record on Monday.
Turkey pauses the straits, and Kazakh oil waits
From Thursday to Sunday, vessels bound for Novorossiysk could not get permits to transit the Turkish straits. The pause revealed a second gate on Kazakhstan’s main export route, and nobody in Astana holds the key.
Ankara puts two names on the shipping war
Turkey’s foreign ministry on Tuesday named two Turkish-owned ships hit in a single evening off Novorossiysk and told the warring parties to make the Black Sea safe for civilian navigation. Kazakhstan’s export recovery now depends on how much of that warning the tanker market believes.
The Turkic Moment: What Erdogan's Astana Visit Reveals About Kazakhstan's Strategic Choices
Thirteen agreements, a record trade surge, and a new medal — but Ankara and Astana are reading the partnership through different lenses