Erdogan government

The overthrow of the Assad regime caused a global surprise, a development that, depending on the politics of each country, had a different footprint. As the Bloomberg financial news agency reports, for Türkiye, the Syrian president’s fall translates as a big win for Erdogan.

Russia, the US, and even Iran, however, are anxiously watching developments.

New information regarding the actions of the man and woman who carried out the terrorist attack on Wednesday afternoon at the Turkish Aerospace Industries (TUSAŞ) facilities has been revealed by Turkish media.

Although the Erdoğan government has not officially named the PKK as the organization behind the attack, the Kurdish group has already been identified by two ministers.

The United States must take a firmer stance toward Turkey and stop underestimating the growing anti-American sentiment in the country, according to Steven Cook, Eni Enrico Mattei senior fellow for Middle East and Africa studies at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) in Washington, in this interview with Kathimerini.

Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the main challenger trying to unseat Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the May 14 presidential election, has raised the issue of demilitarizing Greece's eastern Aegean islands through a campaign video on Twitter, while also criticizing the Erdogan government for doing "nothing" about the matter.

The chairperson of the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations has reiterated his opposition to the sale of F-16 fighters to Turkey, saying "Turkey has not done enough to be rewarded in this way."

"I continue to be against the sale of F-16s," Senator Bob Menendez told state broadcaster ERT, adding that the Erdogan government needs to stop its belligerent behavior towards Greece.

The resumption of Turkey's challenging Greek sovereignty over some islands in the east Aegean with Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu's proposal that all differences between the two countries, including those which dispute Greece's rights, are referred to the international court at The Hague came as no surprise to anyone following developments in the last few months.

Influential US Senator Bob Menendez reiterated his high-profile objections to the sale of new F-16s and the upgrading of Turkey's current fleet of the US-made warplane, in an exclusive soon-to-be broadcast interview with Mega Channel.

An online petition calling on US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to stop the unconditional sale of Lockheed Martin Corp F-16 fighter jets and modernization kits to Turkey, has been started by the #NoJetsForTurkey coalition led by the Hellenic American Leadership Council advocacy group.

Time is running out for the NATO Summit - expected at the end of the month (June 28-30) - where Recep Tayyip Erdogan will be called upon to take a clear position on the accession of Finland and Sweden to the North Atlantic Alliance.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis on Thursday spoke with UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay, with the former expressing his and the government deep sadness and abhorrence with condition of the Hagia Sophia, a World Heritage Site and the greatest basilica of eastern Christendom.