Amid signs of an impending operation against the YPG, the Syrian offshoot of the PKK, at certain points on the eastern side of Turkish-Syrian border, Turkey conducted a major aerial strike with 20 aircraft against multiple PKK positions in Sinjar and Mount Karacak regions in northern Iraq late Dec. 13.
According to the UN, war-torn Yemen is on the brink of a major catastrophe as nearly three-quarters of its 22 million population need humanitarian aid and protection. The conditions on one of the poorest nations of the world have drastically worsened in the last seven years.
Turkey and the European Union started official talks on Nov 29 in Brussels on how to best use the second three billion Euros to be provided by Brussels for 4 million Syrians being hosted in the former’s territories since the beginning of the civil war in 2011.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will embark on a week-long trip to South America on Nov. 28 where he will attend the G-20 Summit in Buenos Aires and will pay official visits to Venezuela and Paraguay. Along with other world leaders, it’s probable that Erdoğan will hold a bilateral meeting with Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on the margins of the summit.
The European Union-Turkey High-Level Political Dialogue Meeting, which normally has to convene every six months, has taken place in the Turkish capital after a 16-month break with the participation of EU High Representative Federica Mogherini and enlargement commissioner Johannes Hahn hosted by Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu.
Turkey’s Syria pre-occupation has many fronts. For eastern Syria, its concerns are on the YPG’s presence and its cooperation with the United States. For Manbij, Turkey is making an effort to implement a deal with the U.S. for the withdrawal of YPG troops the east of the Euphrates River.
It has been more than a month since Turkey and the United States have left the Brunson affair behind and engaged in a new diplomatic campaign to resolve pending bilateral and regional problems.
Hürriyet Daily News reported on Nov. 15 that Turkey and the European Union will hold two high-level meetings in the next two weeks as part of a joint effort in re-opening institutional dialogue channels.
With four-and-a-half months to go until local polls, the political parties have accelerated their efforts for the best possible results. Their works have two objectives: Finding the best candidates and looking into opportunities for the appointment of joint candidates in key constituencies, like Istanbul, Ankara and other big cities.
