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Tag: Ankara

  • Turkey’s ‘big move’ of cutting economic ties with Israel probably won’t last

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    Turkey has suspended trade and airspace access to Israel, but past patterns suggest rhetoric may outpace impact as Israel adapts and Ankara weighs its own costs.

    Turkey announced Friday that it is cutting all economic and commercial ties with Israel. Turkish ports would be closed to Israeli vessels. Turkish ships will be barred from Israeli harbors. Israeli aircraft will not be allowed in Turkish airspace.

    Many hours after the announcement, Turkish diplomatic sources said that the closure of airspace only applies to official Israeli government planes as well as aircraft carrying weapons to Israel, and not to civilian flights. Still, the Turkish government has yet to make an official announcement regarding this clarification.

    The measures mark a sharp escalation in already tense relations, though experience shows Ankara’s declarations often sound tougher than their actual impact.

    The question is not whether these measures sting in the short term, but whether they will endure or materially change the balance between the two countries. Israel has navigated Turkish restrictions before, with more noise than bite. The country’s diversified supply chains and its habit of building redundancies give it room to maneuver.

    Consider the numbers. In 2023, two-way trade was roughly $7 billion. Turkish exports to Israel accounted for about six percent of Israel’s total imports, and Israeli exports to Turkey were in the range of $1.5-$1.6 billion.

    Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan poses with Hisar medium air defense surface-to-air missile system and Siper high to medium air defense surface-to-air missile system ,during a ceremony at Aselsan Golbasi Campus in Ankara, Turkey, August 27, 2025. (credit: Murat Kula/Presidential Press Office/Handout)

    When Ankara tightened the screws, the Bank of Israel stated that the economy’s “open” structure helped mitigate the shock and that the impact on imports and prices was limited. In other words, Israel found substitutes at a rapid pace, including for sensitive inputs such as cement.

    Enforcement has also proved inconsistent. “Sweeping” proclamations in 2024 were followed by reports of goods moving via third countries. Reuters reported that Turkish exporters with firm orders quickly explored routes through hubs such as Greece, Bulgaria, or Romania once the ban hit.

    A Reuters data graphic later highlighted a jump in recorded exports to the Palestinian territories, raising questions about whether some goods were still reaching Israel after transshipment.

    Even during the boycott period, practice diverged from politics in surprising ways. As the Post reported in August 2024, “IDF bases are powered by [a] Turkish-owned plant,” an awkward reminder that business realities, long-term contracts, and infrastructure ties rarely stop on a dime. That dissonance is not an argument for complacency; it is a reason to treat Ankara’s latest move as pressure, not permanence.

    Erdogan makes bold statements, weak actions

    Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s rhetoric has consistently escalated alongside these steps, often framing Israel in apocalyptic terms to satisfy domestic politics and regional positioning. Yet the economic and diplomatic calculus points in another direction.

    Turkey remains a NATO member that depends on Western markets and investment. A prolonged freeze on all Israel-related trade, shipping, and overflight would also exact costs on Turkish producers who value access to Israel’s consumer market and to Israeli technology and services.

    The rivalry is part of a wider competition that stretches from the eastern Mediterranean to northern Syria. In April, the Post reported that Israel and Turkey were exploring a “deconfliction mechanism in Syria,” with the aim to “prevent friction” as both operate in the same battle space. A companion analysis argued that such a channel is necessary given the pace of Israeli air activity and Ankara’s ambitions to shape Syria’s future.

    What should Israel do now? First, keep the temperature low and the logistics nimble. Importers have already diversified toward Europe and Asia. The government should accelerate regulatory smoothing for substitute suppliers, monitor spot prices for key materials, and publish regular updates on supply chains to reassure consumers and builders alike.

    Second, treat the embargo as a strategic lesson, not just an inconvenience. Reducing single-country dependencies is prudent, and the last year has shown that private ingenuity, combined with clear government signals, can close gaps.

    Third, maintain focus on the strategic theater where miscalculation would be most costly. If there is a real channel to coordinate in Syria, Israel should test it, carefully and quietly, with clear redlines. This does not mean normalizing relations with Ankara on Turkey’s terms – it means minimizing operational risk where both sides already operate, while continuing to expose and counter Turkish support for actors that threaten Israeli security.

    In the near term, expect more drama than transformation. Turkey may enforce the new measures tightly for weeks or months; a complete and enduring rupture is unlikely. Turkish products can still reach Israel through third-party hubs, and Israeli buyers will lean harder on alternate suppliers, which reduces Ankara’s leverage over time.

    The smart bet is that, after the shouting, practice will again creep ahead of proclamation.

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  • Kurdish militants claim responsibility for deadly attack on Turkish defense firm

    Kurdish militants claim responsibility for deadly attack on Turkish defense firm

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    BAGHDAD (AP) — A banned Kurdish militant group on Friday claimed responsibility for an attack on the headquarters of a key defense company in Ankara that killed at least five people.

    A statement from the military wing of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, PKK, said Wednesday’s attack on the premises of the aerospace and defense company TUSAS was carried out by two members of its so-called “Immortal Battalion” in response to Turkish “massacres” and other actions in Kurdish regions.

    A man and a woman stormed TUSAS’ premises on the outskirts of Ankara, setting off explosives and opening fire. Four TUSAS employees were killed there. The assailants arrived on the scene in a taxi that they had commandeered by killing its driver. More than 20 people were injured in the attack.

    The woman assailant took her own life by detonating an explosive device after being injured in an exchange of fire at the entrance of the complex, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said. The male attacker hurled hand grenades at approaching security forces, then also detonated himself in the restroom of a nearby building “realizing there was no way out,” the minister said.

    Turkey blamed the attack on the PKK and immediately launched a series of aerial strikes on locations and facilities suspected to be used by the militant group in northern Iraq or by its affiliates in northern Syria.

    The attack on TUSAS came at a time of growing signs of a possible new attempt at dialogue to end the more than four-decade-old conflict between the PKK and Turkey’s military.

    Earlier this week, the leader of Turkey’s far-right nationalist party that’s allied with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan raised the possibility that Abdullah Ocalan, the PKK’s imprisoned leader, could be granted parole if he renounces violence and disbands his organization.

    Ocalan, who is serving a life sentence on a prison island off Istanbul, said in a message conveyed by his nephew on Thursday that he was ready to work for peace.

    The PKK’s military wing, the People’s Defense Center, said, however, that the attack was not related to the latest “political agenda,” insisting it was planned long before.

    It said TUSAS was chosen as a target because weapons produced there “killed thousands of civilians, including children and women, in Kurdistan.”

    TUSAS designs, manufactures and assembles civilian and military aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles and other defense industry and space systems. Its defense systems have been credited as key to Turkey gaining an upper hand in its fight against Kurdish militants.

    On Friday, an Iraqi security official said Turkish warplanes intensified their airstrikes on sites belonging to the PKK and other loyal forces in northern Iraq’s Sinjar district. The intensive bombing targeted tunnels, headquarters and military points of the PKK and the Sinjar Protection Units inside the Sinjar Mountain area.

    A local official and a security official said the bombings killed five Yazidis. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.

    The Turkish defense ministry said 34 alleged PKK targets including caves, shelters, depots and other facilities were hit in an aerial operation overnight. Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency said drones operated by the national intelligence agency have struck 120 suspected sites since Wednesday’s attack.

    The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces said Thursday that the Turkish warplanes and drones struck bakeries, a power station, oil facilities and local police checkpoints. At least 12 civilians were killed and 25 others were wounded.

    The People’s Defense Center statement claimed there were no casualties among PKK fighters in the airstrikes.

    Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told a group of journalists on his return from a trip to Russia late Thursday that the two TUSAS assailants had infiltrated from Syria, but did not provide details.

    Addressing a defense industry fair in Istanbul on Friday, he said Turkey was determined to stamp out the militant group.

    “Although our pain is great because of our martyrs, our determination to fight against the scoundrels is much greater,” Erdogan said. “We will continue to crush those who think they can make us step back with such treachery.”

    On Friday, Turkish police detained 176 suspected PKK members in operations across Turkey, the Interior Ministry said.

    Police also detained a man who hurled rocks at the entrance of the headquarters of Turkey’s pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party, DEM, Anadolu reported. DEM party spokeswoman Aysegul Dogan said on the media platform X that the entrance door and windows were broken in the attack.

    The PKK has been fighting for autonomy in southeastern Turkey in a conflict that has killed tens of thousands of people since the 1980s. It is considered a terrorist group by Turkey and its Western allies.

    __

    Associated Press writer Suzan Fraser contributed from Ankara, Turkey.

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  • Turkey launches airstrikes against Kurdish militants following deadly Ankara blast | CNN

    Turkey launches airstrikes against Kurdish militants following deadly Ankara blast | CNN

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    Istanbul
    CNN
     — 

    Turkey’s military carried out airstrikes targeting Kurdish militants in northern Iraq on Sunday, just hours after the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) claimed responsibility for a deadly bombing in the capital in the latest attack of its nearly four-decade long insurgency.

    In a statement, the Turkish Defense Ministry said its warplanes destroyed 20 PKK targets including caves, bunkers, shelters and warehouses in the regions of Metina, Hakurk, Kandil, and Gara.

    “Many terrorists were neutralized by using the maximum amount of domestic and national ammunition,” said the statement, which cited self-defense rights from Article 51 of the United Nations Charter to justify the strikes.

    The PKK, which is classified as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States, and the European Union, earlier said it was behind the blast Sunday outside Turkey’s Interior Ministry building that left one dead and two injured, the pro-PKK Firat News Agency reported.

    The ministry said in a statement that two attackers murdered a civilian and stole his vehicle ahead of the opening of parliament in Ankara. Two police officers reportedly received non-life-threatening injuries.

    One assailant blew himself up and the other was “neutralized,” the ministry said.

    Investigators found four different types of guns, three hand grenades, one rocket launcher, and C-4 explosives at the scene.

    The ministry confirmed at least one of the two attackers is a PKK member. The second attacker has yet to be identified, it said.

    Kurds, who do not have an official homeland or country, are the biggest minority in Turkey, making up between 15% and 20% of the population, according to Minority Rights Group International.

    Portions of Kurdistan – a non-governmental region and one of the largest stateless nations in the world – are recognized by Iran, where the province of Kordestan lies; and Iraq, site of the northern autonomous region known as Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) or Iraqi Kurdistan.

    According to Ankara, the PKK trains separatist fighters and launches attacks against Turkey from its bases in northern Iraq and Syria, where a PKK-affiliated Kurdish group controls large swaths of territory.

    Terror attacks in Turkey were tragically common in the mid to late 2010s, when the insecurity from war-torn Syria crept north above the two countries’ shared border.

    And in November last year, Ankara blamed the PKK for a bomb attack on a central pedestrian boulevard in Istanbul that killed six and injured dozens.

    In recent years, Turkey has carried out a steady stream of operations against the PKK domestically as well as cross-border operations into Syria.

    In an address to lawmakers Sunday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed that Turkey would continue its fight against terrorism “until the last terrorist is eliminated domestically and abroad.”

    Sunday’s attack marked the “final flutters of terrorism” in the country, he added.

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  • U.S. still expects Sweden’s NATO ascension by July despite Turkey tensions, U.S. ambassador says

    U.S. still expects Sweden’s NATO ascension by July despite Turkey tensions, U.S. ambassador says

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    U.S. Ambassador to Turkiye Jeffry Flake speaking in Washington D.C., United States on May 3, 2023.

    Anadolu Agency | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images

    The U.S. is still holding out hope that Sweden will join NATO by July in spite of Turkey’s apprehensions, Ambassador to Ankara Jeffry Flake said.

    “We hope Sweden can become a member of NATO soon,” Flake told CNBC’s Dan Murphy Friday, adding that Sweden has taken a number of measures to address Turkey’s security concerns.

    “We fully expect and hope that by the time Vilnius comes … that Sweden will be a member.”

    Earlier this week, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had on Wednesday rebuffed mounting international pressure to ratify Sweden’s NATO membership bid before the defense alliance convenes for the 2023 Vilnius summit of July 11-12.

    Officials from Sweden, Turkey, Finland and NATO had convened in Ankara with hopes of easing Turkey’s objections.

    “Sweden has expectations. It doesn’t mean that we will comply with them,” Erdogan said, according to Turkish state-run outlet Anadolu. Turkey, Finland and Sweden had last year inked an agreement to on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Madrid, committing to address Turkey’s security demands.

    Ankara’s objections are complex, but center mainly on Sweden’s support for Kurdish groups that Turkey considers to be terrorists, and on weapons embargoes that both Sweden and Finland, along with other EU countries, put on Turkey for targeting Kurdish militias in Syria.

    Erdogan also wants Sweden to crack down on protests against his government. For months, Sweden’s capital has seen protests built up against Turkey, which at the start of the year led to the heavily criticised burning of the holy Muslim book Quran by some demonstrators.

    “In order for us to comply with these expectations, first of all, Sweden must do its part,” Erdogan said.

    Prior to the recent elections in May, Turkey’s presidential spokesperson in March said that Ankara has “left the door open” to Stockholm’s bid to be a part of the military alliance “if it shows will and determination.”

    On Tuesday, U.S. President Joe Biden met with NATO’s Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, emphasizing their “shared desire to welcome Sweden to the Alliance as soon as possible,” a White House statement said.

    “Obviously, our relationship is grounded in NATO. I think it will continue to be so,” Flake said of U.S.-Turkey relations, underscoring both parties’ security and commercial partnership.

    “On the commercial side, we[‘ve] got a healthy amount of balance trade, about 33 billion as of last year. That’s increasing every year,” he said.

    The Turkish leader has previously criticized Flake for paying a visit to Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the presidential candidate of the opposition alliance that Erdogan beat in recent elections. Flake on Friday characterized his relationship with Erdogan as being “in a good place.”

    He added, “Sometimes it’s a challenging relationship. That is true, but we have a good security and commercial and people relationship with Turkey.”

    —CNBC’s Natasha Turak contributed to this article.

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  • Kurdish forces preparing to repel Turkish ground invasion

    Kurdish forces preparing to repel Turkish ground invasion

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    QAMISHLI, Syria — The commander of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces in northeast Syria said his group is prepared to repel a ground invasion by Turkey.

    SDF head Mazloum Abdi told the The Associated Press that his group has been preparing for another such attack since Turkey launched a ground offensive in area in 2019 and “we believe that we have reached a level where we can foil any new attack. At least the Turks will not be able to occupy more of our areas and there will be a great battle.”

    He added, “If Turkey attacks any region, the war will spread to all regions…and everyone will be hurt by that.”

    Turkey has carried out a barrage of airstrikes on suspected Kurdish militant targets in northern Syria and Iraq in recent days, in retaliation for a deadly Nov. 13 bombing in Istanbul that Ankara blames on the militant groups. The groups have denied involvement in the bombing.

    On Wednesday, Turkey’s military struck infrastructure facilities in northeast Syria, including a telecommunication tower and oil and gas fields, according to SDF spokesman Farhad Shami. He added that one of the strikes hit near Jerkin prison near Qamishli where scores of members of the Islamic State group are held. Another strike destroyed a school in the village of Kuran near border town of Kobani, Shami said.

    The strikes came a day after shelling the town of Azaz, which is controlled by Turkey-backed opposition fighters, killing five people and wounding five others. The shelling came from positions of the SDF and Syrian government forces, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitor.

    On Wednesday, the bodies of three people killed in Azaz were brought to the northwestern province of Idlib for burial. Local officials in the area said that the dead were displaced by Syria’s 11-year conflict that has killed hundreds of thousands and displaced half the country’s pre-war population of 23 million.

    Following the weekend’s airstrikes from Turkey, Turkish officials said that suspected Kurdish militants in Syria fired rockets Monday across the border into Turkey, killing at least two people and wounding 10 others. Abdi denied that SDF had struck inside Turkish territory.

    Turkey has threatened to escalate from airstrikes to a ground invasion. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Tuesday, “We have been on top of the terrorists for the past few days with our planes, artillery and drones. As soon as possible, we will root out all of them together with our tanks and soldiers.”

    Erdogan added that the measures were for “the safety of our own country, our own citizens. It is our most legitimate right to go where this security is ensured.”

    Turkey’s allies have attempted to dissuade such measures. Russian presidential envoy in Syria Alexander Lavrentyev said that Turkey should “show a certain restraint” in order to prevent an escalation in Syria and expressed hope that “it will be possible to convince our Turkish partners to refrain from excessive use of force on Syrian territory.”

    Mazloum called on Moscow and Damascus, as well as on the U.S.-led coalition fighting against the Islamic State group in Syria, with which the SDF is allied, to take a stronger stance to prevent a Turkish ground invasion, warning that such an action could harm attempts to combat a resurgence of IS.

    The Turkish airstrikes, which have killed a number of Syrian army soldiers operating in the same area as the SDF forces, have also threatened to upset a nascent rapprochement between Damascus and Ankara. The two have been on been on opposing sides in Syria’s civil war but in recent months have launched low-level talks.

    ————

    Associated Press writer Abby Sewell in Beirut and Ghaith Alsayed in Idlib, Syria contributed to this report.

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  • Magnitude 5.9 quake hits northwest Turkey, 50 injured

    Magnitude 5.9 quake hits northwest Turkey, 50 injured

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    ANKARA, Turkey — A magnitude-5.9 earthquake hit a town in northwestern Turkey early Wednesday, causing damage to some buildings and widespread panic. Around 50 people were injured, mostly while trying to flee homes.

    The earthquake was centered in the town of Golkaya, in Duzce province, some 200 kilometers (125 miles) east of Istanbul, the Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency said.

    It struck at 4:08 a.m. (0108 GMT) and was felt in Istanbul, in the capital Ankara and other parts of the region. Dozens of aftershocks were reported, including one with a magnitude of 4.3.

    The quake woke people from their sleep and many rushed out of buildings in panic in the province that experienced a deadly earthquake 23 years ago.

    At least 50 people were treated in hospitals for injuries in Duzce and nearby regions, mostly sustained during the panic, including from jumping from balconies or windows. One of them was in serious condition, Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu told private NTV television.

    Power was cut in the region as a safety measure, the minister said.

    The quake demolished the exterior cladding and parts of the roof of a courthouse in Duzce, HaberTurk television reported. Among other damage, a two-story shop collapsed on a narrow street, it said.

    In Golkaya, people gathered in a main square, some wrapped in blankets distributed by the emergency management agency, television footage showed.

    Duzce Gov. Cevdet Atay said schools in the region were being closed as a precaution.

    Around 800 people were killed in a powerful earthquake that hit Duzce on Nov. 12, 1999. In August of that year, 17,000 people were killed by another powerful temblor that devastated nearby Kocaeli province and other parts of northwest Turkey.

    Officials said around 80% of the buildings in the area were rebuilt or fortified following the 1999 earthquakes, which helped minimize damage.

    Turkey sits on top of major fault lines and is frequently shaken by earthquakes.

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  • Turkey hints new Syria offensive; Russia urges restraint

    Turkey hints new Syria offensive; Russia urges restraint

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    ANKARA — Turkey’s president again hinted at a possible new ground offensive in Syria against Kurdish militants on Tuesday, as Syrian forces denounced new airstrikes and Russia urged restraint and called on Ankara to avoid an escalation.

    Russian presidential envoy in Syria Alexander Lavrentyev said that Turkey should “show a certain restraint” in order to prevent an escalation in Syria, where tensions heightened over the weekend after Turkish airstrikes killed and wounded a number of Syrian soldiers.

    Lavrentyev — whose country is a strong ally of the Syrian government — expressed hope that “it will be possible to convince our Turkish partners to refrain from excessive use of force on Syrian territory.”

    Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces later said fresh Turkish airstrikes on Tuesday struck a base the group shares with the U.S.-led coalition in the fight against the Islamic State group. The base is just outside the town of Qamishli, 50 kilometers (30 miles) from the Turkish border. Two SDF fighters were killed and three were wounded, the group said.

    Turkey carried out airstrikes on suspected Kurdish militant targets in northern Syria and Iraq over the weekend, in retaliation for a deadly Nov. 13 bombing in Istanbul that Ankara blames on the militant groups. The groups have denied involvement in the bombing.

    The airstrikes also hit several Syrian army positions in three provinces along the border with Turkey, and killed and wounded a number of Syrian soldiers, Syrian officials said.

    “We will, of course, call on our Turkish colleagues to show a certain restraint in order to prevent an escalation of tension, and an escalation of tension not only in the north, but also in the entire territory of Syria,” Lavrentyev was quoted as saying by the Russian state news agencies in the Kazakh capital, Astana, ahead of talks on Syria.

    Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said Turkey’s actions would not be limited to aerial strikes, suggesting a possible new incursion — a position he reiterated on Tuesday.

    “We have been on top of the terrorists for the past few days with our planes, artillery and drones,” Erdogan said. “As soon as possible, we will root out all of them together with our tanks and soldiers.”

    Erdogan continued: “From now on, there is only one measure for us. There is only one border. (And that is) the safety of our own country, our own citizens. It is our most legitimate right to go where this security is ensured.”

    Turkey has launched three major incursions into northern Syria since 2016 and already controls some Syrian territory in the north.

    Following the weekend’s airstrikes from Turkey, suspected Kurdish militants in Syria fired rockets Monday across the border into Turkey, killing at least two people and wounding 10 others, according to Turkish officials. Three more rockets were fired on Tuesday, but caused no damage or injuries, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported.

    While Kurdish-led forces in Syria have not claimed responsibility for the attacks, the SDF on Monday vowed to respond to Turkish airstrikes “effectively and efficiently at the right time and place.”

    The Turkish warplanes attacked bases of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, and the Syrian People’s Protection Units, or YPG on Saturday night and on Sunday. Turkish officials claimed that 89 targets were destroyed and many militants were killed.

    A Syria war monitoring group said 35 people were killed in Turkish airstrikes over the weekend — 18 Kurdish fighters, 16 Syrian government soldiers and a journalist.

    Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday that Moscow views Turkey’s security concerns “with understanding and respect” but also urges Ankara to “refrain from steps that could lead to a serious destabilization of the situation in general.”

    “It can come back as a boomerang,” Peskov said.

    Also Tuesday, German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser reiterated during a joint news conference with her Turkish counterpart that Berlin stands with Turkey in the fight against terrorism, but said Turkey’s response to attacks must be “proportionate” and mindful of civilian populations.

    Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu, however, defended Turkey’s actions.

    “They want to establish a terror state around us, we cannot allow that. It is our duty to protect our borders and our nation,” he said.

    Turkey’s defense minister meanwhile, renewed a call for the United States and other nations not to back the Syrian Kurdish militia group, YPG, which Turkey regards as an extension of the PKK.

    “We express at every level that ‘PKK equals YPG’ to all our interlocutors, especially the United States, and constantly demand that all support to terrorists be cut,” Hulusi Akar told a parliamentary committee.

    Ankara and Washington both consider the PKK a terror group, but disagree on the status of the YPG. Under the banner of the Syrian Democratic Forces, the YPG has been allied with the U.S. in the fight against the Islamic State group in Syria.

    ——

    AP reporters Kareem Chehayeb in Beirut and Dasha Litvinova in Tallinn, Estonia, contributed to this report.

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  • Suspected Kurdish militants fire at Turkish border town

    Suspected Kurdish militants fire at Turkish border town

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    ANKARA, Turkey — Suspected Kurdish militants in Syria fired five rockets into a border town in Turkey Monday, killing at least two people and injuring six others, an official said.

    The rockets struck a high school and two houses in the town of Karkamis, in Gaziantep province, as well as a truck near a Turkish-Syria border gate, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported.

    Gaziantep’s Gov. Davut Gul said at least two of the injured were in serious condition.

    The rocket attacks came days after Turkey launched deadly airstrikes over northern regions of Syria and Iraq, targeting Kurdish groups that Ankara holds responsible for a Nov. 13 bomb attack in Istanbul. The Turkish warplanes attacked bases of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, and the Syrian People’s Protection Units, or YPG, officials said.

    Syrian Kurdish officials have reported civilian deaths from the airstrikes.

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  • Putin tempts Turkey, suggests making it Europe’s new gas hub

    Putin tempts Turkey, suggests making it Europe’s new gas hub

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    ANKARA, Turkey — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday doubled down on his proposal to turn Turkey into a gas hub for Europe after deliveries to Germany through the Baltic Sea’s Nord Stream pipeline were halted.

    Putin floated the idea of exporting more gas through the Turk Stream gas pipeline running beneath the Black Sea to Turkey as he met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the sidelines of a regional summit in Kazakhstan.

    It’s the second unlikely energy proposal that Putin has pitched in as many days, with European leaders calling Russia’s cuts in natural gas a political bid to divide them over their support for Ukraine. It’s created an energy crisis heading into winter that has fueled inflation, forced some industries to cut production and sent utility bills soaring.

    “This is just another attempt by Russia to use gas as a geo-strategic tool to weaken EU and NATO countries,” said Simone Tagliapietra, an energy policy expert at the Bruegel think tank in Brussels.

    Russia was “tempting Turkey to becoming an energy hub — a long lasting strategic aim of the country — while trying to create new divisions among European countries,” the analyst said, adding that Putin’s strategy was not likely to succeed.

    A day earlier, Germany rejected Putin’s proposal to step up gas flows to Europe via a link of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline under the Baltic Sea – a pipeline that has never been operational. Moscow has cut off the parallel Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline over what it claimed were technical problems.

    The Russian leader first voiced the proposal on Wednesday, saying that Russia could increase the volume of its gas exports to Turkey through the Black Sea pipeline.

    “We could … make the main routes for the supply of our fuel, our natural gas to Europe through Turkey, creating in Turkey the largest gas hub for Europe — if, of course, our partners are interested in it,” Putin told a Moscow energy forum.

    On Thursday, he said the hub could help regulate “exorbitant” prices. “We could easily regulate (prices) at a normal market level, without any political overtones,” Putin said.

    “Putin is in a desperate situation. Nord Stream 1 and 2 are not operational and are unlikely to be operational for a long while,” said Mehmet Ogutcu, chairman of the London Energy Club. “Europe has made clear that it will not enter an engagement (with Russia) as long as the war in Ukraine continues.”

    “Turkey remains Putin’s only option,” he said.

    Ogutcu said Turkey was likely to tread carefully, wary of further increasing its dependence on Russia.

    “There is a delicate balancing act (by Turkey). If the balance tilts too much toward Russia this will damage (Ankara’s) relations with the West,” Ogutcu said.

    Erdogan did not comment publicly on the proposal but Putin’s spokesman, Dimitry Peskov said Turkey has reacted positively to the idea. Officials from Erdogan’s office could not immediately be reached for comment.

    Turkey’s state-run news agency however, quoted Turkish Energy Minister Fatih Donmez as saying on Wednesday that it was “too early to assess” the proposal.

    “Technically it is possible,” Anadolu Agency quoted Donmez as telling reporters at the same Moscow energy forum. “For such international projects, technical, commercial and legal evaluation and feasibility studies need to be conducted.”

    NATO-member Turkey, which is depending on Russian for its energy needs and tourism, has criticized Moscow’s actions in Ukraine but has not joined U.S. and European sanctions against Russia. It has maintained its close ties with both Moscow and Kyiv and positioning itself as a mediator between the two. Ankara recently helped broker key deals that allowed Ukrainian to resume grain exports and led to a prisoner swap between Ukraine and Russia.

    Although Russia is still conveying gas to Europe via Ukraine, the amount has plummeted drastically with the two Baltic pipelines out of commission.

    The Nord Stream 2 pipeline never came on stream because Germany blocked its operation just before Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24.

    —-

    Litvinova reported from Tallinn, Estonia. David McHugh contributed from Frankfurt.

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