The objective of the United States in Syria’s last rebel-held province of Idlib will cause a split between Turkey and Russia, Timur Göksel, former spokesman for the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Lebanon, told Ahval’s Hot Pursuit podcast programme.

The Berlin summit on Libya and its final declaration will have little impact in changing the status quo in Libya, vis-à-vis the positions of Russia, Turkey and the warring sides, Turkey’s former ambassador to the United States Faruk Loğoğlu said.

Seth J. Frantzman, Middle East analyst of Jerusalem Post, said in an article last week that Turkey’s government had been thriving on a constant stream of threats and crises.
Frantzman, who is also the author of the book “After ISIS: America, Iran and the Struggle for the Middle East (Gefen Publishing, 2019)”, discussed with Ahval how this tactic served Turkey’s leadership as a ticket to success both at home and abroad.

Turkey and Libya signed a maritime boundaries accord two weeks ago that sees the two countries as maritime neighbours, divides the eastern Mediterranean into two and ignores the territorial waters of some Greek islands.

Yannis Koutsomitis, the managing editor of Greek Kappa News, and Cengiz Aktar, a political scientist and a contributor to Ahval, discussed how this accord would affect the future of the region.

The two experts talked about the possible reactions of the two country’s governments, the response of the international community, the effect of the escalating tensions on Cyprus and the role of the media in both countries play.

Political scientist Cengiz Aktar discusses today’s call by Turkey’s mainly-Kurdish People’s Democratic Party’s (HDP) for snap elections and the political landscape around the Kurdish issue.

Marco Ansaldo, the senior correspondent for the Italian daily La Repubblica, discussed the situation in northern Syria after Turkey’s Oct, 9 military offensive, the conditions of civilians on both sides of the border and the risks the region may face in the upcoming period.

The real damage has already been done by Turkey’s purchase of Russian S-400 missile defence systems and loss of F-35 fighter jets, Turkey expert Henri Barkey told Ahval's 'Hot Pursuit' on Thursday.
Barkey, the adjunct senior fellow for Middle East studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, discusses his latest Foreign Policy article, ''Putin Plays Erdogan Like a Fiddle,'' with Ahval's Yavuz Baydar and Ilhan Tanır.
Prof Barkey: ''CAATSA sanctions on Turkey are much less important than its loss of lucrative F-35 programme''

Prof. Barkey: “CAATSA sanctions minor compared to Turkey’s loss of F-35 programme”

Putin the clear winner of Erdogan-Trump-Putin relationship triangle

Turkey took a big risk by purchasing S-400s, losing billions in income due to expulsion from F-35 production chain

Erdoğan deploying anti-U.S. rhetoric because Washington lets him get away with it without much cost

There has always been anti-Americanism in Turkey, but never a Turkish government that took the lead calling the U.S. an enemy state

Even during U.S. sanctioning of Turkey in the 1970s, Turkish leaders never called the U.S. an enemy state

In the wake of last week’s dismissal of Kurdish mayors, some Turkey watchers feared President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan would soon do the same in Turkey’s largest city and its capital. Ahmet Kuru, political science professor at San Diego State University and author of the new book, “Islam, Authoritarianism, and Underdevelopment,” says those fears are justified.

Turkey's former FM Yakış on Pentagon suspending Turkey from F-35 program: US seeks less harsh way to urge Turkey away from activating S-400's

Why the Gezi park trial is crucial from the perspective of Turkey's relations with the West? - Howard Eissenstat, associate professor of Middle East history at St. Lawrence University and a non-resident senior fellow at the Project on Middle East Democracy.