Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi was in Ankara recently where he held meetings with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu. The two sides discussed everything from trade and vaccines and the sensitive issue of Uighur minority in China. Meanwhile, the parliamentary elections in Israel once again failed to produce a clear winner. This means that the country still remains in a political deadlock with the possibility of yet another election in the coming months.

Guests:

Selcuk Colakoglu

Director of Turkish Center for Asia-Pacific Studies

Einar Tangen

Political and Economic Affairs Commentator

Gideon Levy

Columnist at Haaretz

Daoud Kuttab

Political Analyst

Israel’s fourth national elections in two years have failed to pull the country of a political deadlock. The country is divided over whether Benjamin Netanyahu, a prime minister who has been in power for 12 straight years, should stay in office. Although holding a lead, Netanyahu’s Likud party is short of a governing majority. This means another protracted round of coalition negotiations are to begin. If neither of the main blocs can form a coalition, another election will need to be held in the coming months. So will there be a new government this time, or will the stalemate continue?

Guests:

Gideon Levy

Columnist at Haaretz

Daoud Kuttab

Political Analyst

When Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu in Ankara, everything from bilateral relations, trade, vaccines as well as the sensate issue of Uighurs was on the table. The two countries have expressed their intent to grow the economic ties further as well as strengthening co-operation in the inoculation efforts against the Covid-19 pandemic. Turkey is using the Chinese firm Sinovac's CoronaVac vaccine and is currently negotiating new deliveries. So what are the potential hurdles in expanding these ties further?

Guests:

Selcuk Colakoglu

Director of Turkish Center for Asia-Pacific Studies

Einar Tangen

Political and Economic Affairs Commentator

Turkey and Egypt have established diplomatic contacts after years of hiatus. Small steps are being taken by both sides to lay the foundation for a rapprochement process. Given the tense ties between Ankara and Cairo since 2013, will it be possible for the countries to completely repair the distrust? Also, Turkey plans to host Afghanistan peace talks in Istanbul in April, proposed by the Biden administration to accelerate negotiations toward ending the 20-year-old war.

Guests:

Huseyin Avni Botsali

Turkey's Former Ambassador to Cairo

Ali Bakeer

Assistant Professor at Qatar University

Omar Samad

Former Afghan Ambassador

Imtiaz Gul

Security Analyst

Turkey plans to host rival Afghan factions in Istanbul next month in an attempt to broker a deal for peace to return to the war-torn country. The planned talks will aim to push for an agreement between the Afghan government and the Taliban for a ceasefire as well as the establishment of an interim government. Turkey is seen by all Afghan factions and international partners as a trusted mediator and is expected to play an effective role in the peace process. So can these talks help in finally achieving peace in Afghanistan?

Guests:

Omar Samad

Former Afghan Ambassador

Imtiaz Gul

Security Analyst

After years of disruptions, Turkey and Egypt have resumed diplomatic-level contacts again. The bilateral talks are the first since the 2013 coup d’etat where Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi was forced out of power. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has said a lack of trust may exist for both sides and negotiations are being held step by step. So, what are the challenges that may impede a further reconciliation between the two countries and what steps need to be taken to bring the relations back to normal?

Guests:

Huseyin Avni Botsali

Turkey's Former Ambassador to Cairo

Ali Bakeer

Assistant Professor at Qatar University

Since the beginning of the uprising against the regime of Bashar al Assad 10 years ago, nearly 500,000 people have been killed and millions remain displaced. But despite a decade of war, a solution is nowhere in sight. In this special episode of Strait Talk, we discuss this longstanding conflict that has resulted in one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world.

Guests:

Ammar Kahf

Executive Director of Omran Center

Oguz Celikkol

Turkey’s Former Ambassador to Syria

Charles Lawley

Head of Communications at Syria Relief

Ten years ago, anti-regime slogans appeared on a wall in Syria’s Daraa. A group of children were detained, igniting protests that culminated in a revolution. A decade on, and with the war in Syria still raging, TRT World’s Sara Firth meets Bashir Abazid, one of the Daraa Freedom Boys, who was detained over the graffiti, to hear his story.

Turkey has rolled out a normalisation plan after strict COVID-19 measures were put in place late last year. The country will be categorised within a risk-based system determined by infection rates and vaccinations given in each province, and have restrictions according to those levels. Weekend lockdowns have already been lifted in low and medium-risk provinces and restaurants have reopened at half capacity. So how will gradual easing of restriction help the revival of tourism and economy?

Guests:

Sedat Aybar

Professor at Istanbul Aydin University

Sinan Koseoglu

Multi Property General Manager at JW Mariott

Iran's envoy to Baghdad Iraj Masjedi recently called on Turkey to withdraw troops from Iraq, where the latter is carrying out an operation against the PKK terror group. Turkey condemned the remarks and summoned the Iranian ambassador to Ankara, rejecting the accusation that Turkish presence is violating Iraqi sovereignty. So how will this diplomatic row affect the relations between the two countries? Also, Turkey has started implementing a gradual normalisation plan after having strict COVID-19 measures in place since last year. We look at how this will help the revival of tourism as well as the Turkish economy.

Guests:

Talha Kose

SETA Brussels Director

Mehrdad Khonsari

Former Iranian Diplomat

Sedat Aybar

Professor at Istanbul Aydin University

Sinan Koseoglu

Multi Property General Manager at JW Mariott