Why Does Turkey Want S-400 Missiles?

by Bulent Aras Turkey’s decision to buy S-400 missiles from Russia has generated considerable debate in the country about the impact on Turkish-American and Turkey-NATO relations, Turkey’s change of international orientation, and possible harm to Turkish defense sector and economy.… Continue Reading

Idlib Further Complicates Turkish-Russian Relationship

by Giorgio Cafiero and Theodore Karasik On July 26, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin held talks in South Africa on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit. The two met against the backdrop of growing Turkish concerns… Continue Reading

Is the Rojava Dream at Risk?

by Giuseppe Acconcia In 2011, as Syria’s uprising spread, the Kurds living in the country’s northern provinces organized themselves to defend their neighborhoods and provide social services. The Kurds’ “local coordination committees” were similar to the bodies of the same name… Continue Reading

US Policy Toward the Levant, Kurds, and Turkey

by Joshua Landis The State Department has turned the page on Turkey for it no longer views Ankara is a reliable US partner. Many argue that Washington will abandon Syria’s Kurds in order to assuage Turkish anger. I doubt this.… Continue Reading

Kurdish Rivalries Create New Challenges for Islamic State Fight

by Robert Olson and Derek Davison The U.S.-led anti-Islamic State (ISIS or IS) coalition is being challenged by a new but fairly predictable problem. Tensions between the Turkish Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), along with its Syrian affiliate, the Democratic Union… Continue Reading