Russian Ambassador to Turkey Andrei Karlov
Monday’s assassination of Russian Ambassador Andrei Karlov in Ankara by 22 year-old Turkish policeman Mevlut Altintas adds a new dimension of political stress to the greater Black Sea region as the siege of Aleppo moves toward a painful end. Read More
The following is an Aug. 2, 2016 Congressional Research Service brief to Congress on U.S. nuclear weapons in Turkey. Read More
The following is the Aug. 4, 2016 Congressional Research Service report, Turkey: Background and U.S. Relations In Brief. Read More
Secretary of Defense Ash Carter has used visits to Incirlik Air Base, such as his December 2015 visit above, to discuss accelerating the campaign against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, or ISIL. US Army photo.
The fallout of an attempted military coup in Turkey will be long felt across Turkish society, but it also raises the immediate question about the United States’ future use of Incirlik Air Base to carry out extensive air operations against the Islamic State, a Middle East expert said today in Washington D.C. Read More
Jean-Marc Ayrault in 2012. Photo by Rémi Jouan via Wikipedia
The French foreign minister warned Turkey not to use its state of emergency decree following a failed military coup as a way to “set up a regime that could become autocratic” during a discussion at a Washington, D.C., think tank. Read More
USS Porter (DDG-78) crossing the Bosphorus Strait on June 6, 2016. Bosphorus Naval News Photo used with permission
A U.S. guided missile destroyer has entered the Black Sea for the first time this year, according to the ship-spotting site Bosphorus Naval News. Read More
Russian fighters operating from Syria. TASS Photo
Russia is set to start withdrawing troops from Syria as early as Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Monday. Read More
A screengrab of an Islamic State propaganda video of militants in Nawfaliyah, Libya in 2015. Image via The Long War Journal
At the Surface Warship Summit in Bucharest, Romania, from Jan. 26 to 28, the commander of NATO’s Allied Maritime Command, Vice Adm. Clive Johnstone expressed concerns regarding several escalating situations in the Mediterranean. Read More
A Russian Su-24 Fencer shortly after its was shot down by a Turkish F-16 on Nov. 24, 2015.
The ongoing conflict in Syria took a turn Tuesday when a Turkish Lockheed Martin F-16 reportedly shot down a Russian Air Force Sukhoi Su-24 Fencer fighter-bomber. The Fencer’s large weapon-payload capacity has made it a favorite for Russian forces supporting their ally Bashar al-Assad in Syria. The aircraft lost today reportedly was bombing targets near the Turkish border. Read More
Russian cruiser Moscow.
A Black Sea-based Russian surface action group scrambled to the Eastern Mediterranean —under the guise of drilling in the region — are likely there to provide an air defense bubble to protect Russian fighters striking targets in Syria, according to a Russian press report. Read More
