Turkey and the Levant

While it appears that relations will continue with their ups and downs in somewhat dramatic fashion, the two sides are clumsily edging towards some sort of reconciliation. Both NATO and the EU would be much relieved.

Referring to the 1936 agreement on the Turkish straits, known as the Montreux Convention, president Erdogan said "the Kanal Istanbul project, which has nothing to do with the Montreux Convention, will bring Turkey greater comfort and peace".

A high-level delegation led by the Libyan prime minister, Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, visited Turkey on Monday (12 April) to participate in the joint high-level Strategic Cooperation Council. The two sides signed several new Memoranda of Understanding and renewed a commitment to the 2019 maritime boundaries agreement between the two countries. 

Ukrainian president Vladimir Zelensky visited Istanbul over the weekend for talks with the Turkish president Recip Tayip Erdogan. Erdogan told the media after the talks that Turkey strongly defended Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty,” stressing, “We reaffirmed our principled stance of not recognizing the [Russian] annexation of Crimea.”

France and the European Union are preparing proposals that could result in a freeze of assets and a travel ban on Lebanese politicians, according to Reuters. The move aims to push politicians to agree on forming a government that addresses the multitude of challenges that have rocked Lebanon in the past few months.  

Initially the Altay was supposed to be powered by a German engine, but restrictions imposed by the German government on arms exports to Turkey forced the Turkish government to look for alternatives

21 March is celebrated as International Nowruz Day. Nowruz marks the first day of spring and is celebrated on the day of the astronomical vernal equinox, which usually occurs on 21 March. It is celebrated as the beginning of the new year by more than 300 million people all around the world and has been marked for over 3,000 years in the Balkans, the Black Sea Basin, the Caucasus, Central Asia, the Middle East and other regions.

Demonstrations escalated this week in Lebanon with hundreds of demonstrators blocking major roads in Beirut. The demonstrators condemned the ongoing economic crisis and record-low currency exchange rates.