Timothy Ash | Russia & Eurasia Expert | Chatham House:
 

Von Der Leyen's comments on Türkiye were extraordinary & disappointing. 
 
After 4 years of war in Ukraine, European politicians should understand the existential threat from Russia - & that America is no longer there for Europe's defense.
 
Türkiye's response was grown up. 
 
The quickest way to build Europe's defense is with Türkiye. A major partner, EU candidate & deeply integrated into Europe.
 
Europeans pushed back on EU accession & Türkiye understood Europe was double faced.
 
But in the end, Türkiye & Europe's future is together.

FULL INTERVIEW

BREAKING: UAE says it will quit OPEC and OPEC+.

This means the UAE can pump more oil independently.

It also weakens OPEC+ control and signals more tensions with Saudi Arabia.

UAE Energy Minister says the decision was made independently and no direct consultations were held with others, including Saudi Arabia.

Source: Reuters

In China, you can buy 5 electric cars for the price of 1 average US car.

Average US car: about $51,000.

Many Chinese EVs: $6,000–$12,000.

Over 200 EV models under $25,000 in China.

Source: Reuters

Timothy Ash | Russia & Eurasia Expert | Chatham House:
 

It would be idiotic to ignore what Türkiye brings to the table. 400,000 battle-hardened soldiers, thousands of main battle tanks & armored personnel carriers - & a military industrial complex built over 20 years while Europe was de-industrializing.
 
The quickest way for Europe to rebuild defense capability is through Türkiye's defense manufacturing base.
 
Two-thirds of Türkiye's foreign investment, financing & trade is with Europe. Türkiye is the largest military force in European NATO.
 
Von Der Leyen's comments make no sense. European politicians are still living in a fantasy land - not understanding the threats they face.
 
When presented with solutions, they find excuses to ignore them.

FULL INTERVIEW

Serbia’s Jewish Foreign Minister, Marko Đurić, opens his statement in Hebrew during a joint press conference with his Israeli counterpart:

I want all Israelis to know—you have true friends.

Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar implies Ukraine should be grateful for “Israeli support”:

It’s a bit surprising coming from a country that we supported in international forums, supported in so many ways, including humanitarian help…

But probably this is life.

Trump:

I’ve always wanted to live in Buckingham Palace!!!

I’ll talk to the King and Queen about this in a few minutes!!!

Timothy Ash | Russia & Eurasia Expert | Chatham House:
 

Question: Could European reluctance toward Türkiye be just outright racism?
 
There is quite a lot of that. In continental Europe, there is institutional racism against Türkiye. Let's be honest about it.
 
Remember Chirac's comments on Turkish-EU accession - "the French people will decide." Then Sarkozy & Merkel with the privileged partnership. The pattern is clear.
 
The irony - in recent months we saw Türkiye deploy its drone carrier with significant troop deployments in defense of Germany during Baltic military exercises.
 
Türkiye can provide quick solutions to Europe's defense problems. Europe just needs to get over its Türkiye-phobia.

FULL INTERVIEW

Trump:

Iran has just informed us that they are in a “State of Collapse.” They want us to “Open the Hormuz Strait,” as soon as possible, as they try to figure out their leadership situation (Which I believe they will be able to do!). Thank you for your attention to this matter!

Timothy Ash | Russia & Eurasia Expert | Chatham House:
 

Türkiye's first decade under Erdoğan was a real reform agenda - anchored by EU accession & the IMF program.
 
There was record foreign investment, investment grade rating & the only time the central bank hit its 5% inflation target. The EU anchor drove that.
 
It went off track when France & Germany started talking about a "privileged partnership." Türkiye realized it wasn't a level playing field.
 
Bulgaria & Romania were let in to EU despite being poorer & having serious rule of law issues, while Türkiye brought more to the table.
 
With US disengagement from Europe, I hope Europe finally reawakens to the opportunities of deeper engagement with Türkiye - for Europe's defense & for Türkiye's reform process itself.
 
But first, Europe must battle its own prejudices.

FULL INTERVIEW

Christian Turner, Britain’s ambassador in Washington, said in leaked private remarks that the United States’ only real “special relationship” is probably with Israel rather than the UK.

Source: FT

Trump:

American patriots today can sing My Country, 'Tis of Thee only because our colonial ancestors first sang God Save the King.

Trump jokes:

My mother had a crush on Charles.

Trump:

Americans have had no closer friends than the British.

Türkiye and Armenia held a meeting today in Kars to move forward with reopening the Kars–Gyumri railway.

Both sides stressed the importance of launching the line soon to improve regional transport and connectivity as part of their normalization process.

Israeli soldier shows Beit Hanoun, Gaza totally destroyed.

Not a single house in the town remains standing.

Prof. John Mearsheimer

The Iranians are not going to give up control of the strait… that’s their leverage. They’d be crazy to give up control of the strait.

We’ve basically lost this war.

You’re going to end up making concessions to the Iranians.

Prof. John Mearsheimer on Iran:

They’re negotiating with Netanyahu’s puppets. They don’t want to deal with those two.

They see Kushner as essentially an Israeli proxy, and Witkoff—not only as a Zionist—but also as someone who has demonstrated massive incompetence in negotiations with both the Iranians and the Russians.

Prof. John Mearsheimer on Iran:

Israelis may use nuclear weapons against Iran to deal with nuclear problem.

The future here is bleak.