Author Archives: Ali Tuygan

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About Ali Tuygan

Ali Tuygan is a graduate of the Faculty of Political Sciences of Ankara University. He joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in January 1967. Between various positions in Ankara, he served at the Turkish Embassy in Brussels, NATO International Staff, Turkish Embassies in Washington and Baghdad, and the Turkish Delegation to NATO. From 1986 to 1989 he was the Principal Private Secretary to the President of the Republic. He then served as ambassador to Ottawa, Riyadh, and Athens. In 1997 he was honored with a decoration by the Italian President. Between these assignments abroad he served twice as Deputy Undersecretary for Political Affairs. In 2004 he was appointed Undersecretary where he remained until the end of 2006 before going to his last foreign assignment as Ambassador to UNESCO. He retired in 2009. In April 2013 he published a book entitled “Gönüllü Diplomat, Dışişlerinde Kırk Yıl” (“Diplomat by Choice, Forty Years in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs”) in which he elaborated on the diplomatic profession and the main issues on the global agenda. He has published articles in Turkish periodicals and newspapers.

The Syrian Quagmire

May 18, 2020 Syria’s relations with Moscow have traditionally been close and steady. Russia operated a military base in Tartus for more than four decades. In the mid-1990s, following the collapse of the Soviet Union, U.S. Secretary of State Warren … Continue reading

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Fighting King Covid XIX

May 11, 2020 Two months ago, underlining the regrettable shallowness of the concept of “international community”, I said that the world now needs the kind cooperation  commensurate with the enormity of the coronavirus challenge, like emergency meetings at the UN … Continue reading

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The Idlib Problem Still with Us

April 27, 2020 Coronavirus is seen as the greatest global challenge of modern times. Because, the death toll in some countries has reached tens of thousands. Just as important is the shock of unpreparedness, helplessness and vulnerability of a technologically … Continue reading

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“International Community” and the UN System

April 20, 2020 Some say that after coronavirus passes “nothing will be the same”. Should that prove to be the case, hopefully the past will not dictate the future. Last week, President Trump announced he was halting funding to the … Continue reading

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Sailing in Uncharted Waters

April 7, 2020 The Arab Spring threw the Middle East in chaos. Then came the Ukraine conflict and Russia’s annexation of Crimea. As the Syrian conflict moved up on the international agenda the former receded. Despite on and off official … Continue reading

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Front Lines of the Battle Against Covid-19

March 27, 2020 “Operation Enduring Freedom”, “Operation Resolute Support”, “Operation New Dawn”, “Operation Unified Protector”, “Operation Decisive Storm”, to name a few, were recent decades’ ambitiously titled military interventions seeking to achieve narrow ends. Although diplomacy and multilateralism were sidelined, … Continue reading

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The Moment of Truth for the “International Community”

March 14, 2020 Mr. Kofi Annan who served as the seventh Secretary General of the UN from January 1997 to December 2006 was a remarkable diplomat and a statesman. In September 1999, in a speech on “the meaning of international … Continue reading

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Afghanistan: Beyond Titles

March 10, 2020 Some believe that first impression is the last impression. So, they say one never gets a second chance to make a first impression. For others, first impressions count but last impressions are forever. I had my first … Continue reading

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Idlib Ceasefire: Only a Respite

March 8, 2020 On March 6, Presidents of Russia and Turkey met in Moscow. In remarks to the press before their meeting, President Putin said the situation in Idlib has deteriorated so much that the two leaders needed to have … Continue reading

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An Ultimatum That Boomeranged

(Co-authored with Yusuf Buluç)[i] The people of Turkey held their breath on the eve of the deadline set in the ultimatum  President Erdoğan served on the Syrian regime promising severe military punishment if  its forces  were not to withdraw to … Continue reading

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