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.

Turkish People’s Democracy Test

May 21, 2018 The EU summit held in Brussels on December 17, 2004 decided that accession negotiations with Turkey would start on October 3, 2005. The process was accordingly launched at the Luxembourg Intergovernmental Conference. This was three years after … Continue reading

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“Recognizing the Reality”

May 16, 2018 President Trump has called his decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital “recognition of the reality”. His National Security Advisor John Bolton, speaking to ABC’s “This Week” on May 13 said, “If you’re not prepared to recognize … Continue reading

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The US Withdraws from the Iran Nuclear Deal

May 9, 2018 Yesterday President Trump announced that he is terminating United States’ participation in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) with Iran and re-imposing sanctions lifted under the deal. From the very beginning of his presidency Mr. Trump … Continue reading

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“Putting Arab Soldiers on the Ground”

Co-authored with Yusuf Buluç (*) May 7, 2018 At his joint press conference with his French counterpart President Trump said: “And if I might add, the states and, as I alluded to — and countries that are in the area, … Continue reading

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Kim Jong-un’s Diplomatic Offensive

April 30, 2018 Following North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s visit to China in late March, I said that though many would still say that he remains a ruthless dictator, some may start thinking that he plays his foreign policy cards … Continue reading

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The Trump-Macron Summit

April 25, 2018 With endless displays of camaraderie underling a special relationship between the two leaders and the two countries the Trump-Macron summit was a rather unconventional one, at least in terms of body language. But President Macron’s desire to … Continue reading

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“Mission Accomplished”

April 16, 2018 President Trump said on Sunday that he knew he would be demeaned for using the term “mission accomplished”. On that at least he proved to be right. But what was the mission? Firstly, to prove at low … Continue reading

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Russia-West Tensions over Douma

April 12, 2018 During the UN Security Council debate on Syria on April 9, Ambassador Nikki Haley said, “What we are dealing with today is not about a spat between the United States and Russia. This is about the inhumane … Continue reading

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The Trump-Iran-North Korea Imbroglio

April 10, 2018 Forty-seven years ago, today, the U.S. table tennis team arrived in China. Later in the year, in July 1971, Secretary of State Henry Kissinger made a secret trip to China   paving the way for Richard Nixon’s own … Continue reading

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A World in Disarray and Turkey

March 28, 2018 It has been two roller coaster weeks. On March 15, 2018 the US imposed new sanctions on 24 Russian entities and individuals for interfering in the 2016 election and conducting a series of damaging cyberattacks. On March … Continue reading

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