Author Archives: Ali Tuygan

Unknown's avatar

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.

Downing of Russian Su-24: The NATO Dimension

Co-authored with Yusuf Buluç (*) December 16, 2015 Downing of Russia’s Su-24 bomber on November 24, 2015 has led to tensions between Ankara and Moscow putting decades-long cooperation in danger. Before the incident, a Russian military delegation headed by Major … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Turkey Needs to Build Trust

December 14, 2015 In a world of contradictions foreign policy is no exception. The West, for example, always takes care to wave the democracy flag but can become oblivious to democratic values in its dealings with Middle East tyrannies. Russia … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Moment of Truth for Turkey’s Syria Policy

December 3, 2015 On November 27, 2015 the Wall Street Journal reported that the Obama administration was pressing Turkey to deploy thousands of additional troops along its border with Syria to cordon off a 60-mile stretch of frontier that U.S. … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

EU-Turkey Brussels Summit: “The Deal”

December 2, 2015 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 two years after … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Downing of Russia’s SU-24 Warplane

November 27, 2015 “Syria: Only More Trouble Ahead” was the title of a piece I wrote in early May. In a region characterized by abundance of gloom and scarcity of hope that much was easy to predict. I would readily … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Fighting ISIL on the Battlefield and Beyond

November 23, 2015 Following the terrorist attacks in Paris President Hollande declared that France was at war. President Obama called the attacks “an attack on the civilized world”. In a telegram to his French counterpart, Russian President Vladimir Putin said … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

A Roadmap to End the Syria Conflict

November 16, 2015 On September 28, hours after having delivered clashing remarks, Presidents Obama and Putin met on the sidelines of the 70th United Nations General Assembly. Three days later, on September 30, Russia started airstrikes in Syria. A month … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Turkish Elections: A Stunning Defeat for the Opposition

November 5, 2015 When the voting started last Sunday in Turkey’s parliamentary elections, the electorate had two choices: the prospect of a coalition government plagued with internal disputes or a Justice and Development Party (JDP) government which hopefully had learnt … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Vienna Meeting on Syria Highlights Country’s Secularism

November 2, 2015 Analysts have different opinions on the Vienna meeting of October 30, 2015. I believe that the communique issued constitutes a significant development not only for the Syria conflict but also for the entire Middle East because the … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Sending a Reminder

October 29, 2015 Palestinians remain deeply dissatisfied with the status quo and in the absence of any progress towards the two-state solution their discontent hits the surface usually in the form of some violence. And whenever there is violence, Israel … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment