Turkey after Russia's full-scale attack on Ukraine

At the beginning of the Russian full-scale attack on Ukraine, President Erdogan was able to portray himself as a mediator between Ukraine and Russia. What goals is he trying to achieve? What are the specifics, opportunities and difficulties of Turkey's role "in between"? How successful have the mediation efforts been? And last but not least: What foreign policy priorities is Erdogan setting in the campaign for the Turkish presidency with regard to Russia, Europe and NATO? Prof. Dr. Sinem Akgül Açıkmeşe, Chair-Department of International Relations at Kadir Has University in Istanbul will give us an insight. The discussion will be moderated by Beate Apelt, Project Director for Turkey at the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom.

About our series „Neighbouring Russia“: How did Russia's neighboring countries react one year after the full scale attack on Ukraine? That is what the Friedrich Naumann Foundation wants to explore in a twelve-part virtual series of events. Together with international experts, we examine individual countries or regions and discuss important domestic and foreign policy processes.

Gast
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Sinem Akgül Açıkmeşe
...is Professor of International Relations at Kadir Has University in Istanbul, Senior Fellow at the Centre in Modern Turkish Studies (MTS) at Norman Paterson School of International Affairs at Carleton University (Ottawa, Canada) and Research Director at the Centre for Economics and Foreign Policy Studies (EDAM) in Istanbul.

Moderator
Beate Apelt
...has headed the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom's office in Turkey since 2021. Previously, she managed the foundation's project work in Ukraine and Belarus from Kyiv. Until 2017, she was Head of Division for Southeastern and Eastern Europe as well as North Africa and the Middle East.