![EU Council President Charles Michel (R) arrives with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan before a meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at the EU headquarters in Brussels on March 9, 2020. (Photo by JOHN THYS / AFP) (Photo by JOHN THYS/AFP via Getty Images)](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/2023-09/GettyImages-1206282771.jpg?h=b454e4a2&itok=zDq8s5x5)
![Ezgi Akin headshot (new)](/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/2024-04/IMG_0153.jpg?h=502e75fa&itok=I9IFt0g8)
In Ankara, reporting on diplomacy, EU-Turkey ties, NATO
Ezgi Akin is Al-Monitor’s correspondent in Anakara and associate editor of the Turkey Pulse. Prior to joining Al-Monitor, she covered the foreign policy beat in the country for over a decade, working for various Turkish media outlets as well as international media. Akin is a Fulbright alumna.
![EU Council President Charles Michel (R) arrives with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan before a meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at the EU headquarters in Brussels on March 9, 2020. (Photo by JOHN THYS / AFP) (Photo by JOHN THYS/AFP via Getty Images)](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/2023-09/GettyImages-1206282771.jpg?h=b454e4a2&itok=zDq8s5x5)
![Turkey's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan speaks during a joint press conference with his Iranian counterpart in Tehran on September 3, 2023. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP) (Photo by ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images)](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/2023-09/GettyImages-1642545611.jpg?h=bba15598&itok=4I9Gew06)
![Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan meets with his Greek counterpart Giorgos Gerapetritis in Ankara, Sept. 5, 2023.](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/2023-09/Gerapetritis-hakan.jpeg?h=1d34674f&itok=XmhXKIpY)
![Turkey's team players celebrate their victory.](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/2023-09/GettyImages-1643407953.jpg?h=e5c3977d&itok=uRKzozhT)
![A customer buys US dollars in exchange for Turkish lira at an exchange office, Ankara, Turkey, July 20, 2023.](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/2023-09/GettyImages-1544254155.jpg?h=a5ae579a&itok=Xf3wfoOK)
![Greek State Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis gestures as he speaks during a press conference at the European Council in Brussels on March 4, 2020. (Photo by Kenzo TRIBOUILLARD / AFP) (Photo by KENZO TRIBOUILLARD/AFP via Getty Images)](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/2023-09/GettyImages-1205050987.jpg?h=8ed48423&itok=kQxUs7BF)
Analysis
![MAXIM SHEMETOV/AFP via Getty Images](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/2023-08/GettyImages-1636742249.jpg?h=1d34674f&itok=4oSd5EXq)
![Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan visits the Memory Wall of Fallen Defenders of Ukraine during his official visit in Kyiv, on August 25, 2023, the Independence Day of Ukraine, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by GLEB GARANICH / POOL / AFP) (Photo by GLEB GARANICH/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/2023-08/GettyImages-1623232039.jpg?h=d723ad02&itok=vImStCHt)
![Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/2023-08/GettyImages-1243276940.jpg?h=efb3fb8f&itok=_Lier9Tl)
![ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/2023-08/GettyImages-1241455740.jpg?h=1d34674f&itok=gfCcOHjZ)
![Zelenskyy Fidan](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/2023-08/zelfidan.jpeg?h=a5ae579a&itok=lakg4kZw)
![People wait to exchange money at a currency exchange shop on June 23, 2023 in Istanbul, Turkey.](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/2023-08/GettyImages-1500926525.jpg?h=1d34674f&itok=Ti6BTe3_)