The opposition parties have united against Erdogan and are officially supported by Turkey’s main pro-Kurdish party. Most polls show Erdogan trailing his secular rival by a few points, and Kilicdaroglu is trying to break the 50-percent threshold to avoid a runoff.

Erdogan has played up religious themes to energize his conservative and nationalist base and brand the opposition as a “pro-LGBT” lobby taking orders from the West. Despite soaring tensions and fears over what Erdogan would do if he lost a narrow vote, he pledged to respect the vote if the people changed their minds.

‘The West got mad’ 

The Hagia Sophia was built as a Byzantine cathedral — once the world’s largest — before being converted into a mosque by the Ottomans.

It was converted into a museum when Mustafa Kemal Ataturk created a secular post-Ottoman Turkey in 1923.

Erdogan’s decision to convert it back into a mosque in 2020 solidified his hero status among his religious supporters and contributed to growing Western unease with his rule.

“The entire West got mad — but I did it,” Erdogan told an Istanbul rally on Saturday.

Erdogan has played up religious themes and used culture wars to try and energise his conservative and nationalist base.

He brands the opposition as a “pro-LGBT” lobby that takes orders from outlawed Kurdish militants and is bankrolled by the West.

Source: Greek City Times

The post President Erdogan to lead prayers in Hagia Sophia in defiant move for his political survival appeared first on Ankara Haftalik.

Has Dr. Rania Majeed, Prime Minister Barzani’s gatekeeper and close personal confidante, royally destroyed the Kurdish Regional Government’s (KRG) primary source of income – its lucrative oil contracts? Majeed, who is known inside of KRG and among government insiders as the “untouchable” and – according to the article KRG oil in control of three women – fiercely loyal right hand to Barzani reportedly manages relationships and highest priority objectives on Barzani’s political and personal agendas.

Based on the importance of these contracts to the KRG’s financial stability, Majeed likely played an instrumental role in the recent negotiations between Baghdad and Erbil.

Negotiations ended disastrously for KRG and Barzani as the International Commercial Court (ICC) ruled against Turkey and KRG in favor of Baghdad. Ceding control of exports to Iraq effectively cuts Barzani down to size, reducing him to a leader of a puppet government with little ability to finance its objectives.

But how could Barzani’s precious sidekick provoke such a situation? Erbil clung to its neighbor Turkey for dear life, eliciting ire from Iraq.

The involvement of Turkey, can only mean one thing – the additional involvement of Ruya Bayegan of BGN, Majeed’s quiet, close ally and instrument of Turkish President Erdogan’s energy policy in the region.

According to the Bosporus Post, Bayegan and Majeed have shared a longstanding business relationship, mutually benefitting from their exclusive arrangements.

It is through this relationship – and Majeed’s ability to influence the energy industry at her whim – that Bayegan is able to access products before others in the industry.

Recently, It was reported that the KRG’s oil ministry offered Bayegan additional spot volumes previously designated for other trading partners.

BGN International’s director Emin Imanov was quoted as stating that the company was offered and agreed to purchase these barrels. The price of BGN’s purchase remains undisclosed.

The post The Queen of the North Goes South appeared first on Ankara Haftalik.