Thomas Seibert

Thomas Seibert is an Arab Weekly contributor in Istanbul.

Author Articles

War politics. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (L) and Russian President Vladimir Putin review an honour guard in Moscow. (AFP)
Turkey tries balancing act in Syria but ends up picking sides between US, Russia
04-14-2018
US President Donald Trump (R) listens to Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani during a meeting in Washington, on April 10. (AP)
Doha’s row with Arab neighbours unchanged after US-Qatar meeting
04-14-2018
New dynamics. CIA Director Mike Pompeo takes his seat to testify before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in Washington, on April 12. (Reuters)
As hawks take centre stage in Washington, so does Iran’s challenge
04-14-2018
Students demonstrate against the arrest of their teachers in an operation carried out between Turkey’s National Intelligence Organisation (MIT) and Kosovo’s spy services in Pristina, on March 29. (AFP)
In a first, Turkey’s intelligence service snatches six suspected Erdogan critics in Kosovo
04-07-2018
Iranian President Hassan Rohani (L), Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (C) and Russian President Vladimir Putin leave after a joint press conference in Ankara, on April 4.(Reuters)
US rivals determined to widen influence in Syria as Trump signals withdrawal
04-07-2018
Taxis are parked near Istanbul courthouse as taxi drivers demonstrate against ride-sharing firm Uber in Istanbul, on March 12. (AFP)
Hit with high costs and low pay, taxi drivers lash out against Uber in Istanbul
03-31-2018
A member of a media freedom group arranges symbolic accreditations with the names, pictures and media affiliations of detained journalists in Turkey. (AFP)
Turkish journalists vow to fight on as media freedoms continue to shrink at home
03-31-2018
US President Donald Trump (C-R) holds a lunch meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz (C-L) and members of his delegation, on March 20.(AFP)
Saudi crown prince looks beyond Trump as he eyes long-term investment in US
03-24-2018
US President Donald Trump (R) shakes hands with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz in the Oval Office, on March 20. (AFP)
Saudi crown prince’s US talks set to deepen bilateral ties, regional understandings
03-24-2018
Turkey-backed Syrian rebel fighters hold a Turkish national flag (R) and a Free Syrian Army flag at a checkpoint in Azaz on a road leading to Afrin, on February. (AFP)
Turkey ratcheting up tensions with West over Syria incursions
03-24-2018
Hearings ahead. US Senate lawmakers arrive for a press conference following the regular Democratic policy luncheon at the US Capitol, on March 13. (AFP)
US administration faces immediate challenges on key Middle East issues
03-17-2018
Heads of the US intelligence agencies, including CIA Director Mike Pompeo (C), testifiy before the Senate Intelligence Committee in Washington, last May. (AFP)
Shifts likely in US policies on Iran, Gulf after US diplomacy’s reset
03-17-2018
US President Donald Trump (R) walks with Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu at the White House in Washington, on March 5. (AP)
US policy on the Middle East just got foggier
03-10-2018
Sensing danger. Freed journalist, Cumhuriyet Turkish daily newspaper’s Ahmet Sik, surrounded by colleagues speaks at the newspaper’s headquarters in Istanbul, on March 10. (AFP)
Ahead of EU-Turkey summit, prospects of normalisation uncertain
03-10-2018
Turkish Chief of Staff General Hulusi Akar (R) hands a flag to a Somali soldier at the new Turkish-Somali military training centre in Mogadishu, last September. (AP)
Turkey seeks larger footprint in Africa as tensions with West and region’s countries rise
03-03-2018
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reviews a Senegalese honour guard during ceremonies in Dakar, on March 1. (AP)
Erdogan moves to expand arc of influence in North Africa, Sahel
03-03-2018
US President Donald Trump (L) and Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu shake hands after Trump delivered a speech at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, last May. (AFP)
Trump-Netanyahu ‘love fest’ expected in Washington
03-03-2018
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson (L) and Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu walk to a joint news conference following their meeting in Ankara, on February 16.(AP)
US Syria strategy under fire as events expose Washington’s inconsistencies
02-24-2018
Construction workers walk inside a new tunnel in Istanbul. (AFP)
Mega airport project in Turkey’s Istanbul rocked by deaths of dozens of workers
02-24-2018
US Defence Secretary James Mattis (L) with Turkish Defence Minister Nurettin Canikli at the NATO headquarters in Brussels, on February 14. (AFP)
US-Turkey relations back from the brink but not by much
02-17-2018