★ In a recent article, Stratfor wrote that Turkey's strategy of delaying Finnish and Swedish membership in NATO to wrest concessions from them could jeopardize arms deals and aid packages for Turkey from NATO members.

  Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has threatened to veto Sweden's and Finland's efforts to join NATO for a foreign policy win to display to Turkish voters increasingly skeptical of his government.

  To this end, Mr. Erdoğan has objected to the two Nordic nations' entry into the trans-Atlantic alliance because they supported Kurdish separatist organizations and they have prohibited arms exports to Turkey on human rights grounds.

  Mr. Erdoğan has said he cannot accept new NATO members backing policies he deems anti-Turkey, even though Finland and Sweden both have banned the most militant Kurdish group, the Kurdistan Workers' Party, from operating on their territory.

  Turkey has been a member of NATO since 1952.

  Stratfor is an American geopolitics publisher and consultancy founded in 1996.

  In related news, the Turkish news site Haberturk wrote that Ismail Demir, Turkey's head of the defense industries, said that Britain had lifted all its sanctions on exporting arms and defense products to Turkey.

  Mr. Demir visited London recently and held talks with British officials.

  Britain imposed sanctions on Turkey after the 2019 Turkish offensive in northern Syria.

★ Commenting on Turkey's opposition to Finland and Sweden's NATO membership on The Dispatch website, former U.S. ambassador to Turkey and Finland Eric Edelman said that Turkey will eventually agree due to the pressures from the other 29 members.

  He said that the membership of the Nordic countries is an opportunity to accomplish multiple objectives.

  Edelman also claimed that Turkish president Erdoğan is using this situation for domestic political needs since he and his party is suffering from stumbling poll numbers.

  Edelman also said in his article that an authoritarian Turkey remains an unpredictable and unreliable ally in a crucial geostrategic location amid Europe's most serious crisis since the end of the Cold War. Read more >> here <<

★ According to Stratfor, high inflation in Turkey threatens to eject the longtime-ruling Justice and Development Party from power in Turkey's 2023 presidential election.

  This means the government will be tempted to seek ways--such as manipulating the election process and trying to exploit a foreign crisis--to tip the political scales in its favor.

★ According to a public survey conducted by Turkey's Metropoll, nearly half of Turkey's ruling Justice and development party supporters blame external forces for the economic crisis, the Turkish new site T 24 reported. The figure is only about 24% for the general public.

  Foreign and Turkish economists blame the wrong policies of President Erdoğan. The poll found that 63% blamed the government, but seven and a half percent blamed the opposition.

  May 5, the government-run Turkish Statistical Institute reported that annual consumer inflation reached 70%, the highest rate since the Justice and Development Party first took power in 2002. Independent experts calculate inflation as 160%.

  The government-run Turkish Statistical Institute reported on May 5 that annual consumer inflation reached 70%, the highest rate since the Justice and Development Party first took power in 2002. Independent experts calculate inflation as 160%.

  The Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey blamed spikes in energy and food prices because of the war in Ukraine and pandemic-related supply chain problems. However, the bank did not raise interest rates to combat inflation, as have many other central banks. Though central bank Governor Şahap Kavcıoğlu forecast that inflation would begin to decline in June, various indicators suggest this will not be the case.

★ The Gallup Poll also had an article on the economic situation in Turkey. Jay Loschky and RJ Reinhart wrote that Turks' life ratings and living standards crashed.

  They pointed out that: 

• A record-high 39% of Turks are considered suffering.
•  Record-low 37% approved of the national government in December .

★ Thousands of Turks attended a rally on Saturday to protest the ruling Justice and Development Party administration, reports the Turkish daily Diken.

  The attendance was much higher than usual due to the recent conviction of the main opposition Republican Peoples Party Istanbul province head Ms. Canan Kaftancıoğlu.

  As we reported to you last week, a court sentenced Ms. Kaftancıoğlu for tweets she wrote eight years ago, disregarding the expiration of the statute of limitations.

  Observers say that Erdoğan and his administration wanted to punish Kaftancıoğlu for her role in the municipal elections in Istanbul. Her strategy wrested the metropolitan mayorship from Mr. Erdoğan's Justice and Development Party, which was in the hands of the party for 20 years.

★ According to the daily Duvar, Russian citizens bought 1152 homes in Turkey in April, topping the list for foreign homebuyers, according to official data released on May 17. Iranian and Iraqi buyers followed the Russians.

  Overall home sales rose about 40% in April 133,000, and foreign buyers by 58%.

  Many real estate companies say wealthy Russians are pouring money into real estate in Turkey and the United Arab Emirates, seeking a financial haven after the invasion of Ukraine by Russia and subsequent Western sanctions.

★ According to Bloomberg, Turkish foreign-currency reserves lost $4.8 billion in just one week to $61.2 billion. Bloomberg said that this provides further evidence that an effort to support the Turkish currency lira is coming at an increasingly steep cost.

  Declines in reserves represent a key source of vulnerability for Turkey. During a period that spanned 2019 and 2020, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Turkey spent $165 billion trying to stabilize the lira. This policy backfired and eventually forced the central bank to raise interest rates. However, economists point out that the interest rates are significantly lower than the inflation rate.

  There are also rumors that the central bank of Turkey sold some of its gold reserves for dollars.

★ Adıgüzel Fine Arts High School 18th Traditional Year-end Exhibition started, reports the Turkish daily Cumhuriyet. Istanbul University Foundation also takes part in this event.

  Exhibition on May 13-19. Important names such as the former General Director of Fine Arts of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the Director of the Istanbul University Conservatory attended the opening cocktail. They addressed the guests and talked about the importance the Adıgüzel High School gives to artistic activities.

  School Principal Ahu Ayvazoğlu Yüksel, in her speech, said, "It is very nice to share the excitement of our students and the importance we give to art and artists at Adıgüzel Fine Arts High School."

  Prof. Şebnem Ünal stated that she was happy and honored to participate in the event that bears the name of the Istanbul University, organized by this valuable educational institution.

★ BASELECTED exhibition will meet with art lovers on May 28, reports the daily Cumhuriyet.

  It will be within the Beyoğlu Culture Road Festival program held for the second time this year. Turkeys Ministry of Culture and Tourism is organizing the Beyoğlu event.

  BASELECTED is a magazine that gathers together recently graduated young artists on one platform.

  Derya Yücel will be the curator of the BASELECTED exhibition. Works in painting, ceramics, video, sculpture, installation, photography, printing, glass and graphic design will be in the exhibition, displaying more than 100 works of 70 artists.

  The works in the selection reflect the continuity, motivation, and determination in art production. Curator Derya Yücel said that BASELECTED's current understanding of art has come to life again with the style of young artists.

  Free art workshops will accompany the exhibition throughout the exhibition.

  The exhibition will be through June 12.

★ The Museum Week is celebrated every year from May 18-24.

  During Museum Week in Turkey, 39 museums are free to visit. Some of them are even free before the week starts.

  Museums will also have extended hours.

★ German artist Silvia Bener's exhibition "Beyond the Surface: Water" started. Kale Design and Art Center is the venue.

  The artist creates the selection with water, as it is the essence of everything. Bener said that the perception of water is very different in Turkey and Germany.

  She stated that water is very precious in Turkey, but the rain is overwhelming in Germany.

  When the artist came to Turkey, she met the art of watercolor marbling called ebru. She emphasized that the art of marbling is important for contemporary art. The exhibition encourages the viewer to question their position in the universe.

  The artist works in large vessels that allow bodily movements, using a technique she calls "Aqua Materia Art." Visitors embark on a journey through the artist's mind with photographs, sketches, notebooks, and natural objects on the water.

  The exhibition will be on until June 30.

★ Renown Ukrainian pianists Anna Fedorova and his American husband contrabassist Nicholas Schwartz are in Istanbul for concerts dubbed "Pease for Ukraine," reports the daily Cumhuriyet correspondent Yazgülü Aldoğan.

  Fedorova is one of the ten pianists in the world. She broke a record by having 35 million people watch her video on YouTube.

  The goal of the concerts is to oppose the aggression against Ukraine and assist the country.

  Their first concert was at the Austrian Culture Office in Istanbul's Yeniköy neighborhood on the Bosporus straight.

  On Monday evening, they will have their second concert at the Süreyya Opera house in the Kadıköy district of Istanbul on the Asian side of the metropolis.

  The "Peace for Ukraine" concerts took place in 20 other venues throughout Europe. They featured young artists.

★ Experts will restore the mosaics uncovered in excavations in the Mudanya district in Turkey's northwestern province of Bursa.

  Prof. Dr. Yaşar Selçuk Şener and Associate Professor Dr. Murat Cura from the Protection of Cultural Artifacts and Restoration division of the Ankara Hacı Bayram Veli University will lead the work.

  The ancient city of Myrleia, dating back to 2700 years ago, is where the mosaics are. The Mudanya city municipality will turn the ruins into an open-air museum.

★ UNESCO recorded a bilingual inscription at the Karatepe Aslantaş Open Air Museum as a World Heritage List, making it the 70th artifact from Turkey on the list.

  The inscription is in Anatolian hieroglyphics and the Phonecian language. Karatepe-Aslantaş Open-Air Museum is in Osmaniye Province, in the Mediterranean region of Turkey.

  The location is named Karatepe-Aslantaş to distinguish it from other places with the name Aslantaş, named by the locals after lion rock statues.

  The museum ground is located on a hill in a woodland landscape overlooking the Andırın Plain and is a peninsula surrounded on three sides by the Aslantaş Dam reservoir.

  The site contains artifacts and ruins from 2800 years ago.

Ankara, in central Turkey        : 81/52 Partly Cloudy
Antalya, on the Mediterranean    : 81/66 Thunderstorms
Erzurum, in Eastern Turkey       : 70/37 Partly Cloudy
Istanbul, in northwestern Turkey : 73/54 Partly Cloudy
Izmir, on the Aegean             : 82/64 Partly Cloudy
Trabzon, on the Black Sea        : 73/57 Mostly Sunny

★ Turkey's Anadolu Efes became the Euroleague basketball champion by defeating Spain's Real Madrid team on Saturday in Serbia's capital Belgrade. The score was 58-57.

  It is the second time the Istanbul-based team has become a European champion.

★ On Friday, Turkish female boxer Şennur Demir won a gold medal in 2022 IBA Women's World Boxing Championships held in Istanbul.

  Demir, 39, competing in the heavyweight category, defeated her Moroccan opponent Khaija Mardi in the +81 kg gold medal bout.

  The Turkish Team claimed a win in this year's Women's World Boxing Championships as all five of their boxers claimed gold medals.

  In addition to Demir, Ayşe Çağırır, Buse Naz Çakıroğlu, Hatice Akbaş, and Busenaz Sürmeneli were the gold medalists.

  In addition, two Turks won bronze medals.

★ The 2022 European Taekwondo Championships are taking place in Manchester, Britain.

  There are 409 athletes from 51 counties, and 88 compete in Para-Taekwondo.

  So far, the Turks got six gold, four silver, and four bronze medals.

★ Turkey's Mehmet Kazan won two cups in the 2022 German Men and Ladies Disabled Golf Championships.

  EDGA, the European Disabled Golf Association, organized the event.