The Levant Files

In an in-depth interview with Prof. Dr. Ozan Örmeci for the International Politics Academy (UPA), Dr. Nikolaos Stelgias, Editor-in-Chief of The Levant Files, dissected the turbulent political, humanitarian, and security developments reshaping Cyprus and the wider Eastern Mediterranean. From a deadly maritime disaster off Keryneia to the collapse of the governing coalition in the northern part of the island, and from stalled UN diplomacy to discreet intelligence channels between Ankara and Athens, Stelgias outlined the fragile dynamics governing the region. The Keryneia Shipwreck and the Urgency of Depoliticizing Disaster Relief Reflecting on the recent capsizing of a passenger ferry off the coast of Keryneia in roughly 20 minutes, Stelgias highlighted alarming reports of negligence. Noting that the vessel reportedly sailed despite adverse weather and closed port directives, ignored passenger warnings of water intake, and suffered crew abandonment, he described the incident as a collect...

Uluslararası Politika Akademisi (UPA) Genel Koordinatörü Prof. Dr. Ozan Örmeci’nin YouTube kanalında gerçekleştirdiği mülakata konuk olan The Levant Files Genel Yayın Yönetmeni ve Doğu Akdeniz uzmanı Dr. Nikolaos Stelgias, Kıbrıs ve Türk-Yunan hattında son dönemde yaşanan sarsıcı gelişmeleri değerlendirdi. Girne açıklarındaki trajik feribot kazasından Kıbrıs Türk sahnesindeki hükûmet krizine, Birleşmiş Milletler’in (BM) müzakere arayışlarından Ankara-Atina arasındaki perde arkası güvenlik diplomasisine kadar pek çok kritik başlık yayında masaya yatırıldı. Feribot Faciası ve İnsani Yardımın Siyasallaşması Girne/Keryneia açıklarında 20 dakika içinde alabora olan feribot kazasını "büyük bir ihmal zinciri ve ortak bir travma" olarak niteleyen Dr. Stelgias; fırtınaya rağmen seyre çıkılması, yolcuların uyarılarının dikkate alınmaması ve mürettebatın gemiyi terk etmesi iddialarının vahametine dikkat çekti. Olayın ilk anlarında Kıbrıs Rum liderliğini bizzat bilgilendirerek yardım kan...

A limited Greek-Turkish incident in the Aegean has become a credible near-term possibility—not because either government appears to be preparing for war, but because political rhetoric is increasingly being translated into rival legal claims and activity in contested waters. The latest warning came from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Returning from Kyrgyzstan, Erdoğan said Turkey would “do what is necessary” if Greece continued arming islands Ankara considers demilitarised. Although he insisted that Turkey covets no country’s territory and favours good-neighbourly relations, he warned Athens against interpreting Turkish restraint as weakness, according to the Turkish presidency . Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis responded by telling European Council President António Costa that an active threat of war and challenges to Greek sovereignty remained in place. Greece threatened nobody, Mitsotakis said, but would accept no instructions concerning its defence, Proto Thema re...

Six months into a tense confrontation between the United States, Israel, and Iran, Washington’s most viable strategic path is to hold its ground and accept an ongoing maritime stalemate, according to veteran American diplomat James F. Jeffrey. Writing for Foreign Affairs on September 3, Jeffrey—a Distinguished Fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy and former Special Envoy for Syria Engagement—argues that the mutual blockade in the Strait of Hormuz has emerged as the "least bad option" for U.S. national security. The current impasse followed the collapse of a June memorandum of understanding designed to reopen the vital shipping corridor in exchange for phased sanctions relief and Iranian nuclear rollbacks. With formal diplomacy stalled, both nations remain locked in a test of economic endurance. Jeffrey contends that alternative courses of action carry unacceptable risks. A full U.S. naval withdrawal would award Tehran a decisive psychological victory, unra...

Tehran has pledged to press ahead with military operations against United States forces and regional installations following a heavy wave of overnight American airstrikes, threatening to plunge the Middle East into an expanded conflict, according to reporting by Al-Monitor . Iran’s top joint military command, the Khatam al-Anbiya central headquarters, announced Wednesday that its armed forces had targeted US military infrastructure across the region in retaliation for strikes on Iranian soil. Iranian military spokesperson Ebrahim Zolfaghari warned that operations would persist as "a lesson" until Washington regrets its actions, cautioning regional states that facilitating US military operations would bring direct consequences. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed responsibility for a barrage of missile and drone salvos directed at facilities housing American personnel in Jordan, Bahrain, and Kuwait, alongside an installation in Erbil in Iraq's Kurdistan re...

In a hard-hitting interview with Dr. Nikolaos Stelgias, Chief Editor of The Levant Files, journalist Cem Kar laid bare the profound systemic dysfunction, institutional negligence, and absence of meritocracy surrounding the recent deadly maritime disaster off the coast of Kyrenia. Kar described the tragedy as one of the most devastating maritime incidents the Turkish Cypriot community has ever confronted. He directed sharp criticism at the institutional machinery responsible for crisis management and communication, condemning the authorities' chaotic and insensitive response toward grieving families who were left waiting for answers under the scorching sun. "We essentially operate as if institutions exist, but in reality, there is nothing," Kar stated, characterizing the administration as an elaborate facade. He stressed that the crisis goes far beyond the shortcomings of individual politicians; the deeper rot lies within a bloated, incompetent bureaucracy where political ...

Για βαθιά συστημική κρίση, κατάρρευση της αξιοκρατίας και εγκληματικές παραλείψεις που οδήγησαν στην πρόσφατη ναυτική τραγωδία ανοιχτά της Κερύνειας, έκανε λόγο ο δημοσιογράφος Τζεμ Καρ, σε συνέντευξη που παραχώρησε στον Αρχισυντάκτη της ιστοσελίδας The Levant Files, Δρ. Νικόλαο Στέλγια. Ο κ. Καρ περιέγραψε με μελανά χρώματα την κατάσταση στην τουρκοκυπριακή κοινότητα, τονίζοντας πως το πρόσφατο ναυάγιο αποτελεί τη μεγαλύτερη ναυτική τραγωδία που έχει βιώσει ο τόπος. Παράλληλα, άσκησε έντονη κριτική στους αρμόδιους μηχανισμούς για την πλήρη αποτυχία στη διαχείριση της κρίσης και στην επικοινωνία με τους συγγενείς των θυμάτων. «Στην ουσία λειτουργούμε λες και υπάρχουν θεσμοί, αλλά δεν υπάρχει τίποτα», ανέφερε χαρακτηριστικά ο δημοσιογράφος, περιγράφοντας ένα σύστημα «βιτρίνα». Όπως εξήγησε, η απουσία αξιοκρατίας δεν εντοπίζεται μόνο στο πολιτικό προσωπικό, αλλά κυρίως στη δημόσια διοίκηση και τη γραφειοκρατία, όπου οι κομματικοί διορισμοί και η λογική του πελατειακού ρουσφετιού στερούν ...

  Girne açıklarında pazar günü meydana gelen ve Kıbrıs'ın kuzeyini yasa boğan deniz otobüsü faciasının ardından, Girne'de yaşayan gazeteci Cem Kar, kazanın arkasında "ciddi ihmaller" bulunduğunu söyledi. Büyük felaketin çeşitli boyutlarını The Levant Files okuyucuları için TLF'in Genel Yayın Yönetmeni Nikolaos Stelgias'a değerlendiren Kar, tartışmanın tek tek siyasetçilerle sınırlı kalmasına karşı çıkarak asıl sorunun bürokraside biriken liyakatsizlik olduğunu savundu. Kar'ın çarpıcı açıklamalarını aşağıdaki sekmede ya da TLF'in YouTube sayfasında izleyebilirsiniz.  Kar, kurtarma çalışmalarını evinden izlediğini belirterek sistemi "herkesin bir şeyler yazdığı, artık okunamaz hâle gelmiş bir tahtaya" benzetti: "Tamamen silinip yeniden kurgulanması gerekiyor." Ona göre bir siyasetçinin her konuyu bilmesi beklenemez; ancak standartları bilen, denetleyen bir bürokratik yapı da yok. Girne faciası: "Sistem 'mış gibi' işliyor...

İbrahim Kalın, Erdoğan's longtime foreign-policy confidant and now head of MİT, held undisclosed meetings with Greek intelligence and other Athens interlocutors last week, Ta Nea reports — at a moment when marine-park decrees, the Achilles' Shield pact with Israel, and the Mecca defense agreement have pushed Greek-Turkish relations toward their tensest point in years. The head of Turkey's National Intelligence Organization (MİT), İbrahim Kalın, travelled to Athens last week for a series of undisclosed meetings that included his Greek counterpart, according to a report published by the Greek daily Ta Nea on September 2. The visit, described by the paper as having taken place "under the radar, without any publicity," places one of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's most trusted advisers in the Greek capital at a moment when Greek-Turkish relations are under some of their heaviest strain in years. According to Ta Nea, Kalın met with the director of Greece's National Inte...

As Syrian Internal Security forces raised Islamist-associated banners and chanted the takbir while entering Hasakah, Kurdish residents are asking whether integration means partnership — or a change of occupier. Syrian government forces entering Hasakah this week were filmed chanting the takbir and carrying banners associated with Islamist factions, according to Turkish outlet T24 — footage that has unsettled Kurdish residents in a region Damascus insists it is integrating, not conquering. The images matter because of what came before them. When Interior Ministry convoys first entered Hasakah and Qamishli in February, they carried the Syrian tricolour and officials spoke of “a new chapter away from revenge and division.” This week's deployment — armoured vehicles, anti-aircraft guns, religious sloganeering — reads differently to a population that has spent a decade under secular, multi-ethnic self-rule. Command Without Consent The optics are not incidental to the substance. Behind t...