ANKARA DAILY - 19 MARCH 2026
Fidan To Visit Qatar As Ankara Pursues Regional Mediation; Oil Tops $116, Turkish Markets Exposed To Iran War Fallout; Erdoğan Pledges "Open Discussion" With UK On Bases
Fidan to Visit Qatar as Regional Diplomacy Intensifies Amid Iran War
Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan scheduled to visit Qatar as part of broader diplomatic push to halt Middle East war escalation, following regional consultations in Riyadh with Saudi, Jordanian, Azerbaijani and Pakistani counterparts.
Turkey Mandates Trade Ministry Clearance for Foreign Military Cargo Transit
Presidential decree requires prior Trade Ministry approval for arms and military goods transiting Turkey from one foreign country to another. Move aims to combat unregistered arms trade and limit Turkey's exposure amid Iran war.
Iraq Resumes Oil Exports Through Turkish Ceyhan Port After Three-Year Halt
Iraq began exporting 250,000 bpd through Turkey's Ceyhan port following Baghdad-KRG agreement, bypassing Strait of Hormuz disruption. Prime Minister Masrour Barzani discussed resumption with Jordan's King Abdullah.
DRIVING THE DAY
SUMMARY: Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan will visit Qatar on March 19 as part of broader regional diplomatic efforts to contain the expanding Iran war, Anadolu Agency reported, following his meetings with Saudi and Jordanian counterparts in Riyadh on March 18 at a regional ministerial gathering convened to address escalating Middle East tensions. Brent crude exceeded $116 per barrel on March 19 — up 8.5 percent — after Iranian strikes caused "extensive damage" to Qatar's Ras Laffan LNG complex and Israel attacked Iran's South Pars gasfield, sending European natural gas futures up over 25 percent and raising acute inflation risks for Turkey's import-dependent economy. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on March 18 promised Cyprus that "we are going to have an open and frank discussion with the British government" over the future of the United Kingdom's sovereign bases in Cyprus, describing them as a "colonial consequence." NATO deployed a second Patriot missile defense battery to Incirlik Air Base on March 18, adding to an existing Spanish system. END SUMMARY.
