Turkey

Turkey’s agreements and cooperation with Libya’s internationally recognised government will continue despite Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj’s desire to quit, Presidential Spokesman Ibrahim Kalin was quoted as saying on Monday. In June, Turkish military support helped Sarraj’s Government of National Accord (GNA) repel an assault on Tripoli by Khalifa Haftar’s eastern-based …

The Egyptian Foreign Ministry has condemned derogatory remarks made by the Turkish foreign minister, days after a Turkish attempt to open a dialogue with Egypt was rejected by Cairo. The spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ahmed Hafez, denounced the foreign minister’s comments made in a conversation with a …

The Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan is acting more and more like an old-fashioned dictator who can not digest any critics. This time Erdogan is upset with Greek newspaper Dimokratia that published an article titled ‘Siktir Git Mr. Erdogan,’ which means ‘fuck off’ in Turkish. By Arthur Blok Erdogan ordered …

France on Friday backed Cyprus’ calls for the EU to consider imposing tougher sanctions on Turkey if the Turkish government won’t suspend its search for energy reserves in eastern Mediterranean waters where Cyprus and Greece claim exclusive economic rights. French Minister for European Affairs Clement Beaune said sanctions should be …

Around 100 musicians in Turkey have committed suicide since the country introduced preventive measures against the COVID-19 pandemic in March, according to statistics released by the Turkish Musicians and Performers Union (Muzik-Sen) early this month. There are roughly 1 million registered musicians in Turkey, many of whom work without insurance …

Two Turkish soldiers were killed and another was wounded after Kurdish militants fired rockets at a military base in northern Iraq, Turkey’s Defense Ministry said in a statement on Friday. Turkey has regularly attacked Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants, both in its mainly Kurdish southeast and in northern Iraq, where …

A NATO investigation into a naval standoff between French and Turkish ships in June has been rated too sensitive to discuss in public and does not apportion blame, as Paris and Ankara wage a war of words, diplomats have told Reuters. The issue underlines NATO’s difficulties with Turkey, also at …

European leaders warned President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday to stop bullying Turkey’s neighbors amid simmering tension over maritime and energy rights in the eastern Mediterranean. The warnings came as Ankara said its Yavuz drillship would continue its search for oil and gas off Cyprus until Oct. 12, despite international …

Turkish and Russian officials will meet in Ankara this week for a new round of talks on developments in Syria and Libya, where the two countries back opposing sides, Turkey’s Foreign Ministry said on Monday. “Consultations between Turkish and Russian interagency delegations on Libya and Syria will continue at a …

Turkey will send a second drill ship to operate in the Black Sea, Energy Minister Fatih Donmez said on Sunday, weeks after Ankara announced its largest ever natural gas discovery in the area. “Our drill ship Kanuni, whose preparation work is continuing, will start drilling in the Black Sea,” he …

A provocative live-fire drill by the Turkish navy off the coast of Cyprus was branded illegal on Saturday, as reports emerged that the US is drawing up plans to withdraw from the strategic Incirlik air force base. “We don’t know what’s going to happen to Incirlik,” Ron Johnson, the US …

The United States remains “deeply concerned” about Turkey’s actions in the eastern Mediterranean, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Saturday, urging a diplomatic end to a simmering crisis over offshore natural resources. Tensions in the eastern Mediterranean have risen over claims and counter claims pitting Turkey against Greece and …

It is necessary to implement a unified Arab policy towards Turkey’s destructive actions in the Arab region, Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said on Wednesday during his Arab League ministerial committee meeting. Shoukry said Turkey’s practices and interference in multiple Arab countries’ internal affairs shape threats against the Arab national security. …

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told Cyprus on Tuesday that Moscow was ready to help mediate in any talks with Turkey over energy exploration in the east Mediterranean Sea. A decades-old rift between Turkey and Cyprus, which is backed by Greece, has come to a head this year in disputes …

A Saudi Arabian court on Monday jailed eight people for between seven and 20 years for the 2018 murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, state media reported, four months after his family forgave his killers and enabled death sentences to be set aside. The trial was criticised by a U.N. …

President Tayyip Erdogan told European Council President Charles Michel on Sunday the EU’s stance towards the East Mediterranean would be a test of its sincerity, calling on it to take an impartial stance in Turkey’s row with Greece. NATO allies Turkey and Greece have been locked in a dispute over …

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan issued new threats to Greece on Saturday as Turkish forces prepared to conduct military exercises in the Eastern Mediterranean amid tension over oil and gas rights. The temperature has soared in the dispute between the two countries since Turkey deployed a research vessel and an …

Greece and Turkey have agreed to talks to avoid accidental clashes in the Eastern Mediterranean, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Thursday, part of efforts to defuse the worsening dispute over energy resources in the region. Germany is also leading a diplomatic push for broader dialogue and German Chancellor Angela …

Two high-profile Venezuelan opposition leaders are in talks with the government of President Nicolas Maduro to participate in the upcoming legislative elections despite a planned boycott, a Turkish official involved in the talks said on Tuesday. Opposition parties had agreed to sit out the parliamentary vote slated for December, arguing …

Austria will file charges against a person who has confessed to spying for Turkey’s secret service, and authorities are investigating more suspected espionage activities, its interior minister said, warning Turkey this would not be tolerated. “This is about an exertion of influence by a foreign power in Austria and this …

The United States will lift a 33-year arms embargo on Cyprus and deepen its security cooperation with Nicosia, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Tuesday, prompting an angry response from Turkey. The island was divided in 1974 following a Turkish invasion triggered by a Greek-inspired coup. Turkey recognises …

The EU on Friday urged Turkey to halt its drilling activities in contested waters in the Mediterranean and ordered EU officials to speed up work aimed at blacklisting some Turkish officials linked to the energy exploration. Tensions are mounting to breaking point between Turkey and Greece over Turkey’s drilling work …

Turkey said it will hold a military exercise off northwest Cyprus for the next two weeks, amid growing tension with Greece over disputed claims to exploration rights in the east Mediterranean. The long-running dispute between Turkey and Greece, both NATO members, flared up after the two countries agreed rival accords …

President Tayyip Erdogan spoke with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg about developments in the eastern Mediterranean and told him Turkey will continue to protect its rights and interests everywhere, Erdogan’s office said on Friday. Earlier, the EU’s top diplomat said the European Union is preparing sanctions against Turkey that could be …

NATO is looking at ways to avoid accidental clashes in the Eastern Mediterranean while supporting German diplomatic efforts to defuse the worsening dispute over energy resources there, the alliance’s chief said on Thursday. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told Reuters the Western alliance was considering so-called deconfliction measures to prevent naval …

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and U.S. President Donald Trump talked on the phone on Wednesday to discuss bilateral and regional issues, including the Mediterranean, Erdogan’s office said. Tensions between Turkey and Greece have escalated since Ankara sent its Oruc Reis survey vessel to disputed eastern Mediterranean waters this month, a …

Greece plans to extend the western limit of its territorial waters in the Ionian Sea to 12 miles, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said on Wednesday. The conservative premier said a bill on the matter would be submitted to parliament very soon. “Greece will extend its western territorial waters to 12 …

The United States said on Tuesday it strongly objected to Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan’s recent hosting of two leaders of Hamas in Istanbul, prompting a swift riposte from Ankara. The State Department said the officials were Specially Designated Global Terrorists and the United States was seeking information about one for his involvement in …

President Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday Turkey’s navy will not back down as Greece “sows chaos” in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, where the countries have deployed frigates in an escalating rhetorical confrontation over overlapping resource claims. “The ones who throw Greece in front of the Turkish navy will not stand …

Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi has described Turkish attacks on Iraqi soil as “unacceptable” and urged the US to resolve the dispute in a meeting with US President Donald Trump. Ankara and Baghdad have been negotiating since mid-June to solve the dispute over Turkish offensives in Kurdistan and other disputed …

Turkey announced its biggest ever natural gas discovery on Friday, a 320 billion cubic metre (11.3 trillion cubic feet) Black Sea field which President Tayyip Erdogan said was part of even bigger reserves and could come onstream as soon as 2023. If the gas can be commercially extracted, the discovery …

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan reconverted the historic Chora church, one of Istanbul’s most celebrated Byzantine buildings, into a mosque on Friday, a month after opening the famed Hagia Sophia to Muslim worship. The mediaeval Church of the Holy Saviour in Chora, built near the ancient city walls of Constantinople, contains …

Turkey on Saturday condemned as “interventionist” comments that U.S. Democratic presidential contender Joe Biden had made in December when he advocated a new U.S. approach to the “autocrat” President Tayyip Erdogan and support for opposition parties. Biden’s comments to New York Times editors resurfaced in a video that made him …

President Tayyip Erdogan warned Greece on Friday that Turkey will retaliate against any attack on its survey vessel Oruc Reis in the eastern Mediterranean in an escalating row between the NATO allies over gas and oil exploration in the region. Turkey and Greece are vehemently at odds over overlapping claims …

Israel talked of “history” and Palestinians of “betrayal” after Thursday’s surprise announcement of a deal to normalise relations between the Jewish state and the United Arab Emirates. In a nationwide televised address, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the deal would lead to “full and formal peace” with the Gulf …

France will increase its military presence in the eastern Mediterranean, President Emmanuel Macron said on Wednesday, calling on Turkey to halt oil and gas exploration in disputed waters that has heightened tensions with Greece. The French leader voiced concern over “unilateral” exploration by Turkey in a call with Greek Prime …

The foreign ministers of Greece and the United States will meet in Vienna on Friday to discuss tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean, the Greek foreign ministry said, amid a dispute between Athens and Ankara over hydrocarbon resources. The meeting between Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias and U.S. Secretary of State …

Iraq cancelled on Tuesday the Turkish defence minister’s visit to the country which was scheduled for Thursday, Iraq’s foreign ministry said in a statement. The ministry also summoned the Turkish ambassador to hand him “a strong protest note and inform him of Iraq’s confirmed rejection of his country’s attacks and …

As Beirut mourns its dead and grapples with the scale of rebuilding after this week’s massive blast, some Lebanese activists planned to demonstrate in the city on Saturday, angered by the government’s response to the disaster. Tuesday’s port explosion, the biggest in Beirut’s history, killed 154 people, injured 5,000 and …

Egypt and Greece signed an agreement on Thursday designating an exclusive economic zone in the eastern Mediterranean‮‮ ‬‬between the two countries, an area containing promising oil and gas reserves, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said. Shoukry made the announcement at a joint press conference with his Greek counterpart Nikos Dendias …

President Tayyip Erdogan’s AK Party is considering whether to pull Turkey out of an international accord designed to protect women, party officials said, alarming campaigners who see the pact as key to combating rising domestic violence. The officials said the AKP is set to decide by next week whether to …

A Russian diplomat said on Monday a group of more than 30 suspected Russian mercenaries detained in Belarus last week were only passing through Minsk and were on their way to an unnamed Latin American state. Belarusian authorities have said they suspect the men entered their country to plot “acts …

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is staying silent over an oil deal in northeast Syria to avoid a confrontation with Donald Trump, analysts told Arab News on Saturday. The surprise deal last week will allow Delta Crescent Energy, a US company based in Delaware, to develop oil fields under the …

Egypt said on Saturday that part of a seismic survey planned by Turkey in the eastern Mediterranean potentially encroached on waters where Cairo claims exclusive rights. An advisory issued last month by Turkey for the survey overlaps with Egypt’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ), constituting “a violation and an attack on …