Turkey

Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday he hoped France would soon get rid of President Emmanuel Macron, describing him as a burden on France which was going through dangerous times. Ties between Turkey and France, both NATO members, have been particularly tense in recent months over policy differences on …

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will visit staunch ally Azerbaijan on December 9 and 10, his office said Thursday, following a truce that ended fighting over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region. The planned visit is the first by a foreign head of state to Baku since the ceasefire, which ended six …

Turkey ordered the detention of 82 military personnel in an operation targeting supporters of the Muslim preacher who Ankara says was behind a failed coup in 2016, state-owned Anadolu news agency said on Tuesday. Operations targeting the network of U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen have continued under a four-year-long crackdown since …

Turkey’s seismic exploration vessel Oruc Reis returned to port on Monday from disputed Mediterranean waters, less than two weeks before a European Union summit where the bloc will evaluate possible sanctions against Ankara. NATO members Turkey and Greece have conflicting claims to continental shelves and rights to potential energy resources …

Saudi Arabia formally suspended imports of meat, eggs and other products from Turkey earlier this month, the Turkish exporters’ union said, after a months-long informal boycott of Turkish goods over political tensions between the two regional rivals. Turkish exporters have reported increasing obstacles to trade in Saudi Arabia, as businessmen …

Turkey does not expect ties with the United States to be strained under President-elect Joe Biden and does not anticipate sanctions over its purchase of Russia S-400 defence systems, a senior official in President Tayyip Erdogan’s AK Party said. Relations have been tense between Ankara and Washington over issues from …

The European Parliament urged the EU on Thursday to impose sanctions on Turkey after President Tayyip Erdogan this month paid a visit to the breakaway Turkish Cypriot north of Cyprus. With 631 votes in favour, three against and 59 abstentions, the parliament agreed a non-binding resolution in support of EU …

A Turkish court has jailed 337 for life on Thursday, including army commanders and pilots, accused of carrying out a 2016 coup attempt from an air base near the capital Ankara, Anadolu news agency reported. More than 250 people were killed in the attempt to overthrow the government on July …

A Turkish court on Tuesday added new defendants to the case against Saudi officials charged over the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, state media reported, in a trial that Ankara says is needed to reveal the full truth behind the killing. Khashoggi, a critic of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin …

Turkey protested to Germany and the EU on Monday after German forces belonging to an EU military mission boarded and tried to search a Turkish cargo ship that they suspected of taking weapons to Libya illegally. Soldiers from the frigate Hamburg, part of an EU mission enforcing a U.N. arms …

France wants international supervision to implement a ceasefire in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict amid concerns in Paris that Russia and Turkey could strike a deal to cut out Western powers from future peace talks, the presidency said on Thursday. Moscow co-chairs the Minsk group overseeing the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute with Washington and …

Turkey’s parliament on Tuesday approved the deployment of troops to join Russian forces at an observation post in Nagorno-Karabakh after Armenia and Azerbaijan signed a Russian-brokered ceasefire deal to end fighting over the enclave. The mandate will allow Turkish troops to be stationed at the centre for one year as …

The US administration and Europe need to work jointly on addressing actions led by Turkey in the Middle East over the past few months, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told French daily newspaper Le Figaro. “France’s president Emmanuel Macron and I agree that Turkey’s recent actions have been very aggressive,” …

Turkish President Erdogan visited breakaway Northern Cyprus on Sunday to meet its newly elected leader who backs his call for a “two-state” solution to the divided island’s five-decade conflict if U.N.-mediated talks yield no results. With Turkey’s support, former prime minister Ersin Tatar won a tight presidential vote last month …

Azerbaijan won the war in Nagorno-Karabakh with the help of its ally Turkey. It’s archenemy Armenia did not get similar support from Russia and was forced to sign a humiliating peace deal which is a de facto capitulation. By Nikola Mikovic Nagorno-Karabakh, also known as Artsakh, is part of Azerbaijan …

A US statement saying that its Secretary of State Mike Pompeo plans to “promote our strong stance on religious freedom” during his visit to Istanbul next week has drawn the ire of Ankara. Pompeo’s visit is part of his planned tour of seven nations, including countries in the Middle East …

Turkey is ready to discuss U.S. concerns about the technical compatibility of Russian S-400 defences and U.S.-made F-35 jets, Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said Thursday, repeating Ankara’s proposal for a joint working group with Washington on the issue. U.S. President-elect Joe Biden is expected to be tougher on Turkey than …

Turkey and Russia signed an agreement on Wednesday to establish a joint centre to coordinate efforts for monitoring a ceasefire in the Nagorno-Karabakh region, President Tayyip Erdogan said. He said Ankara would also participate in a peacekeeping force, but a senior Turkish security source said it would be sending observers, …

The abrupt resignation of Tayyip Erdogan’s son-in-law from one of Turkey’s most powerful cabinet positions shocked the government and angered some ruling party members who say the nature of his departure damages the president. Finance and Treasury Minister Berat Albayrak oversaw economic policy for two tumultuous years during which Turkey …

Turkey said on Tuesday that a deal to end more than a month of fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh had secured important gains for its close ally Azerbaijan in the conflict with Armenia. The agreement, signed by Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan, follows six weeks of heavy fighting and advances by Azeri forces. …

Turkey gave an impassive first reaction on Sunday to Joe Biden’s presidential win, with Vice President Fuat Oktay saying it would not change relations between the old allies although Ankara will keep pressing Washington on Syria and other policy differences. Turkey stands to lose more than most other countries if …

Turkey is ready to work with whoever wins the U.S. election, two top Turkish officials said on Friday, despite a friendship with President Donald Trump that has helped the two countries through turbulent times. “Regardless of which candidate takes office in the U.S., we will pursue a sincere approach to …

Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte called Turkish legal action against Dutch politician Geert Wilders “unacceptable”. In a show of anger last week Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan launched legal action against Wilders for some minor critical remarks and posting a caricature of the Turkish president. By Arthur Blok Busy days …

Egyptian and French naval forces have carried out a joint naval training exercise in the northern Mediterranean amid growing tensions between the two countries and Turkey over Ankara’s gas exploration ambitions in the region. Two frigates were involved in the joint exercise, which is part of the Egyptian armed forces’ …

A 70-year-old man was pulled from the rubble of a collapsed building in the Turkish city of Izmir on Sunday, after being buried for 33 hours following a powerful earthquake which struck Turkey’s Aegean coast and Greek islands. Turkish authorities reported more deaths on Sunday, bringing the toll to 62, …

When Lebanon’s financial crisis pushed Vartkes to leave for Armenia this summer, he never imagined he would volunteer to fight in Nagorno-Karabakh. The young Lebanese-Armenian didn’t think twice, however, when the conflict between Azerbaijani and ethnic Armenian forces erupted soon after his move. “I wanted to go that night,” Vartkes, …

Nineteen people were killed in Turkey and Greece after a strong earthquake struck the Aegean Sea on Friday, bringing buildings crashing down and setting off tidal waves which slammed into coastal areas and islands. People ran onto streets in panic in the Turkish city of Izmir, witnesses said, after the …

Top Turkish officials condemned a caricature scorning President Tayyip Erdogan in the French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo on Wednesday, calling it a “disgusting effort” to “spread its cultural racism and hatred”. Turkish anger at the caricature added fuel to a row between Turkey and France about cartoons of the Prophet …

Turkish leader Tayyip Erdogan asked his compatriots to stop buying French goods on Monday in the latest expression of anger in the Muslim world over images being displayed in France of the Prophet Mohammad, which some Muslims consider blasphemous. In Bangladesh on Monday, protesters held placards with a caricature of …

Kurdish authorities in northern Iraq said on Monday they had foiled a plan to attack foreign diplomats in their autonomous regional capital of Erbil, more than a year after the killing of a Turkish consular official there. In a statement, the Kurdistan regional government’s top security agency said the attack …

Turkey has extended the seismic survey work of its Oruc Reis ship in a disputed area of the eastern Mediterranean until Nov. 4 – a move that Greece condemned on Sunday as “illegal”. Turkey said Greece’s accusation was “baseless” as tensions between the NATO members flared again in a dispute …

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan confirmed on Friday that Turkey had been testing the S-400 air defence systems that it bought from Russia and said U.S. objections on the issue did not matter. Washington says Ankara’s purchase of the Russian systems compromises NATO defences, and has threatened sanctions. An apparent firing …

The fiancee of slain Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi and a human rights group that he founded filed a lawsuit in a U.S. court on Tuesday with allegations that Saudi Arabia’s crown prince ordered him killed. The civil lawsuit, which seeks unspecified damages against Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, also named …

Israel discovered a new cross-border tunnel from the Gaza Strip on Tuesday that its military said extended “dozens of metres underground” and into southern Israel. The military said its engineers discovered the tunnel using underground sensors attached to a concrete barrier that, once completed, will run 65 kilometres (40 miles) …

A missile was fired into the sky on Friday on Turkey’s Black Sea coast where the military was expected to test its Russian-made S-400 defence systems, according to local video obtained by Reuters, drawing a strong warning from the United States. The video, taken in the coastal city of Sinop, …

Armenian and Azeri forces fought new clashes on Friday, defying hopes of ending nearly three weeks of fighting over the Nagorno-Karabakh enclave, and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo blamed Turkey for inflaming the situation by arming the Azeris. The worst outbreak of violence in the South Caucasus since Armenia …

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Thursday said Turkey’s involvement in the conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia has increased the risk in the region, reiterating his call for the issue to be resolved through diplomacy. Several hundred people have been killed in the deadliest flare-up of the decades-old conflict …

Recep Tayyip Erdogan faced isolation on two fronts on Wednesday as European and Russian diplomats moved to rein in the Turkish president’s adventurism in the eastern Mediterranean and the Caucasus. EU officials admitted their strategy to defuse tensions with Turkey was unraveling only two weeks after it began. Despite an …

The United States on Tuesday slammed Turkey’s renewed push to send a vessel to carry out seismic surveys in the eastern Mediterranean, accusing Ankara of unilaterally stoking tensions and “deliberately” complicating the resumption of talks with Greece. “The United States deplores Turkey’s October 11 announcement of renewed Turkish survey activity …

Azeri and ethnic Armenian forces accused each other on Monday of launching new attacks in and around Nagorno-Karabakh, increasing pressure on a humanitarian ceasefire intended to stop the heaviest fighting over the enclave for more than 25 years. Azerbaijan said its military positions had been shelled overnight. Nagorno-Karabakh, which is …

Turkey’s army in Qatar is an element of instability in the Gulf region, a senior official of the United Arab Emirates has said, adding that it contributed to negative polarisation. The UAE and its Arab allies have imposed a boycott on Qatar since mid-2017 and had demanded that Doha close …

Turkey’s leading business groups urged Saudi Arabia on Saturday to take action to improve trade relations as Turkish firms encounter growing problems in doing business with the Gulf Arab state. Saudi Arabia and Turkey have been at odds for some years over foreign policy and attitudes towards Islamist political groups. …

Turkey said on Friday efforts by France, the United States and Russia to end violence between Azeri and Armenian forces over Nagorno-Karabakh were bound to fail unless they also ensured a withdrawal of Armenian forces from the enclave. As the region’s deadliest battles for more than 25 years raged, Russia …

Iran’s president warned on Wednesday that fighting between Azeri and ethnic Armenian forces in the South Caucasus could trigger a regional war as the death toll rose on the 11th day of hostilities. More than 300 have now died in the renewed fighting in and around the mountain enclave of …