Turkey

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday said he will visit Saudi Arabia next month, the Turkish leader’s first since the 2018 murder of Riyadh critic Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul. Rocky relations between Turkey and Saudi Arabia worsened significantly after the brutal killing of Khashoggi inside the Saudi consulate in …

Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday the government had burst a bubble in the foreign exchange market by taking steps this week to protect lira deposits against volatility. “We have seen the bubble on the foreign exchange rates disperse in a day with our package of measures,” Erdogan said, …

Turkey has frozen the assets of a total of 770 people and a U.S.-based foundation on the grounds of terrorism financing, a ruling published in its official gazette showed on Friday. Chicago-based Niagara Foundation’s assets were frozen because of links with the U.S. based cleric Fethullah Gulen, accused by Turkey …

A phrase Armen Sarkissian likes to repeat when describing his vision for Armenia is “small nation, global state.” As president of the republic, he doesn’t mince his words when it comes to his country’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.  Occupying only 29,743 square kilometers of territory, Armenia is comparable in …

U.S. authorities have taken issue with Turkey over its sales of armed drones to Ethiopia, where two sources familiar with the matter said there was mounting evidence the government had used the weapons against rebel fighters. Washington has “profound humanitarian concerns” over the sales, which could contravene U.S. restrictions on …

The Kremlin’s strategic frenemy – Turkey – is stepping up efforts to increase its influence in the Black Sea region ahead of a potential escalation of the Donbas conflict between Western-sponsored Ukraine and Russia-backed forces.By Nikola MikovicDespite the fact that Moscow and Ankara act as partners in various lucrative energy …

Turkey and Armenia will appoint special representatives to discuss steps to normalize their ties, Turkey’s foreign minister said. Speaking in parliament during a debate over his ministry’s budget late Monday, Mevlut Cavusoglu also said charter flights between Istanbul and Yerevan would restart soon. “We have consulted with Azerbaijan. Soon, we …

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan described social media Saturday as one of the main threats to democracy.Erdogan’s government plans to pursue legislation to criminalize spreading fake news and disinformation online, but critics say the proposed changes would tighten restrictions on free speech. “Social media, which was described as a symbol …

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said he is open to improved relations with Israel, but the country must first display “more sensitive” policies toward Palestinians. Erdogan told a group of journalists in Qatar late Tuesday that better ties with Israel would be “beneficial” for peace in the wider region. …

China’s Uyghur Muslim ethnic group, which has a wide presence in Turkey, welcomed a U.S. boycott of the Winter Games in Beijing, and called on other countries to do the same. The White House said on Monday U.S. government officials would boycott the Winter Olympics because of China’s human rights …

A suspected member of the team that murdered Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018, Khalid Alotaibi, was arrested at Charles de Gaulle airport outside Paris on Tuesday, judicial and airport sources said. Khashoggi, a prominent Saudi who lived in self-exile in the United States and wrote for The Washington Post, …

Cyprus on Friday rebuffed claims it was violating Turkey’s continental shelf by awarding an exploration licence in the Mediterranean to Exxon Mobil XOM.N and Qatar Petroleum [RIC:RIC:QATPE.UL], saying it was within its sovereign rights. Turkey on Thursday accused Cyprus of violating its continental shelf by awarding an exploration licence to the two …

Dutch police arrested 50 people on Friday after Kurdish demonstrators alleging that Turkey is using chemical weapons in northern Iraq broke into the headquarters of the global toxic arms watchdog. Protesters got past security to enter the grounds of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons in The Hague …

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu called for support for the Lebanese government in overcoming the country’s crises and holding parliamentary elections at a press conference in Beirut on Tuesday. Cavusoglu stressed that “the Lebanese people should not have to pay the price of regional bargains,” referring to the issue of …

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu on Tuesday urged all parties to overcome the problems in Lebanon so that the Lebanese people do not have to “pay the price of regional bargains.” Çavuşoğlu stated in a joint press conference with his Lebanese counterpart Abdallah Bou Habib that “we feel sad over …

Israel is working for the release of an Israeli couple being held in Turkey, denying allegations carried by Turkish state media that the two were spies, the Israeli prime minister said. Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said in a statement that he had spoken the family of the two Israelis, Natali …

An Israeli married couple were arrested for espionage late Friday after taking photographs of the Turkish president’s residence in Istanbul, Turkey’s official news agency said. Anadolu Agency said a Turkish national was also arrested. Police detained them after a tip off from an employee working in the Camlica radio and …

Turkish-backed groups in northern Syria have weaponized water by building dams on a river that serves as a lifeline for communities living downstream in Kurdish-dominated areas, a report alleged Wednesday said. New research conducted by Dutch peace-building organization PAX shows that the Syrian National Army (SNA) built three dams that …

U.S. President Joe Biden told Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan his request for F-16 fighter jets had to go through a process in the United States, while Erdogan said his counterpart was “positive” toward the jet sale. Ties between Ankara and Washington have been strained over a host of issues in …

President Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday Turkey had signed a memorandum of understanding under which it will receive loans worth $3.2 billion to help it meet clean energy goals set out in the Paris climate accord. Sources familiar with the plan said earlier this month that Turkey was to receive …

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said problems over the F-35 jet programme will be the main topic at his meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden at a summit in Glasgow starting at the end of this month, state media reported on Wednesday. Turkey, a manufacturer and buyer of the F-35s, was …

Turkey and its Western allies climbed down from a full-blown diplomatic crisis on Monday after foreign embassies said that they abide by diplomatic conventions on non-interference, averting a threatened expulsion of 10 ambassadors. President Tayyip Erdogan, who said at the weekend he had ordered the envoys to be declared “persona …

NATO-member Turkey’s defence minister said the forming of alliances outside of NATO would harm the organisation, according to comments released on Saturday, after Greece and France agreed a defence pact last month. NATO allies Greece and France clinched a strategic military and defence cooperation pact in September, which includes an …

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday threatened to expel the ambassadors of the United States, Germany and eight other Western countries after they condemned the detention of a civil society leader. Parisian-born philanthropist and activist Osman Kavala, 64, has been in jail without a conviction since 2017, becoming a …

Turkey is shifting to a proxy force strategy and diplomacy with the US and Russia to counter the Kurdish People’s Defense Units in Syria instead of deploying its own troops, analysts have said. It comes after senior Turkish officials hinted at a strategy change regarding the war-torn country following deadly …

Afghan Taliban leaders said they would do all they can to help Afghan migrants in Turkey wanting to return home, the Turkish foreign minister said on Thursday after talks in Ankara, adding that both sides discussed how to prevent another “migrant wave”. Turkey hosts some four million migrants, mostly Syrians, …

Turkish intelligence helped Iraq capture a senior Islamic State leader who had been hiding out in northwestern Syria, three security sources said on Tuesday, in an operation that points to closer cooperation against remnants of the jihadist group. Iraq announced on Monday that its security forces had captured Sami Jasim, …

Turkey has made a request to the U.S. to buy 40 Lockheed Martin-made F-16 fighter jets and nearly 80 modernization kits for its existing warplanes, as the NATO ally looks to modernize its Air Force after the purchase of F-35 jets fell through, sources familiar with the matter said. The …

Turkey is considering more joint defence industry steps with Russia including for fighter jets and submarines, President Tayyip Erdogan said after talks with President Vladimir Putin, despite a U.S. warning of further sanctions. On the return flight to Turkey from the talks, Erdogan told reporters he also proposed working with …

The presidents of Russia and Turkey on Wednesday began talks on curbing renewed violence in northwest Syria and on possibly expanding Moscow’s sales of military defence systems to Ankara despite U.S. objections. The talks are taking place in the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi and the Kremlin said that …

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan will meet with U.S. President Joe Biden on the margins of the G20 summit in Rome, state broadcaster TRT Haber said on Tuesday. The summit is scheduled for Oct. 30-31. Plastic straw bans are not helping the oceans Erdogan has recently said that relations between Ankara …

The presidents of Russia and Turkey will hold talks on Wednesday on curbing renewed violence in northwest Syria and possibly expanding Moscow’s sales of military defence systems to Ankara, Turkish officials said. Vladimir Putin is hosting Tayyip Erdogan at Russia’s Black Sea resort of Sochi, where the Turkish leader will …

President Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey still intended to buy a second batch of S-400 missile defense systems from Russia, a move that could deepen a rift with NATO ally Washington and trigger new U.S. sanctions. Washington says the S-400s pose a threat to its F-35 fighter jets and to NATO’s …

Turkey sent reinforcements to the last rebel-held enclave in northwestern Syria as Russia stepped up air strikes there on Sunday, several sources said, three days before leaders Vladimir Putin and Tayyip Erdogan are due to meet for talks. Residents as well as opposition and military sources said that Russian jets …

President Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday the Taliban’s current approach and their interim government were not inclusive but Turkey was willing to work with them if they formed a more encompassing government, broadcaster Haberturk reported. NATO member Turkey has been working with Qatar to operate Kabul airport and open it …

When President Tayyip Erdogan opened a new court complex this month, Turkey’s senior cleric sealed the ceremony with a Muslim prayer, triggering protests from critics who said his actions contravened the secular constitution. “Make this wonderful work beneficial and blessed for our nation, my God,” Ali Erbas said in his …

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan will visit Russia later this month for talks with President Vladimir Putin about the violence in northwestern Syria, where Moscow and Ankara back opposing sides, two Turkish officials said on Friday.Turkey supports fighters who sought to topple President Bashar Assad, while Russia has helped shore up …

Turkey cannot bear the burden of a new wave of migrants from Afghanistan, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Sunday after talks with his German counterpart, as concerns over a new wave of migrants wave of migrants remain after the takeover of power by the Taliban. Events in Afghanistan fueled …

Russia and Turkey are close to signing a new contract to supply Ankara with additional S-400 air defense units in the near future, the Interfax news agency cited the head of Russia’s Rosoboronexport arms exporter as saying on Monday. Turkey’s initial purchase of S-400s from Russia strained ties with the …

President Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday urged European countries to take responsibility for migrants coming from Afghanistan, adding Turkey had no intention of becoming “Europe’s migrant storage unit” amid turmoil in the country after the Taliban’s takeover. Since the Taliban entered Kabul over the weekend, scenes of chaos have unfolded as …

The death toll in a Turkish air raid on a clinic in Iraq’s Sinjar province has risen to eight, local officials said Wednesday, a day after the attack. Turkey regularly targets northwest Iraq in operations against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which Ankara considers a terrorist organization. The Kurdish separatists …

President Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday that Turkey still aims to maintain security at Kabul airport, after Taliban fighters took control of Afghanistan’s capital. NATO member Turkey, which has hundreds of troops in Afghanistan, had been discussing with the United States a proposal to keep those forces in the country …

Flash floods that swept through towns in Turkish Black Sea provinces have killed 70 people and emergency workers continue to search for 47 missing people, authorities say. The floods last week brought chaos as torrents of water tossed dozens of cars and heaps of debris along streets, destroyed buildings and …

Turkey has dropped plans to take over Kabul airport after NATO’s withdrawal from Afghanistan but is ready to provide support if the Taliban request it, two Turkish sources said on Monday amid turmoil following the militant group’s victory in Afghanistan. Turkey, which has 600 troops in Afghanistan, had offered to …