Turkey

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and U.S. President Donald Trump agreed in a phone call to work more closely in Libya to ensure lasting stability in the country, the Turkish presidency said on Tuesday. Turkey supports the internationally recognised Government of National Accord in Libya, which is fighting against the eastern-based …

The United Nations Security Council on Saturday approved aid deliveries to Syria through one border crossing from Turkey, a day after its authorization for the six-year-long humanitarian operation ended, leaving millions of Syrian civilians in limbo. The United Nations describes the aid delivered from Turkey as a “lifeline” for Syrians …

A major Egyptian army exercise near the border with Libya is being viewed by military and strategic experts as a message of deterrence to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan over his backing for the Government of National Accord led by Prime Minister Fayez Al-Sarraj and supported by militia groups. The …

Russia and China vetoed a last-ditch attempt by Western members of the U.N. Security Council to extend approval – which expires on Friday – for humanitarian aid to be delivered across two border crossings into Syria from Turkey for the next six months. The United Nations says millions of Syrian …

President Tayyip Erdogan declared Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia open to Muslim prayer as a mosque on Friday after a top court ruled that the building’s conversion to a museum by modern Turkey’s founding statesman was illegal. Erdogan made his announcement just an hour after the court ruling was revealed, brushing aside …

A Russian bid to halve access for humanitarian aid deliveries to Syria from Turkey to just one border crossing failed at the United Nations Security Council on Wednesday, garnering just four votes in favor from the 15-member body. Russia and China cast vetoes on Tuesday to block the council from …

A bomb attack by the Kurdish YPG militia killed six people and wounded 11 on Tuesday in the northeastern Syrian town of Tel Abyad, near the Turkish border, the Turkish Defence Ministry said. The Arab town, from which Turkish-backed forces last October pushed out the YPG militia in a major …

Russia and China cast vetoes on Tuesday to block the U.N. Security Council from extending its approval of aid deliveries to Syria from Turkey for a year, despite U.N. warnings that the lives of Syrian civilians depend on the cross-border access. The more than six-year long operation is currently authorized …

Patriarch Kirill, the leader of Russia’s Orthodox Church, said on Monday that calls to convert Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia into a mosque posed a threat to Christianity. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has proposed restoring the mosque status of the UNESCO World Heritage Site, an ancient building at the heart of both …

A Turkish court put 20 Saudi officials on trial in absentia on Friday for the gruesome killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi which sparked international outrage and tarnished the image of Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler. Khashoggi was killed in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in October 2018 when he went …

A Turkish court on Thursday heard a case aimed at converting Istanbul’s sixth century Hagia Sophia back into a mosque and will announce its verdict within 15 days, a lawyer said, on an issue which has drawn international expressions of concern. President Tayyip Erdogan has proposed restoring the mosque status …

The illegitimate presence of U.S. forces in Syria should end immediately, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani told Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan in a video conference broadcast on Iranian state TV on Wednesday. Iran would continue its support for Syria’s legal government, Rouhani said. Source: Reuters

France has informed NATO that it is suspending its involvement in a naval operation in the Mediterranean after the results of a probe into an incident between French and Turkish warships, an official at the Armed Forces ministry said on Wednesday. The official said in a letter to NATO’s Secretary-General …

Turkey will work together with Italy to achieve stable peace and a political process that will yield results in Libya, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Friday, and added the NATO allies could also cooperate in the eastern Mediterranean. Turkey supports the internationally recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) in …

A senior Turkish military official said on Wednesday it was “completely untrue” that the Turkish navy had harassed a French warship, denying an assertion by a French official. Earlier on Wednesday, the French defence ministry official accused the Turkish navy of harassing a French warship on a NATO mission. He …

By James M. Dorsey     Europe is progressively being sucked into the Middle East and North Africa’s myriad conflicts. As if wars on its doorstep in Libya and Syria were not enough, UAE support for an Eastern Mediterranean pipeline that could hurt Qatar economically — combined with Greek, Cypriot …

Turkey and Libya’s internationally recognised government are discussing possible Turkish use of two military bases in the North African country, a Turkish source said on Monday, teeing up a lasting Turkish presence in the south Mediterranean. No final decisions have been made over possible Turkish military use of the Misrata …

Turkish warplanes struck Kurdish militant targets in various regions of northern Iraq on Sunday night in response to an increase in militant attacks on Turkish army bases, the Defence Ministry said. “The Claw-Eagle Operation has started. Our planes are bringing the caves down on the terrorists’ heads,” the Turkish Defence …

Russia and Turkey have postponed ministerial-level talks which were expected to focus on Libya and Syria, where the two countries support opposing sides in long-standing conflicts. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov decided to put off the talks during a phone call on Sunday, the …

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu will visit Turkey on Sunday for talks, the two countries’ foreign ministries said on Saturday, with media reports saying discussions would focus on Libya. Turkey supports Fayez al Serraj’s internationally recognised Government of National Accord (GNA), whose forces have in …

The United States needs to play a more active role in Libya, both in achieving a ceasefire and in political talks, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said in an interview with broadcaster NTV on Thursday. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday welcomed the resumption of talks led by …

Turkey on Wednesday dismissed Egypt’s proposal for a ceasefire in Libya, saying the plan aimed to save Khalifa Haftar after the collapse of his offensive to control the capital Tripoli, Hurriyet newspaper reported. Turkey supports Fayez al Serraj’s internationally recognised Government of National Accord (GNA), whose forces have in recent …

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said he discussed the conflict in Libya with U.S. President Donald Trump in a phone call on Monday and that the two leaders agreed on “some issues” related to developments there. Turkey supports the internationally recognised government of Fayez al Serraj, whose forces have in recent …

Turkey has been swift to implement its own brand of diplomacy during the coronavirus pandemic, including deliveries of medical supplies and plans for long-term cooperation on medical equipment. This cooperative diplomacy goes hand in hand with an assertive foreign policy, illustrated by military interventions and challenges to the legal order …

The bones of a woman of Central Asian descent found at the bottom of a deep well after a violent death in an ancient city in Turkey are helping scientists understand population movements during a crucial juncture in human history. Researchers have dubbed her the “lady in the well” and …

The United States is looking to use one of its Security Force Assistance Brigades in Tunisia, its military said on Friday, amid concern over Russian activity in Libya. Libya’s civil war has drawn in regional and global powers, prompting what the United Nations has called a huge influx of weapons …

Turkey may begin oil exploration in the eastern Mediterranean within three or four months under a deal it signed with Libya that was condemned by others in the region including Greece, Energy Minister Fatih Donmez said on Friday. Libya’s internationally-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) signed the maritime delimitation deal …

By James M. Dorsey | May 22, 2020 The United Arab Emirates and Turkey are locked into a regional power struggle that has fuelled conflict in Libya and could spark renewed fighting in Syria. It is a struggle, like that between Saudi Arabia and Iran, that threatens to keep the …

U.S. President Donald Trump and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday discussed turmoil in Libya and Syria, as well as reopening economies around the world amid the global coronavirus pandemic, a White House spokesman said. “President Trump and President Erdogan discussed progress on reopening and boosting global economies in the …

Turkish authorities have detained 38 people including the local head of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) in relation to an armed attack which killed two people in the eastern province of Van, governor’s office said on Friday. The attack on Thursday targeted two municipality personnel and a civilian returning …

Turkey accused the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday of bringing chaos to the Middle East through its interventions in Libya and Yemen, allegations which are likely to inflame tensions between the regional rivals. Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu was responding to criticism of Turkey’s role in the Libyan conflict, where it …

Shells landed near the Turkish and Italian embassies in central Tripoli late on Thursday, they said, in an apparent expansion of bombardment by eastern-based forces to a central district of the Libyan capital. The eastern-based Libyan National Army (LNA) of Khalifa Haftar has been bombarding Tripoli for months as part …

At least 40 civilians were killed, including 11 children, when a bomb detonated on an oil tanker in the northern Syrian town of Afrin on Tuesday, the Turkish Defence Ministry said, blaming the attack on the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia. In a statement on Twitter, the ministry said the blast …

By James M. Dorsey A podcast version of this story is available on Soundcloud, Itunes, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn, Spreaker, Pocket Casts, Tumblr, Podbean, Audecibel, Patreon and Castbox. Populated by fluent Hebrew speakers, the Israel desk of Armenia’s foreign ministry waited back in 1991 in the wake of the collapse of …

On this day, one hundred and five years ago, Armenian leaders in Constantinople were rounded up by Ottoman authorities and murdered. This day therefore marks the commencement of the Ottoman plans to systematically kill and annihilate the Armenian minority. By Darlene Schembri By the end, around one and a half …

Turkey’s plans to switch on its new Russian missile defence systems have been delayed by the coronavirus outbreak but it does not intend to reverse a decision which has raised the threat of U.S. sanctions, a senior Turkish official said. Tensions between NATO allies Turkey and the United States over …

Rumours of a gay character in a new Turkish Netflix series, “Love 101”, have ignited calls for a boycott of the streaming service and sharp criticism from the broadcast regulator. A furore erupted after a now-deleted Twitter account @love101netflix suggested one of the main characters in the show – a …

Turkey on Tuesday repeated an offer to the United States to establish a technical working group including NATO to help solve a dispute over Ankara’s purchase of Russian missile defenses that angered Washington. Ties between the NATO allies were badly strained last year when Turkey bought Russian S-400 defense systems, …

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday refused to accept the resignation of his interior minister over an abrupt nationwide lockdown that triggered a spate of panic-buying. Suleyman Soylu came in for fierce criticism after the 48-hour shutdown to counter the spread of the coronavirus was announced on Friday night …

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and an alliance of faith groups have urged President Donald Trump to champion a moratorium on debt payments for poor countries hit by the coronavirus pandemic that has triggered a global recession. In a letter sent to the U.S. president on Wednesday, the groups …

Turkish academics, journalists and rights groups are demanding that a planned release of tens of thousands of prisoners to stem the spread of the coronavirus should not exclude inmates whose only crime, they say, has been to challenge the authorities. President Tayyip Erdogan’s AK Party proposed a bill on Tuesday …

Iran said on Tuesday its natural gas exports to Turkey have stopped after an attack on a pipeline inside the neighbouring country, an Iranian official told state TV. “This morning, terrorists attacked a natural gas pipeline inside Turkey near Iran’s Bazargan border with Turkey …Flow of gas has been halted,” …

Two intelligence officers at Iran’s consulate in Turkey instigated the killing last November of an Iranian dissident in Istanbul who criticized the Islamic Republic’s political and military leaders, two senior Turkish officials told Reuters. The accusation is likely to strain ties between Turkey and Iran, two regional powers which had …

Istanbul prosecutor’s office said on Wednesday it had prepared an indictment against 20 suspects over the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, including the former deputy head of Saudi Arabia’s general intelligence and a former royal adviser. Khashoggi’s killing in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in October 2018 caused a …