Tag Archives: Turkey

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 …

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 …

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 …

Russia’s Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad discussed ensuring a lasting ceasefire in the Idlib region during talks in Syria, the Russian defense ministry said on Monday. The two talked about Russia providing humanitarian aid to Syria and enabling the country’s economic recovery with the help of …

Syria, already shattered by nine years of war, has banned entry for foreigners arriving from many countries hit by the coronavirus as part of widening measures to combat the epidemic. Although the government says it has yet to document any infections, Syria is seen at high risk. “We have vulnerable …

NATO head Jens Stoltenberg urged Russia and Syria on Friday to halt their Idlib offensive and said the military alliance stood in solidarity with member state Turkey, which lost 33 soldiers in an air strike by Syrian government forces. Syrian government forces, backed by Russian air power, have launched an …

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is to cut short his trip to Greece following the assassination of Major-General Qassem Soleimani, head of Iran’s Quds Force, said an official in Netanyahu’s office. Israel Army Radio reported that the country’s military had gone on heightened alert, fearing retaliation by Iran or its …

The United States on Monday imposed sanctions on four companies and two people operating in Syria, Turkey, the Gulf and Europe for providing financial and logistical support to Islamic State. The targets were blacklisted under an executive order that imposes sanctions on terrorists and those who have provided assistance or …

Saudi Arabia’s deputy defense minister said on Thursday he discussed regional security and military cooperation with senior U.S. government officials at a time of heightened tension with Iran following last month’s attacks on Saudi oil facilities. Saudi Arabia and the United States blamed common foe Tehran for the Sept. 14 …

Turkish authorities confiscated about $271 million in fake U.S. $100 banknotes in a raid on an Istanbul printing press – the country’s biggest counterfeit currency seizure in recent years, Hurriyet newspaper reported on Monday. The raid was carried out on Friday in Istanbul’s Esenyurt neighborhood and five people were arrested, …

Five people were lightly wounded after one of two rockets thought to be fired from within Syria landed on a house in a Turkish border town on Monday night, the provincial governor’s office said. The Defence Ministry said on Twitter that Turkish forces had responded to the rocket fire and …

U.S. President Donald Trump, who has made religious freedom a centerpiece of his foreign policy, met on Wednesday with victims of religious persecution from countries like China, Turkey, North Korea, Iran and Myanmar. Trump counts evangelical Christians among his core supporters and the State Department is hosting a conference on …

Turkey recognizes the fact that the people of China’s Xinjiang lead happy lives, Chinese state media on Tuesday cited Turkish President Tayip Erdogan as saying, a region where China has been running a controversial de-radicalization scheme. China has faced growing international opprobrium for setting up what it calls vocation training …

The Andijan airport is reconstructed and replaced with in appearance of Uzbekistan emblem, which will meet the requirements of world standards.  This was stated by the representative of Andijan region on investment and economic development of foreign countries Farhodjon Rasulov. On June 25, 2019, the mayor of the region, Shuhratbek …

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan told his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin that the ceasefire in Syria’s Idlib must be implemented to prevent more civilian deaths and an influx of refugees to Turkey, a statement from Erdogan’s office said. Erdogan told Putin over the phone on Thursday that Syria needed a political …

Turkish-American former NASA scientist Serkan Golge, newly released from jail in Turkey, said on Thursday he would like to go back to the United States and get his job back, but the terms of his probation won’t allow it. Earlier this year Golge was found guilty of being a member …

Turkey’s military launched an operation with commandos, backed by artillery and air strikes, against Kurdish militants in a mountainous area of northern Iraq, the defence ministry said on Tuesday. The military action began with artillery and air strikes on Monday afternoon and the operation by commando brigades began at 8 …

Exports from Iraq’s northern Kirkuk oilfields to the Turkish port of Ceyhan will stay at between 80-90,000 barrels per day (bpd) as most of the crude produced is being diverted to feed refineries in the north, Iraq’s oil minister said on Wednesday. Current production at the Kirkuk oilfields stands at …

Turkey is uneasy about U.S. plans to set up “observation posts” in Syria along parts of its border with Turkey, Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar said on Saturday. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said on Wednesday the United States was setting up the posts to help keep the focus on clearing …

Donald Trump’s comments about Jamal Khashoggi’s killing show the U.S. president will turn a blind eye to the issue no matter what investigators uncover, Turkey’s foreign minister said on Friday. On Tuesday, Trump vowed to remain a “steadfast partner” of Saudi Arabia despite saying that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin …

A Turkish newspaper reported on Thursday CIA director Gina Haspel signaled to Turkish officials last month that the agency had a recording of a call in which Saudi Arabia’s crown prince gave instructions to “silence” Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Asked about the report, a Turkish official told Reuters he had no information about such a recording. Saudi Arabia has said …

Amid international uproar over the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, some members of Saudi Arabia’s ruling family are agitating to prevent Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman from becoming king, three sources close to the royal court said. Dozens of princes and cousins from powerful branches of the Al Saud family …

Germany has issued entry bans for 18 Saudi citizens suspected of involvement in the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Riyadh’s Istanbul consulate, effectively banning them from the European Union’s passport-free Schengen zone. Monday’s move represents a sharpening of the position of Germany, which last month imposed a ban on …

U.S. President Donald Trump said he does not want to listen to an audio recording of the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi despite facing mounting pressure to punish Saudi Arabia for the killing. Khashoggi was killed inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2, and Turkey has given …

President Donald Trump said Saturday he was not considering extraditing a U.S.-based Muslim cleric to Turkey as part of an effort to ease pressure on Saudi Arabia. “No, it’s not under consideration,” Trump told reporters when asked about potential extradition of Fethullah Gulen, who is wanted in Turkey over accusations …

The United States imposed economic sanctions on 17 Saudi officials on Thursday for their role in the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, as Saudi Arabia’s public prosecutor sought the death penalty for five suspects in the murder. The U.S. Treasury Department sanctions were the first concrete response by the …

The U.S. Defense Department has delivered a report to Congress detailing implications of Turkey receiving 100 F-35 fighter jets, five people familiar with the report said, removing a key hurdle to concluding the deal. Turkey’s planned purchase of the Russian-made S-400 missile defense system has raised concerns in the West, …

A senior Turkish official proposed on Wednesday that suspects in the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi be tried in a Turkish court observed by international human rights groups. Khashoggi, a critic of de facto Saudi ruler Prince Mohammed bin Salman, was killed in Saudi Arabia’s Istanbul consulate last month …

Turkey signed an agreement on Friday with military vehicle producer BMC for the mass production of the Turkish-designed Altay battle tank, part of the country’s efforts to expand its defense industry. Turkey has been working to develop its own tanks, combat helicopters and other military equipment to boost its defense …

Turkey takes a positive view of a U.S. move to offer rewards for information on three members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), the foreign ministry said on Wednesday, adding it expected to see concrete steps in the fight against the militia. The United States offered the rewards on …

Investment bank Goldman Sachs (GS.N) reached an agreement with Turkey’s Jolly Tur to buy a second stake in the company, the Turkish travel agency said on Monday. It did not provide further details about the agreement. Source: Reuters

Turkey will not allow the exploitation of gas reserves in Turkish and north Cypriot waters of the eastern Mediterranean, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday. The eastern Mediterranean is believed to be rich in natural gas, and attempts to tap resources there have revived tensions between Turkey and Greece, which …

The United States said on Friday it lifted sanctions imposed on two top officials in Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan’s cabinet, a sign of improved relations after Turkey freed an American pastor from detention three weeks ago. The United States had imposed sanctions on Justice Minister Abdulhamit Gul and Interior Minister …

Istanbul’s chief prosecutor’s office said on Wednesday that journalist Jamal Khashoggi was suffocated in a premeditated killing as soon as he entered Saudi Arabia’s consulate four weeks ago, and his body was then dismembered and disposed of. In a statement issued after two days of talks with Saudi Arabia’s public …

A Turkish ship will start drilling for oil and gas in the Mediterranean on Wednesday, Energy Minister Fatih Donmez said, a move that could create tensions with neighboring Cyprus and Greece over jurisdiction. Attempts to tap gas and oil in the eastern Mediterranean, along with a dispute over Greece’s maritime …

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday raised the stakes in his dispute with Saudi Arabia over what he called the ‘‘premeditated murder’’ of the Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, demanding that Riyadh supply more answers and hand over the Saudi suspects to face justice in Turkey. After saying he would reveal …

Saudi Arabia’s King Salman Bin Abdul Aziz on Monday ordered an internal probe into the unexplained disappearance of prominent journalist Jamal Khashoggi as a joint Turkish-Saudi team was set to search the Saudi consulate in Istanbul where he was last seen on October 2. A Turkish diplomatic source said investigators …

As Jamal Khashoggi prepared to enter the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2, a squad of men from Saudi Arabia who investigators suspect played a role in his disappearance was ready and in place. They had arrived from Riyadh, the Saudi capital, early that morning and checked in at two inter­national hotels in …

Ahead of a meeting Tuesday with Greek Defense Minister Panos Kammenos, US Defense Secretary James Mattis praised Greece as a “solid” and “excellent” ally and described Souda Bay base on the island of Crete as “one of our most important ports of call in the Mediterranean.” The meeting of the …

Saudi Arabia’s consul in Istanbul opened up his mission on Saturday in an effort to show that prominent Saudi writer Jamal Khashoggi, who vanished four days ago, was not on the premises and said that talk of his kidnapping was baseless. Reuters journalists toured the six-storey consulate in northern Istanbul …

The Palestinian Authority (PA) and Turkey are boosting their ties in economic, investment and educational sectors, despite Turkey’s close relations with the rival Hamas movement. This raises a question about how Ankara will balance dealing with both parties. The Palestinian government approved Sept. 12 an agreement designed to encourage Turkish …

Turkey has stepped up arms supplies to Syrian rebels to help them stave off an expected offensive by the Syrian army and its Russian and Iran-backed allies in the northwest near the Turkish frontier, rebel sources told Reuters. Senior rebel officials said Turkey had sent more military aid to rebels …