Turkey has called off a visit by Sweden’s defense minister against the backdrop of a planned ‘Qur’an burning’ event in Stockholm by a right-wing extremist whose anti-Islam conduct sparked riots in the European country last year. Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said on Saturday, “At this point, Swedish Defense Minister …
Read More »Turkey’s Baykar to deliver drones to Kuwait in $370 million deal
Turkey is set to deliver an undisclosed number of armed drones to Kuwait in a contract worth $370 million, Turkish defense firm Baykar said on Wednesday. International demand for Baykar’s TB2 drones soared after they featured in conflicts in Syria, Libya and Azerbaijan and interest in them increased further following …
Read More »Erdogan aide says time running out to ratify Sweden, Finland NATO bids
Turkey is running out of time to ratify NATO membership bids by Sweden and Finland before it holds elections expected in May, a Turkish presidential spokesman said on Saturday. President Tayyip Erdogan’s spokesman, Ibrahim Kalin, said Turkish ratification of the countries’ bids depended on how quickly Stockholm fulfils counter-terrorism promises …
Read More »Sweden says Turkey asking too much over NATO application
Sweden is confident that Turkey will approve its application to join the NATO military alliance, but will not meet all the conditions Ankara has set for its support, Sweden’s prime minister said on Sunday. “Turkey both confirms that we have done what we said we would do, but they also …
Read More »Erdogan says he may meet Syria’s Assad to discuss peace, stability
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has expressed the possibility of meeting with his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad in forthcoming talks with Russia to discuss peace and stability in the region and in the Arab country. Erdogan said on Thursday that a trilateral meeting of the foreign ministers from Turkey, Russia, …
Read More »Iraq | borders guards start deploying at the borders with Turkiye and Iran
On Tuesday, the spokesperson for the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Maj. Gen. Yahya Rasool revealed that the border guards continued deploying at the borders with Turkiye and Iran in the Kurdistan Region within the fault line. Rasool said in a press conference that the security forces have begun to …
Read More »Russia and US hold technical talks in Istanbul
Both sides were keen to stress that the meeting of diplomats was not a sign of rapprochement over the war in Ukraine. Russian and U.S. diplomats met in Istanbul on Friday to discuss a number of technical issues in their relationship, Russia’s deputy foreign minister and the U.S. Embassy in …
Read More »Erdogan says mulling ground operation in Syria
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Monday he was mulling going beyond air strikes and launching a ground operation in Syria following a deadly rocket strike on a Turkish border town. Erdogan also renewed warnings that those attacking Turkey will pay dearly, a day after Ankara’s forces launched air raids …
Read More »‘Jamal died again’: US grants immunity to MBS over Khashoggi killing
The US Department of State has given Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman immunity from a lawsuit over the murder of Jamal Khashoggi despite Joe Biden’s earlier promise to hold the de facto ruler accountable for the crime. In a statement on Thursday, the US State Department announced that it …
Read More »Turkey’s Erdogan to discuss NATO bid with Swedish PM: Report
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has accepted a request from Sweden’s new prime minister to visit Turkey for talks aimed at overcoming Ankara’s objections to Stockholm and Helsinki’s bids to join NATO, local media reported on Friday. Sweden and Finland earlier this year tore up their long-standing policies of non-alignment …
Read More »Hard winter ahead for Europe – Erdogan
The entire continent wonders how it will get through the season, Turkey’s president said European countries are about to face significant difficulties this winter amid limited deliveries of Russian natural gas, Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday. Speaking at the TUGVA youth forum, Türkiye’s leader noted that the …
Read More »Greece and Egypt call Turkish-Libyan gas deal ‘illegal’
Egypt and Greece on Sunday said a deal allowing Turkish hydrocarbon exploration in Libya’s Mediterranean waters was “illegal” as Athens said it would oppose it by all “legal means.” On Monday, Turkey said it had signed a memorandum of understanding on exploration for hydrocarbons in Libya’s seas with the authorities …
Read More »Turkish intelligence kills a senior PKK official in northern Iraq
Turkish intelligence targeted the PKK member who was in charge of the group’s so-called “health committee” since last year. Turkish intelligence has “neutralised” a senior PKK in northern Iraq, security sources said. Okkes Develi was targeted in an operation by Türkiye’s National Intelligence Organisation in the Gara region, said the …
Read More »At least six dead after migrant boat sinks off Turkish coast – coastguard
Six people including children drowned when a boat carrying migrants destined for Italy sank off the coast of southwestern Turkey, the coast guard said on Tuesday. In a statement, the coast guard said a total of 73 migrants from four lifeboats were rescued on Tuesday while search and rescue operations …
Read More »Putin calls for calm as Azerbaijan and Armenia clash in worst fighting since 2020
At least 49 Armenian soldiers and an undisclosed number of Azeris were killed on Tuesday in the deadliest fighting between Azerbaijan and Armenia since a 2020 war, prompting Russian President Vladimir Putin to call for calm. Armenia and Azerbaijan each blamed the other for the renewed fighting which began overnight …
Read More »Senior executive of ISIS terror group captured in Turkey
One of the most important senior executives of the Daesh/ISIS terrorist organization has been captured in Turkey, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced on Thursday. Terrorist Bashar Khattab Ghazal al-Sumaidai, codenamed Abu Zeid/Master Zeid, was captured in a successful operation by the Turkish intelligence and Istanbul police, Erdogan told reporters on …
Read More »Turkey’s Erdogan says ‘Europe reaping what it sowed’ on energy crisis
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday that Russia is cutting natural gas flows to Europe in retaliation for sanctions, adding that Europe is “reaping what it sowed”. Fears in Europe have increased over a potentially bleak winter after Russia announced it was keeping its main gas pipeline to Germany …
Read More »Erdogan accuses Greece of ‘occupying’ demilitarised islands
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan accused Greece on Saturday of occupying islands in the Aegean Sea that have a demilitarised status and said Turkey was prepared to “do what is necessary” when the time comes. Historic rivals while also being fellow members of NATO, Turkey and Greece have been at odds …
Read More »Nearly 25,000 migrants reach Greece in August as govt extended border wall
The Greek government said on Thursday that some 25,000 migrants had tried to enter the country through its border with Turkey in August, as it announced plans to dramatically extend a wall between the two neighbors. Athens will extend a 40-kilometer (25-mile) long wall built along the Greek-Turkish border at …
Read More »Russia says Turkey’s military action in Syria would be ‘unacceptable’
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has lambasted Turkey’s declared plans to launch a new military campaign in northern Syria, stressing that an escalation of military actions in the war-ravaged country would be “unacceptable.” Lavrov made the remark at a press conference alongside his visiting Syrian counterpart, Faisal Mekdad, in the …
Read More »