Turkey on Thursday accused Cyprus of taking “dangerous” steps in its search for energy resources in the Mediterranean, two weeks after crunch talks aimed at reunifying the divided island collapsed. Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim visited the Turkish-controlled breakaway statelet of northern Cyprus to mark the 43rd anniversary of Turkey’s July 20 invasion that led … Read more
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has given emotional speeches to tens of thousands of people a year after a coup attempt was faced down in the streets. Mr Erdogan praised those people, including MPs, who had defended democracy and his government. He backed the death penalty for coup plotters and said they should wear Guantanamo … Read more
Just before midnight on July 15, 2016, a tear-stained anchorwoman, clearly under duress, appeared on Turkish state television to announce the purported seizure of power by the army. Shortly after she read the statement — said to be in the name of the armed forces — war planes bombed Ankara and tanks surged into the … Read more
The leader of Turkey’s main opposition party was on Sunday to address a mass rally in Istanbul at the culmination of an almost month-long march, in a rare challenge to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the leader of the secular Republican People’s Party (CHP), launched an unprecedented 450-kilometre (280 mile) trek on June 15 … Read more
Turkey and Germany on Monday failed to reach an agreement over visits by German politicians to a key airbase used for raids against the Islamic State group in Syria, with Ankara standing firm on its ban. The Incirlik base in southern Turkey has been at the centre of a dispute between the NATO allies since … Read more
The battle to capture the Islamic State group’s Syrian bastion Raqa started two days ago, Turkey’s Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said, according to the state-run news agency Anadolu Sunday. Yildirim appeared to contradict comments Saturday from the Kurdish-Arab alliance battling the jihadists that the push into the northern Syrian city would “begin in a few … Read more
The battle to capture the Islamic State group’s Syrian bastion Raqa started two days ago, Turkey’s Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said, according to the state-run news agency Anadolu Sunday. Yildirim appeared to contradict comments Saturday from the Kurdish-Arab alliance battling the jihadists that the push into the northern Syrian city would “begin in a few … Read more
Erdogan, founded the AKP in 2001 and led it to victory in an election a year later President Recep Tayyip Erdogan pledged to fight Turkey’s enemies at home and abroad on Sunday as he was re-elected leader of the ruling AK Party. This makes him the first Turk in nearly 70 years to serve simultaneously … Read more
Pentagon chief Jim Mattis said Thursday he had “no doubt” that Turkey and the United States would work out any differences arising from the US decision to arm Kurdish fighters in Syria. That decision, announced Tuesday, has led to public statements of anger from Turkey, which says the US-backed Kurdish YPG fighters battling the Islamic … Read more
The Liman was photographed passing through the Bosphorus in October A Russian spy ship has sunk off the Turkish coast after being breached in a collision with a freighter, with all its crew rescued, the Turkish coastal authority says. Russia confirmed earlier that the hull of the Liman, part of its Black Sea Fleet, had … Read more
Turkey on Wednesday detained more than 1,000 people and suspended over 9,100 police in a vast new crackdown against alleged supporters of the US-based preacher accused of orchestrating the coup bid against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Dawn raids across the country — seeking more than 3,000 suspects — were followed by a statement from police … Read more
The Turkish army said Friday it will keep a military presence in Syria despite officially ending its offensive in the country’s north against the Islamic State jihadists. “Our activities continue for the protection of our national security, to prevent any undesirable entity, to allow our displaced Syrian brothers and sisters to return to their country, … Read more
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was in Ankara on Thursday for talks on the Syria conflict, just a day after Turkey announced that its military offensive was over. Tillerson, the most senior US official to visit Turkey since President Donald Trump took office in January, is seeking to turn around recently rocky relations between … Read more
Turkey says it has “successfully” ended its seven-month Euphrates Shield military campaign in northern Syria. But Prime Minister Binali Yildirim did not rule out new military operations and did not say whether Turkish troops would now leave Syria. Turkey launched the offensive last August to push Islamic State militants away from its border and also … Read more
Turkey has officially ended the “Euphrates Shield” military operation it launched in Syria last August, Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said on Wednesday, but suggested there might be more cross-border campaigns to come. Turkey sent troops, tanks and warplanes to support Free Syrian Army (FSA) rebels, push ISIL fighters away from its border and stop the … Read more
Turkey on Wednesday announced its military campaign inside northern Syria was over, without specifying whether it will pull its troops out from the neighbouring country. Turkey’s top advisory national security council chaired by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the half-year long offensive in Syria has been “concluded successfully.” Prime Minister Binali Yildirim also said the … Read more
The US has arrested a senior official at a state-owned Turkish bank on charges of helping Iran violate US sanctions, a move that could fuel tension ahead of Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s visit on Thursday. Halkbank’s Mehmet Hakan Atilla is accused of helping to process millions of dollars of illegal transactions through US banks … Read more
Israeli authorities said Tuesday they have arrested a Palestinian employee in Gaza of Turkey’s international aid agency TIKA on accusations of diverting its project funds to Hamas. It was the third such arrest in recent months by Israel, with a UN worker and the Gaza head of Christian charity World Vision having previously been accused … Read more
The Netherlands has warned its citizens over travel to Turkey as a row between the countries shows no sign of abating. Germany, Austria and the Netherlands blocked Turkish attempts to hold rallies in those countries. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed retaliation, accusing them of “Nazism”. On Monday, the Dutch foreign ministry issued a new … Read more
Dutch riot police have clashed with protesters in Rotterdam, amid a diplomatic row that saw a Turkish minister escorted out of the country. Water cannon and police on horseback were used to disperse about 1,000 people outside the Turkish consulate. The minister was trying to win support among expatriates for a referendum on expanding Turkish … Read more