Istanbul, Turkey | AFP | Turkey “laughed off” a demand from the International Criminal Court (ICC) to arrest Sudan’s wanted leader when he attended a summit in Istanbul, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was quoted as saying Thursday. Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, who is wanted on charges of genocide and war crimes, …
Read More »Turkey summons UAE diplomat over tweet on Erdogan
Istanbul, Turkey | AFP | Turkey summoned a senior United Arab Emirates diplomat on Thursday to complain about a tweet by an Emirati minister that infuriated Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, state media reported. The Emirates’ foreign minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahyan this week retweeted a post on Twitter in …
Read More »Erdogan urges Jerusalem recognition as ‘Palestine’s capital’
Istanbul, Turkey | AFP | Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday urged the world to recognise occupied East Jerusalem as the “capital of Palestine”, as Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas warned there could be no peace in the Middle East until such a step was made. Erdogan convened in Istanbul an …
Read More »Trump Jerusalem move puts region in ‘ring of fire’: Erdogan
Ankara, Turkey | AFP | Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday lashed out at his US counterpart Donald Trump’s decision to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, saying it would put the region in a “ring of fire”. “Taking this type of step puts the world, especially the region, …
Read More »Turkey says Trump move on Jerusalem ‘irresponsible’, illegal
Istanbul, Turkey | AFP | Turkey on Wednesday slammed as irresponsible and illegal the announcement by US President Donald Trump that Washington was recognising Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. “We condemn the irresponsible statement of the US administration… the decision is against international law and relevant UN resolutions,” Turkish Foreign Minister …
Read More »Erdogan says Jerusalem ‘red line’, could cut Turkey-Israel ties
Ankara, Turkey | AFP | The status of Jerusalem is a “red line” for Muslims and could even prompt Turkey to cut ties with Israel, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned Tuesday, as US President Donald Trump mulled whether to recognise the city as the Israeli capital. Erdogan said Turkey, which …
Read More »Minibus smuggling people into Turkey crashes, killing 10
Ankara, Turkey | AFP | A minibus smuggling people from Syria into Turkey hit a truck on the Turkish side of the border on Sunday, killing 10 people on board and severely injuring seven others, according to the Dogan news agency. The head-on collision happened in Hatay province in the …
Read More »Erdogan says Turkey cannot be ‘condemned by courts’ in US
Ankara, Turkey | AFP | President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday said Turkey could never be “condemned by virtual courts” in the US after he was implicated in a scheme allegedly designed to subvert US sanctions on Iran during a trial in New York. Turkish-Iranian gold trader Reza Zarrab had …
Read More »Syria on agenda as Putin and Erdogan meet in Russia
Sochi, Russia | AFP | Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan met in Sochi on Monday, with efforts to bring peace to Syria set to dominate their talks at the Black Sea resort. Despite being on opposing sides of the Syrian conflict, Russia and Turkey have …
Read More »Erdogan hails opera house project as ‘symbol’ of Istanbul
Istanbul, Turkey | AFP | Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday launched a controversial project to build a brand new opera house in Istanbul, saying the new building would be a symbol for the city. The 2,500-seat opera house, due to open in early 2019, will be built on the …
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