Ankara, Turkey | AFP | President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday said the US was in danger of “sacrificing” its relations with Turkey, as he blamed the American envoy to Ankara for the crisis in relations between the NATO allies. “It is the ambassador here who caused this,” Erdogan told a …
Read More »Turkey inaugurates military academy in Somalia
Mogadishu, Somalia | AFP | Turkey inaugurated on Saturday the largest foreign-run military training centre in Somalia, where local troops are due to take over the protection of a nation threatened by Shabaab Islamist attacks. Somalia’s fragile government and institutions, including its national army, are backed by the African Union’s …
Read More »Hand over Gulen for jailed pastor, Erdogan tells US
Ankara, Turkey | AFP | Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told the United States Thursday that Turkey could release a jailed American pastor if Washington handed over exiled Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen who Ankara blames for last year’s failed coup. The US pastor, Andrew Brunson, has been held by Turkish authorities …
Read More »Putin heads to Turkey for talks on weapons deal, Syria
Istanbul, Turkey | AFP | Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday meets his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan for talks on Syria and a key weapons deal, hoping to strengthen an increasingly active relationship that has troubled the West. Despite a regional rivalry that goes back to the Ottoman Empire and …
Read More »Qatar emir meets ally Erdogan in first foreign trip since crisis
Ankara, Turkey | AFP | Qatar Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani on Thursday held talks in Turkey with the emirate’s chief ally President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in his first visit abroad since the start of a diplomatic crisis with Saudi Arabia. Erdogan hosted the emir for the talks at his …
Read More »Turkish travel warning for Germany ‘bad joke’
Frankfurt am Main, Germany | AFP | Turkish government warnings to its citizens in Germany to be “cautious” and avoid political gatherings during election season are a “bad joke”, Chancellor Angela Merkel’s most senior aide said Sunday. “Turkey’s travel warning against Germany is a bad joke!”, Peter Altmaier, head of Merkel’s …
Read More »Alarming West, Turkey nudges closer to Russia arms deal
Istanbul, Turkey | AFP | Turkey and Russia are inching towards an accord for the first major Turkish weapons purchase from Moscow, troubling Ankara’s allies in NATO even though the deal may not ultimately materialise. According to Turkish and Russian officials, all preparations have been made for the purchase of a …
Read More »Erdogan says top Turkish general must accept demotion
Istanbul, Turkey | AFP | Tresident Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday warned a top Turkish general who played a key role in defeating last year’s failed coup and led a cross-border operation in Syria that he must accept a surprise demotion without rancour. In a rare show of tension between the …
Read More »Merkel says Turkey must not ‘misuse’ Interpol in writer’s case
Berlin, Germany | AFP | Chancellor Angela Merkel said Sunday she was glad a Spanish court had ordered the conditional release of a Turkish-German writer wanted by Ankara and warned Turkey not to “misuse” Interpol to pursue its critics. “That’s not on. We must not misuse international organisations such as Interpol” …
Read More »Erdogan wades into German election, Berlin hits back
Istanbul, Turkey | AFP | Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan Friday urged ethnic Turks in Germany to reject its main parties in upcoming elections, prompting a sharp warning from Berlin to stop the “unprecedented” meddling. Erdogan called on ethnic Turks to ignore Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and their …
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