Politics

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is likely to discuss ongoing Gulf crisis with U.S. President Donald Trump in the next few days. “In the coming days, I think Trump and our president will also discuss [Gulf crisis]. [US Secretary of State] Tillerson said on the phone, ‘Trump wants to discuss with President Erdogan’,” Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said. Talking to media representatives at Turkish parliament, Cavusoglu said they are contacting everyone regarding the crisis Read More

Germany’s government decided Wednesday to withdraw troops from Turkey’s Incirlik Air Base amid political tensions between Berlin and Ankara. Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen told reporters after Wednesday’s cabinet meeting German troops stationed in the southern Turkish base would be moved to a military facility in Jordan over the coming months. Von der Leyen said the relocation would be carried out in stages in order to avoid an interruption in Germany’s support for the Read More

Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel said Tuesday he did not expect a rapid normalization of ties between Germany and Turkey, due to significant differences on major issues. Speaking to public radio Deutschlandfunk a day after his visit to Ankara, Gabriel said his last-ditch effort to resolve the Incirlik Air Base row had not yet yielded any positive results, and German troops at the facility would be relocated to Jordan. “Yesterday, I … telephoned [German defense minister] Read More

U.S. President Donald Trump Monday congratulated his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan in a phone call for the Yes win in the weekend referendum. According to Turkish presidential sources, Trump telephoned Erdogan to laud Sunday’s historic victory.  A written statement on the interview is expected to be issued soon, the sources added.  On Sunday, a majority of Turkish voters cast ballots in favor of 18 constitutional amendments that will, among other things, see Turkey switch Read More

Turkey could adopt new constitution to replace the current one, adopted after 1980 military coup More than 55 million Turkish citizens will vote Sunday on the April 16 referendum proposing constitutional changes, including giving wide-ranging executive powers to the president. Citizens will go to over 167,000 polling stations nationwide. Over 1 million of them are first-time voters who recently turned 18. Inmates — except for the criminals who are convicted for intentional crime — will Read More