Turkey

Main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader on Thursday criticized the U.S. decision to impose sanctions on two Turkish ministers, terming the move “not right”. Speaking to reporters in Istanbul, Kilicdaroglu called for talks with the U.S. to resolve issues, reminding that Turkey and the U.S. were allies. He urged “healthy discussions” to resolve bilateral issues. He also said Turkey sees Fetullah Gulen, who lives in self-imposed exile in the U.S., as the mastermind of Read More

Foreign Ministry says London report confirms Turkey’s ‘power of humanitarian policy’ Turkey topped the 2017 list of countries delivering humanitarian assistance with $8.07 billion, according to the report by the Global Humanitarian Assistance Programme of “Development Initiatives” of London. Turkey’s Foreign Ministry hailed the report with a written statement on Thursday, saying that “the power of Turkey’s humanitarian diplomacy, implemented without discrimination, is once again confirmed globally”. The June 19 report said the U.S. ($6.68 Read More

NATO welcomes Turkey’s “transparency” in its ongoing Operation Olive Branch in Afrin, Syria, the alliance chief said on Monday. “[Foreign] Minister Cavusoglu briefed me on Operation Olive Branch, and I am grateful for Turkey’s continued transparency on this,” Jens Stoltenberg told a news conference with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu in capital Ankara. Turkey launched Operation Olive Branch on Jan. 20 to clear the terrorist groups YPG/PKK and Daesh from Afrin, northwestern Syria amid growing Read More

Recep Tayyip Erdogan says Turkish Jews community is ‘inseparable part of our society’ President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has released a congratulatory message for Jewish community on the eve of the Passover (Pesach) holiday. In the message, Erdogan emphasized that Turkey gives great importance to the freedom of all citizens to live their own culture, religion, and customs. “We regard Turkish Jewish community as an inseparable part of our society,” the president added. Passover, which commemorates Read More

3,171 terrorists ‘neutralized’ since start of Operation Olive Branch in Syria’s Afrin, says Turkish president President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday that Turkey-backed troops had surrounded Afrin city center in northwestern Syria and were ready to enter at any moment as part of Operation Olive Branch. “Right now, Afrin city center is surrounded,” said Erdogan at the inauguration of the ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party’s Politics Academy in capital Ankara. He added that Read More

NATO’s Turkey parliamentary assembly head on Sunday marked 66 years of being part of the military alliance. Ahmet Berat Conkar said it was important to develop “dialogue and co-operation in order to eliminate threats and turn challenges into opportunities”. “We need to work harder than ever to equip NATO with the right perspective and adequate capability that its global duties require,” he added in a statement. Conkar called on NATO and its allies to support Read More

Suspects are accused of planning terrorist attacks Security forces on Saturday arrested 48 foreigners in Istanbul and capital Ankara over their suspected links to the Daesh terrorist organization. Istanbul Police Department’s Anti-Terrorism Branch launched an operation to nab the suspects who were allegedly planning to carry out terror attacks. Thirty-one suspects were arrested in three districts of Istanbul, while separately in Ankara, 17 Daesh terrorists were also detained during simultaneous operations, a security source, who Read More

A public run will be held on Sunday in Istanbul to raise awareness about the Jerusalem issue. The Palestinian territories have remained tense since early last month, when U.S. President Donald Trump recognized the contested city as Israel’s capital, drawing widespread condemnation from across the Arab and Muslim world. A number of protests have been held since then around the world against the decision on the status of Jerusalem. The head of the Istanbul-based Oncu Read More

Turkey’s official development assistance to dozens of countries from 2010 to 2016 totals $21B Turkey provided official development assistance (ODA) worth $21 billion to 170 countries from 2010 to 2016, according to data from Turkey’s state development aid agency. The Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) said 62 percent of Turkey’s ODA was provided to Syria, while Africa, the central Asian Turkic republics, and Balkan countries received 9.54 percent, 5.44 percent and 4.3 percent, respectively. Read More

Around 1.1 million refugees in Turkey are benefiting from debit cards issued by The Turkish Red Crescent, said a UN official. “So far, we have received applications from 1.8 million Syrians and other refugees,” Nils Grede, the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) country director and representative, told Anadolu Agency in a recent interview in the Turkish capital. “Close to 1.1 million are receiving assistance. 700,000 people have been found not eligible,” he said. As Read More