Tag: ERDOGAN

Erdogan vows no let-up in Syria campaign as US tensions rise

by Fulya Ozerkan with Raziye Akkoc in Ankara © Agence France-Presse ANTAKYA, Turkey (AFP) — President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday vowed Turkey’s campaign against a Kurdish militia in northern Syria would press on for as long as required, after telephone talks with Donald Trump failed to douse soaring tensions with Washington. The six-day campaign against the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) has seen Washington’s fellow NATO member Ankara attacking a US-allied force, even raising fears […]

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Macron to raise human rights issues with Erdogan

PARIS, France (AFP) — French President Emmanuel Macron will raise human rights issues with Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan when they meet next Friday, the Elysee said on Saturday. Erdogan’s visit to France comes as he faces widespread criticism over a far-reaching crackdown against opponents linked to last year’s failed coup attempt, which has seen the arrest of opposition politicians, journalists and activists, and led to accusations of human rights abuses. The meeting “will be an opportunity […]

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Recognize East Jerusalem as Palestinian capital: Islamic leaders

by Stuart Williams and Fulya Ozerkan Agence France-Presse ISTANBUL, Turkey (AFP) — Islamic leaders on Wednesday urged world powers to recognize occupied East Jerusalem as the capital of the “State of Palestine”, as Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas warned that the United States no longer had a role to play in the peace process. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan convened an emergency summit of the world’s main pan-Islamic body, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), in Istanbul, seeking […]

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Erdogan seeks to urge Muslim leaders into Jerusalem action

by Fulya  Ozerkan and Ezzedine Said Agence France-Presse ISTANBUL, Turkey (AFP) — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday chaired an emergency summit of the world’s main pan-Islamic body, seeking to marshal Muslim leaders towards a coordinated response to the US recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. Erdogan, whose country holds the rotating chairmanship of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) will be hoping to unite often feuding Muslim leaders into a tough final statement on the […]

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Erdogan heads to uneasy ally Greece for historic visit

by Stuart Williams Agence France Presse ISTANBUL, Turkey (AFP) — President Recep Tayyip Erdogan begins the first visit by a Turkish head of state to Greece in 65 years Thursday, with concerns over relations as Athens said it was “worried” by his comments perceived as reviving territorial friction. Ties between Turkey and Greece have warmed over the past 20 years, after decades of tension that almost sparked a miltary confrontation in 1996 ended when earthquakes […]

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Leaders of Russia, Iran, Turkey meet to relaunch Syria peace process

by Maria PANINA Agence France Presse SOCHI, Russia (AFP) — The presidents of Russia, Turkey and Iran will meet on Wednesday for the first in a series of summits aimed at re-booting the peace process in Syria, now regime forces have an upper hand over rebels and the Islamic State group. Russian leader Vladimir Putin will host Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Iran’s Hassan Rouhani in the Black Sea resort of Sochi ahead of parallel […]

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Erdogan, Putin, Rouhani to hold Syria summit next week in Sochi: Turkish state media

ANKARA, Turkey (AFP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin will next week host Turkish and Iranian counterparts Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Hassan Rouhani for summit talks on Syria, Turkish state media said Thursday. The three presidents will meet at Putin’s official residence in the Black Sea resort of Sochi for talks on developments in Syria and the region on November 22, the Anadolu news agency said. © Agence France-Presse

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Putin and Erdogan agree on need to boost efforts for Syria peace

SOCHI, Russia (AFP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan agreed Monday on the need to boost efforts to achieve a lasting political settlement in Syria. Despite being on opposing sides of the Syrian conflict, Russia and Turkey have been working together since a 2016 reconciliation deal ended a crisis caused by the shooting down of a Russian warplane. During four hours of talks at the Black Sea resort of […]

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Turkey’s Erdogan angers critics with plan to replace culture center

ISTANBUL, Turkey (Reuters) — Turkish president Tayyip Erdogan announced on Monday (November 6) plans to demolish a culture center in Istanbul named after the founder of modern secular Turkey, in a move critics see as another attempt by the Islamist-rooted ruling party to roll back secularism. It marks Erdogan’s second attempt to tear down the Ataturk Culture Centre (AKM), named after Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, after a previous plan to develop the site near Taksim Square […]

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Erdogan sees progress in Qatar crisis; says more time needed

ANKARA, Turkey (AFP) — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday said his visit to the Gulf region made a contribution to easing the crisis surrounding Ankara’s ally Qatar, but indicated that more time was needed to end the standoff. Erdogan visited Saudi Arabia and Kuwait at the weekend before heading to Qatar earlier Monday for talks with Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani in a trip aimed at defusing the crisis. Erdogan has voiced […]

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Pro-Kurdish party’s ex-leader tried on ‘terror’ charges in Turkey

ANKARA, Turkey (AFP) — The former co-leader of Turkey’s third largest political party went on trial in Ankara on Tuesday on charges of disseminating “terror propaganda” for outlawed Kurdish militants. Figen Yuksekdag and the other co-leader of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), Selahattin Demirtas, were detained in November and have been held in jail ever since. Their incarceration alarmed the European Union and raised further concerns over use of the state of emergency imposed in […]

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Turkey’s Erdogan slams ‘inhumane’ isolation of Qatar

ISTANBUL, Turkey (AFP) — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday slammed the economic and political isolation of Qatar as inhumane and contrary to Islamic values after key Gulf states broke off ties with Ankara’s ally. “Taking action to isolate a country in all areas is inhumane and un-Islamic,” Erdogan said in televised comments to his party in Ankara, after Saudi Arabia, UAE and Bahrain broke off relations with Qatar on June 5, accusing it of […]

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