Tag: Turkey

Syria rebels reject Sochi peace initiative

BEIRUT, Lebanon (AFP) – More than three dozen Syrian rebel groups, including influential Islamists, have rejected a Russian-led initiative for talks next month in Sochi on ending Syria’s war. Russia and Iran, both key allies of Syria’s regime, agreed with opposition backer Turkey on Friday to hold a “Congress of National Dialogue” in the Black Sea resort of Sochi on January 29 and 30. Syria’s government swiftly said it would attend but rebels have pushed back, calling […]

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 […]

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 […]

On Mideast trip, Putin orders partial withdrawal from Syria

by Raziye Akkoc and Anna Smolchenko in Moscow Agence France Presse ANKARA, Turkey (AFP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin held talks with his Turkish counterpart in Ankara on Monday for the last leg of a day-long diplomatic dash, during which he ordered the partial withdrawal of Russia’s troops from the war-torn country. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met Putin at his presidential complex in Ankara for a closed-door meeting. This is the eighth face-to-face meeting […]

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 […]

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 […]

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

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 […]

UPDATED: At least 135 killed as strong quake rocks Iran-Iraq border

by Shwan Mohammad Agence France Presse SULAIMANIYAH, Iraq (AFP) –At least 135 people were killed and hundreds more injured when a 7.3-magnitude earthquake shook the mountainous Iran-Iraq border triggering landslides that were hindering rescue efforts, officials said Monday. Footage posted on Twitter showed panicked people fleeing a building in Sulaimaniyah, northern Iraq, as windows shattered at the moment the quake struck late Sunday, while images from the nearby town of Darbandikhan showed major walls and […]

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 […]

Latest design may help eliminate traffic jams in the future

Reuters — Commuters rejoyce! A vehicle travelling above a central reservation line may become the fastest way to travel by public transport in the future. Dahir Semenov, a Turkish engineer of Russian origin and his team have come up with a new concept – a two wheel, gyroscopic vehicle travelling along a suspended monorail. Dahir’s team of twenty engineers have in the past designed futuristic buses and trains and the team is currently working on […]

Somalia truck bomb death toll jumps to 358 dead

MOGADISHU, Somalia  (AFP) – Somalia’s deadliest ever attack, a truck bomb in the capital Mogadishu, has now killed 358 people with 228 more injured, the government said late Friday, a major jump in the fatality toll. A truck packed with explosives blew up in Hodan on October 14, destroying some 20 buildings in the bustling commercial district, leaving scores of victims burned beyond recognition. Several experts told AFP the truck was probably carrying at least 500 kilos […]