Turkey and Azerbaijan discussed issue of Nagorno-Karabakh during the official talks between Turkish President Abdullah Gul and visiting Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in the Turkish capital of Ankara, Gul said on Tuesday. “We discussed territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and liberating the occupied lands, issues which we also consider national
Read More »Turkish FM says relations with Kurds in near countries are not a threat
Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu has said Turkey’s relations with Kurds living in neighboring countries are not a threat and added that taboos regarding ties with Kurds should be broken. Davutoğlu’s comments came as he was on his way back to Turkey from a two-day-visit to Iraq on Monday
Read More »US welcomes Syrian opposition decision to take part in peace talks
The United States welcomes the Syrian Coalition’s decision to participate in the Geneva II conference, State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said on Tuesday night. “This is a significant step forward in the process to convene the Geneva conference, the goal of which is the full implementation of the Geneva
Read More »Obama, Cameron discuss Middle East
President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron spoke on Tuesday as part of their ongoing discussions on shared security interests, including Iran, Afghanistan and Syria, the White House announced.
Read More »Turkey asks NATO for extension of Patriot missile system
Turkey has asked NATO to extend for another year the deployment of surface-to-air Patriot missiles to protect its troubled border with Syria because of a continuing “serious” threat, officials said on Wednesday. “We have received a letter from the Turkish government requesting the continuation of the Patriot mission,” a NATO official said.
Read More »Bulgaria, Romania will not join Schengen in 2014
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso has said that Bulgaria and Romania will not join Europe’s passport-free Schengen area in January 2014. In a Monday interview for French TV station TF1, Barroso, as cited by the Bulgarian Telegraph Agency (BTA), claimed that the issue of Schengen
Read More »Saudi Arabia rejects 2-year term on UNSC
Saudi Arabia, in an unprecedented moved,formally rejected on Tuesday its two-year term on the UN Security Council, clearing the way for Jordan to take the seat as a replacement. The Middle East power had previously decried the 15-member council’s ineffectiveness in dealing with world affairs, notably
Read More »Serbian PM meets Russian defense minister
Serbian Prime Minister Ivica Dačić will on Tuesday in Belgrade meet with Defense Minister of the Russian Federation Sergei Shoigu. On Wednesday, Shoigu and his Serbian counterpart Nebojša Rodić will sign
Read More »Greece backs Turkey’s EU integration
Greece supports Turkey’s bid to join the European Union, Greek Ambassador in Ankara Kyriakos Loukakis said on Monday. “I hope that the necessary conditions for Turkey’s accession to EU will be fulfilled and Turkey will join the union as
Read More »Turkish PM set to meet Iraqi Kurdish leader
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan plans to meet the leader of Iraq’s Kurdish regional government, Massoud Barzani, on Saturday to discuss the role of the outlawed Kurdish Workers’ Party (PKK) and the situation of
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