Middle Orient News

Turkey and Iraq have reinforced their pledge to mend ties during the Turkish prime minister’s visit to the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, agreeing on closer cooperation against Islamist jihadists’ threat and revive economic ties with a greater momentum than before. Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu’s visit to the country, a …

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu has warned of a new refugee influx Turkey may face if Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime or Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) militants advance on Aleppo. Addressing a joint press meeting with Finnish Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja on Tuesday, Çavuşoğlu said the …

Syrian Kurds fighting the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in the flashpoint town of Kobane made new gains Nov. 18, expelling the jihadists from several central buildings and seizing weapons, a monitor said. The advance came hours after the US-led coalition launched four strikes against ISIL positions …

Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry met in London with US Secretary of State John Kerry to discuss the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in light of the escalating tensions in Jerusalem. The two discussed on Tuesday ways of working to contain the situation and “prevent the region from sliding into a …

Turkey will continue pursuing its active policy to put an end to the conflict [Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict] in South Caucasus, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said on Nov.17. The prime minister made the remarks during his visit to Philippines.

U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said on Nov. 16 the Pentagon will accelerate its mission to train Iraqi forces to combat Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) militants, using troops already in Iraq to start the effort while funding is sought for a broader initiative. Hagel, speaking to …

Turkey backs the removal of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, the Turkish foreign minister said on Monday. “We have no hesitation on the removal of Assad,” Mevlut Cavusoglu said during a live TV interview. CNN reported on Thursday that U.S. President Barack Obama was calling for a review of his nation’s Syria policy, after realizing that ISIL could not …

The UN Security Council on Wednesday urged Lebanon’s parliament to quickly choose a new president to bolster stability as war rages across the border in Syria. Lebanon has been without a president, who is also the commander-in-chief, since May because of disagreements between lawmakers. The 15-member council “expressed concern at …

US President Barack Obama wants his advisers to review the administration’s Syria policy after determining it may not be possible to defeat militants of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) without removing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Obama’s national security team held four meetings in the past week …

Turkey could scrap a controversial plan to buy missile defense systems from China, which alarmed the U.S. and its Western allies, Turkish and European sources said Wednesday. Key NATO member Turkey said in September 2013 that it was entering negotiations with the China Precision Machinery Export-Import Corporation (CPMIEC) to acquire …