Turkey

Armenia pulls back from talks to normalize ties with Turkey

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan decided Monday to withdraw the two protocols on normalization of relations with Turkey from the parliament. Over the last six years the two documents remained as mere ink on paper after they were signed in 2009 due to “lack of political will” on the Turkish side, …

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US, Turkey agree to train Syrian opposition forces

Turkey and the United States have hammered out a deal for providing training and equipment to moderate opposition groups in Syria, a Turkish spokesman said here on Tuesday. Both sides are set to sign an agreement for a training and equipping program for Syrian opposition in the next few days, …

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Turkey, Pakistan discuss cooperation on fight against terror

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu has said that Turkey and Pakistan will “continue their cooperation and solidarity in the fight against terror and Islamophobia” around the world. “We have a common position regarding terrorism and all Islamophobic attacks in different parts of the world,” Davutoğlu told a joint press conference …

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Turkey evacuates its embassy in Yemen

Turkey decided to shut its embassy in the Yemeni capital Sana’a, and evacuate its diplomatic staff as a result of the worsening security situation in the country. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu had issued a new travel warning for Turkish citizens on Saturday, urging them to leave Yemen immediately.

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Kurdish forces free over 60 Kobane villages from IS control

Kurdish militants have wrestled control of 65 villages in Kobane’s countryside from Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) control since Jan. 26 in northern Syria, according to a Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) source. “Kurdish fighters are advancing rapidly because they know their area geographically very well and …

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Turkey to keep efforts for solving Nagorno-Karabakh conflict

Turkey as a member of the OSCE Minsk Group observes all the steps taken to settle the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, which is a serious obstacle to peace, stability, prosperity and broad cooperation in the South Caucasus, Turkey’s Foreign Ministry said on Feb. 3. The ministry said Turkey is trying to increase the …

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Turkey blasts Egypt for death sentences

Turkey has harshly condemned an Egyptian court’s decision to sentence 183 men to death over allegations of killing 13 policemen in 2013, accusing the judiciary decision of being politically motivated. “We strongly condemn the confirmation of the death sentences of 183 people, constituting a new contingent of mass death sentences, …

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Egypt does not attend second International meeting on Libya

Egypt and Libya boycotted on Wednesday the second session of the International Contact Group on Libya in Addis Ababa objecting to the presence of Qatar and Turkey. Egypt withdrew from the meeting to “send a clear message” that there must be coordination about the participation of countries outside the African …

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Turkey calls on PKK to lay down arms by March 21

The Turkish government has publicly declared its demand that the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) lay down arms on the Nevruz festival, which is marked on March 21, underlining that the jailed PKK leader’s 2014 Nevruz message needed to be developed further this year. “On this Nevruz, laying down arms …

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Turkey condemns Egypt over disproportionate use of force on protesters

Turkey has strongly condemned Egypt over its disproportionate use of force on protesters wanting to mark the fourth anniversary of their Jan. 25 revolution and expressing condolences to families of those killed during the protests in 2011. “It is impossible for the Egyptian administration to provide stability and security to …

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