Turkey

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden will have talks in Turkey on Nov. 21 as part of his trip including Morocco and Ukraine, according to diplomatic sources. The vice president will meet with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Prime MinisterAhmet Davutoğlu and a number of nongovernmental representatives.

Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari arrived in Turkey on Wednesday to meet with Turkish officials in order to boost bilateral ties and coordinate efforts to fight terrorism. Jaafari’s visit between Nov. 5 and 7 is at the invitation of Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu.

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu has accused Syrian forces of committing massacres in and around Aleppo and said Turkey would face a major new refugee crisis if Syria’s second city were to fall into his hands. As U.S. warplanes bomb Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) forces in parts of …

A Justice and Development Party (AK Party) deputy is to meet with representatives of Libya’s internationally recognized government in the eastern city of Bayda on Nov. 3, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement released on the same day. Emrullah İşler, who is a former deputy prime minister, already …

Turkey’s defense spending stood at 29.4 billion Turkish Liras ($13.2 billion) this year, Defense Minister İsmet Yılmaz said on Nov. 2, in response to a parliamentary question from a deputy of the opposition Nationalist Movement Party (MHP). Turkey spent some 1.71 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP) on defense …

Turkey cannot agree to de facto borders in Syria or Iraq, and the terrorist Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant will not be able to realize such an aim, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said. “Turkey cannot say ‘yes’ to any de facto borders in the Middle East. Steps to be …

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan took aim at Western leaders in Paris on Oct. 31 for focusing “too much” on the battle over the Syrian border town of Kobane, drawing nods from his host, President François Hollande, who highlighted Aleppo. “Why are coalition forces continually bombing this town of Kobane?” Erdoğan asked while speaking …

Turkish army has said its surveillance aircraft have conducted reconnaissance flight in northern Iraq to gather intelligence from camps of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). The army said in a statement on Tuesday that four RF-4E surveillance planes flew in northern Iraq to survey “separatist terrorist organization targets,” a …

The Egyptian government has decided not to extend a comprehensive free trade agreement signed with Turkey during the rule of the ousted ex-President Mohamed Morsi. Ties between the two countries have been strained since Morsi’s ouster last year, with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan repeatedly condemning the “coup” and describing the military …

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has invited all Turkish people to act together in unity against terrorism. Davutoglu made the remarks following the shooting attack on Saturday in which three soldiers were killed while on duty by three masked terrorists in Turkey’s Yuksekova district of southeastern Hakkari province.