Turkey

Turkey declared Egypt’s ambassador in Ankara as “persona non grata” in a reciprocal step after Cairo expelled its envoy, according to a statement of the Turkish Foreign Ministry on Saturday. The move comes few hours after Egypt expelled Turkey’s ambassador in Cairo Huseyin Avni Botsali, declaring him “persona non grata.”

Egypt has told the Turkish ambassador to leave the country and downgraded relations between the two countries. Egypt’s foreign ministry blamed Turkey’s continued “interference” in its country’s internal affairs. Turkey’s diplomatic representation has been lowered to the level of charge d’affaires, the ministry said in a statement. Egypt has already recalled …

Ankara’s desire is to normalise relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu was quoted by the Turkish news agency Ikhlas as saying.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will pay a two-day official visit to St. Petersburg starting today to attend a Turkish-Russian High-Level Cooperation Council with Russian President Vladimir Putin, but the ongoing crisis in Syria will likely be the main item on his agenda.

US Secretary of State John Kerry and Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu have also discussed the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement.  

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel says the US will continue to provide two Patriot missile batteries in Turkey for another year as part of that country’s air defenses while the civil war rages on in Syria. Pentagon spokesman Carl Woog says Hagel met with Turkey’s foreign minister, Ahmet Davutoglu, on Monday …

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu left for Washington on Sunday to start a two-day official visit to discuss bilateral relations and regional developments with top American officials.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan urged the militants of the terrorist Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) to lay down arms, Sabah newspaper wrote on Monday. According to Erdogan, 2014 will be a year of political normalization and stability in Turkey.

President of Iraq’s Kurdistan Regional Government Massoud Barzani concluded on Sunday his visit to Turkey during which he reached cooperation agreements with his Turkish hosts.

Azerbaijan’s Defence Minister, Colonel-General Zakir Hasanov received the Ambassador of Turkey to Azerbaijan, Ismail Alper Coskun, the Defence Ministry said on Nov. 15.