Syrian President Bashar al-Assad warned Turkey it would “pay dearly” for supporting rebels fighting to overthrow his regime, in an interview broadcast Friday on Turkish television. “In the near future these terrorists will have an impact on Turkey. And Turkey will pay very dearly for its contribution,” al-Assad told the …
Read More »Turkey to increase border control with Bulgaria amid influx of Syrian refugees
Turkey has promised to tighten the control of its border with Bulgaria amid the ongoing influx of Syrian refugees to the EU member state, according to Bulgarian Interior Minister Tsvetlin Yovchev. “I met with the Turkish Interior Minister. Turkey has made a commitment to tighten the measures along
Read More »Iraq FM to visit Turkey
Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari will visit Turkey, Hurriyetdailynews newspaper reported on Thursday. According to the newspaper, the planned visit will take place at the end of this month. Bilateral rapprochement, as well as the Syrian crisis, as well as economic and regional
Read More »Turkish Parliament passes motion to send troops into Syria
Parliament renewed Oct. 3 the government’s authorization to send troops into Syria after a tense session in which the opposition parties fiercely criticized the ruling party’s interventionist foreign policy and tolerance for the appearance of al-Qaeda-linked groups on Turkey’s border.
Read More »Turkish president warns of emergence of radical Islamists in Syria
Turkish President Abdullah Gul on Tuesday warned of an emergence of radical Islamists in Syria in the neighbor’s long-running armed conflict. “Civil war is the most merciless of wars. As these conflicts drag out, radicalism and extremism take root to establish their own infrastructure and threaten not only the
Read More »Turkish Parliament to discuss new Syria motion
A new bill to replace a parliamentary motion passed last year authorizing cross-border military operations in Syria will be on Parliament’s agenda on Oct. 3, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç has said.
Read More »Turkish PM announces reforms to strengthen democracy
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan unveiled a long-anticipated reform package on Monday to facilitate a settlement process aiming to end a three- decade Kurdish insurgency. Under the framework of political party amendments, parties will be able to make their election campaigns in languages other than Turkish, Erdogan said, a …
Read More »Turkish President welcomes Obama-Rouhani phone call
Turkish President Abdullah Gül has hailed the historic phone conversation between U.S. President Barack Obama and Iran’s newly-elected leader, Hassan Rouhani, on Sept. 27 – the highest-level contact between the two countries since 1979. “I am pleased to learn the phone call between President Obama and President Rohani,” Gül said, …
Read More »Turkish PM discusses Syria and Egypt with Qatari emir
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was scheduled to have a tête-à-tête meeting with new Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani on Friday in İstanbul to discuss the latest developments in the region, particularly
Read More »Turkey hails UN resolution on Syria
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu has welcomed a draft resolution of the U.N. Security Council to eliminate Syria’s chemical weapons. The resolution itself is important, Davutoğlu said Sept. 27, since the Security Council has considered the Syrian crisis as
Read More »