Turkey

Turkish and Russian nationals will be able travel between the two countries without obtaining a visa. Turkey and Russia signed an agreement on May 12, 2010 in Ankara to enable Turkish and Russian nationals travel without visa requirements. The agreement will take effect as of April 16, 2011.

Cypriot President Demetris Christofias urged the EU on Wednesday (April 13th) to press Turkey to change its stance in order to give momentum to the ongoing talks to reunify Cyprus. “Turkey’s intransigence is aimed at convincing

Turkey’s Foreign Minister Ahmet Davut-oğlu has reiterated Turkey’s firm demand for the European Union to start work on visa liberalization for Turkish nationals, urging Hungary, which holds the six-month rotating presidency of the EU, to play a leading role in this issue. Davutoğlu’s remarks came late on Monday night during …

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu met with his Egyptian counterpart Nabil el-Araby and Prime Minister Isam Sharaf in Cairo on Sunday (April 10th) to discuss the situation in

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon had separate telephone conversations with Greek and Turkish Cypriot leaders, proposing a meeting in mid-June to discuss developments in the ongoing reunification talks, the UN announced on Monday (April 4th). In the calls Sunday, Ban urged Cypriot President Demetris Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu …

Istanbul will begin the next activation of the Black Sea Naval Cooperation Task Group (BLACKSEAFOR) on Tuesday. Under the April activation plan of BLACKSEAFOR, the Georgian gunboat “Sukhumi” will take part in this activation for the first time since the Russian-Georgian war of 2008.

Cypriot President Demetris Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu met on Wednesday (March 30th) as part of ongoing direct talks aimed at reunifying the divided island. This round focused on internal security issues and was attended by UN special representative for Cyprus Lisa Buttenheim, who said afterwards it was …

The Bulgarian Government will build a fence along the border with Turkey, after a second outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) since January has threatened local farmers with devastation. The decision was taken on March 30 2011.

Macedonia should continue with reforms aimed at securing NATO and EU membership, Turkish EU Minister Egemen Bagis said Friday (March 25th) after meeting Deputy Prime Minister for EU Integration Vasko Naumovski in Skopje. The two officials welcomed friendly relations between their countries and lauded their ongoing co-operation in the field …

Greece’s government has not given up on its plans to erect a fence along the country’s border with Turkey in order to counter the influx of illegal immigrants, Christos Papoutsis, the Greek Minister for Citizen Protection said. The respective procedures for the realization of the project will soon be launched, …