Turkey

Turkish President to visit Montenegro

Turkish President Abdullah Gul arrives on Friday on a two-day official visit to Montenegro. Montenegrin President Filip Vujanovic and Gul are to meet in the Cetinje residence and then they will hold a press conference. A business delegation of some 100 members will arrive with the Turkish President to attend …

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Macedonia, Turkey Confirm Friendship

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan Sunday at a meeting with his visiting Macedonian counterpart Nikola Gruevski in Istanbul reiterated his support for Macedonia’s Euro-Atlantic integration and backed the country in its “name” dispute with Greece. At the meeting Erdogan underlined that he felt Macedonia should be a fully-fledged NATO …

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Greece’s new opposition leader sparks hope, concern

The main opposition party in Greece has elected a former foreign minister and party rebel as its new leader, causing both concern and hope in neighboring Turkey. While giving a tacit support to Turkey’s EU membership bid, Antonis Samaras is also expected to purse hard-line foreign policy. The unexpected result …

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Turkey joins Swiss minaret row

Turkey has waded into the row over Switzerland’s ban on mosque minarets, saying the decision highlights the resurgence of racism in Europe. The Swiss people voted to stop the building of minarets on mosques in a referendum on Sunday. Turkish immigrants account for about a quarter of Swiss muslims. In …

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British minister hopeful about Cyprus solution

The status quo on the war-divided island of Cyprus will not continue and a solution should be found soon, the British minister of state for Europe has said. Speaking to journalists after his meeting with Turkish Cypriot President Mehmet Ali Talat, British minister Chris Bryant said the ongoing reunifying talks …

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Ankara plans joint sitting of Greek, Turkey council of ministers on Cyprus issue

Turkey has planed to convoke it the near future a joint sitting of Greek and Turkey council of ministers on Cyprus issue. The first steps would be made by Turkish and Greek foreign ministers Ahmet Davutoglu and George Papandreou. The aim of Ankara is referendums to be held in Cyprus …

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Cyprus government rejects Turkish proposal for five-party conference

The Cyprus government rejected on Wednesday a Turkish proposal for a five-party conference under the United Nations’ supervision to discuss a solution of the Cyprus problem. Cyprus President and Greek Cypriot leader Demetris Christofias stated that the proposal was reminiscent of a procedure followed in 2003, which resulted in a …

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Blockage of EU environment chapter angers Turkey

Plans to open more negotiation chapters in the EU accession negotiations are being thwarted for political reasons and Turkish leaders are fuming. Turkey’s Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu, speaking to the Daily News in Spain, says it’s not understandable. ‘We are criticized by the Europeans for not being fast enough, but …

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