Turkey

The recent Turkish-Greek row over Twitter might be a taste of things to come Rising tensions between Greece and Turkey over a simple goodwill tweet indicates how alarmingly volatile the relations between two NATO allies are becoming. Allegations that Greece’s Russian-made S-300 air defense batteries locked on Turkish jet fighters …

A multinational naval exercise focused on crisis response started this week in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, bringing warships from 12 NATO countries into an area with a sizable Russian naval presence. The Dynamic Mariner exercise led by NATO Allied Maritime Command, or MARCOM, began Sunday near Turkey’s Aksaz Naval Base …

The Russian Defense Ministry accused “terrorist groups” affiliated with Turkey are excavating antiques in the occupied Afrin, according to SANA. The Russian Defense Ministry revealed that terrorist groups affiliated with the Turkish regime are excavating antiques in the occupied Afrin, preparing to load them to Turkey and sell them on …

Intelligence Online reported that Hakan Fidan and Ali Mamlouk have met again under Russian auspices, according to al-Modon. Intelligence Online reported that the head of Turkey’s intelligence service, Hakan Fidan, has held a new meeting with the head of the Syrian regime’s intelligence service, Ali Mamlouk. The meeting occurred under …

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared on Friday that “without Turkiye, NATO is weak,” Turkish media reported. As Erdogan spoke to journalists following Friday prayer in Istanbul, he commented on NATO’s removal of a tweet about Turkish Victory Day (marked on 30 August) following a Greek complaint. “Greece’s negative approach …

A Turkish court decided to arrest senior Islamic State figure Bashar Hattab Ghazal Al Sumaidai, who wascaptured by the police, the state-owned Anadolu news agency reported on Friday. The militant, code-named Abu Zeyd, was captured in Istanbul in an operation carried out by police and Turkey’s intelligence agency, Anadolu said.

Latest Turkish-Greek war of words linked to electoral campaigns Turkish Greek bickering continued apace this week with Erdogan repeating his stock threats about descending on Turkey’s foes “unexpectedly in the night,” spurring further overwrought takes on how the two NATO allies might slip into war.

TÜRKIYE-GREECE President Erdoğan accused Athens of militarising what should be demilitarised Eastern Aegean islands, threatened to “do what was necessary”, and warned of a “heavy price” should Greece harass Turkish F-16 fighter jets. The latter warning follows Ankara’s accusation that Greece in August used the Russian-supplied S300 air defence system …

The Turkish and Greek foreign ministers write dueling letters to key international actors as leaders exchange barbs after Erdogan’s one-liner that Turkey “can come suddenly one night.” The volatile waters of the Aegean Sea heated up again as Athens and Ankara sent dueling letters to the United Nations, the European …

Erdoğan said that Turkey would freeze Finland and Sweden’s NATO membership bids if the Nordic countries do not come into line with Turkey’s “fight against terrorist organizations.” That might be a tough task for Finland and Sweden. In 2019, Erdoğan notoriously called half of Turks (those who do not vote …