Turkey vows to keep buying Iranian oil: ‘We will not obey’
Turkey plans to keep purchasing Iranian oil in defiance of American sanctions on the rogue regime, according to the NATO ally’s top diplomat.
Turkey
Congress blocks F-35 fighter shipments to Turkey
Congressional defense lawmakers officially barred deliveries of the fifth-generation F-35 Joint Strike Fighter to Turkish forces, inserting the ban into the final version of the Pentagon’s budget blueprint for the upcoming fiscal year.
Trump urges Erdogan to free US pastor held in Turkey
US President Donald Trump on Wednesday urged Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Twitter to free an American pastor held in Turkey for nearly two years on terror charges.
Turkey Keeps American Pastor Behind Bars — At Least for Three More Months
After nearly two years in a Turkish prison, hopes for the release of American pastor Andrew Brunson have been deferred. A Turkish court ordered 50-year-old pastor to remain bars until at least his next hearing on October 12.
Pastor Brunson Faces Outlandish Charges in Turkish Court
On Wednesday American pastor Andrew Brunson — unjustly detained in a Turkish prison for almost 20 months — will appear in court. Turkish judges refused to release him after his previous two hearings on April 16 and May 7.
Iranian Christians Attacked by Muslim Mob in Greece
A group of Iraqi Muslims living in a refugee camp in Greece recently targeted a group of Iranian Christians who were holding a Bible study.
US Ambassador Says Russia Trying to Destabilize NATO, ‘Flip’ Turkey
Days before President Trump meets with NATO partners ahead of a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the U.S. ambassador to NATO warned Sunday that Moscow is attempting to destabilize the transatlantic alliance – among other things, by trying to draw away Turkey.
Turkey transfers some powers to President Erdogan
Turkey on Wednesday issued a decree that transfers some powers to the president, as the country moves to an executive presidential system following President Tayyip Erdogan’s win in last month’s presidential and parliamentary elections.
Erdogan wins sweeping new powers after Turkish election victory
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan won sweeping new executive powers on Monday after his victory in elections that also saw his Islamist-rooted AK Party and its nationalist allies secure a majority in parliament.
Turkey election: Erdogan wins re-election as president
Turkey’s long-standing leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan has won a new five-year term after securing outright victory in the first round of a presidential poll.
Erdogan says Turkey will continue advancing in Syria
Turkey will continue to ‘liberate Syrian lands’ so that refugees can return to Syria safely, President Tayyip Erdogan said in an election victory speech on Monday.
U.S. spending bill would halt transfer of F-35s to Turkey
A U.S. Senate committee passed a spending bill on Thursday including a provision to block Turkey’s purchase of Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter jets unless it drops a plan to buy S-400 missile defense systems from Russia.
U.S. walks fine line with Kurdish allies by joining Turkish forces on patrol in Syria
U.S. and Turkish military patrols have begun operating in the highly strategic northern Syrian enclave of Manbij, heading off a feared clash between the two NATO allies but potentially leaving the Pentagon’s Kurdish allies in the region shortchanged once again.
Energized Turkish opposition puts Erdogan in real danger of losing power
A prolonged state of emergency after a failed coup attempt and a constitutional referendum that delivered Turkey’s president sweeping new powers should deliver strongman President Recep Tayyip Erdogan an easy win in Turkey’s June 24 snap elections, a vote moved up from November 2019.
Turkey says its air strikes kill 26 Kurdish militants in northern Iraq
The Turkish military said on Friday air strikes its forces carried out killed 26 Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants in northern Iraq’s Qandil mountain region on June 12, the state-run news agency Anadolu reported.
UN General Assembly condemns Israel for ‘excessive’ force at Gaza border
With a huge majority, the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday passed a resolution condemning Israel for using ‘excessive, disproportionate and indiscriminate’ force during the recent clashes at the Gaza border and calling for an “international protection mechanism” for Palestinian civilians.
Turkey says it may attack Kurdish rebel stronghold in Iraq
Turkey has threatened to attack Iraq’s Qandil region, where outlawed Kurdish rebels maintain their headquarters.
Turkey says to go elsewhere if U.S. won’t sell it F-35 jets
Turkey will meet its needs elsewhere if the United States does not allow it to procure Lockheed Martin’s F-35 jets, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu was quoted as saying by broadcaster CNN Turk on Wednesday.
Russia said to reach secret deal on pushing Iran away from Syria border
Israel and Russia have reached a secret agreement to distance Iranian forces from the border area in southern Syria, Israeli TV reported Monday, as Jerusalem and Moscow sent differing messages regarding the extent of their tolerance for Iran’s military presence in that country.
Russia and Turkey ink pipeline agreement, end gas dispute
Russian state gas giant Gazprom said on Saturday it had signed a protocol with the Turkish government on a planned gas pipeline and agreed with Turkish firm Botas to end an arbitration dispute over the terms of gas supplies.