
A national debate turned to international scandal on Thursday after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan cited Adolf Hitler’s Germany as the type of presidential system he would like to see established in Turkey. Now, the Turkish president’s office is claiming Erdogan’s comment was “distorted by the media.”
by Frances Martel4 Jan 2016, 6:52 AM PST0

Selahattin Demirtaş, the head of the pro-Kurdish opposition party in Turkey, will visit Moscow this week to speak to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and open a satellite office for his party. The meeting follows a tense several weeks in which Turkey and Russia have all but severed their diplomatic ties.
by Frances Martel21 Dec 2015, 8:42 AM PST0

U.S. diplomats told Reuters that the Russian government would accept a regime change in Syria that results in dictator Bashar al-Assad’s stepping down.
by Mary Chastain18 Dec 2015, 7:09 AM PST0

Hostility between Russia and Turkey is still simmering, as demonstrated by Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu accusing Russia of “trying to make ethnic cleansing in northern Latakia to force out all Turkmen and Sunni population who do not have good relations with the regime.”
by John Hayward10 Dec 2015, 10:11 PM PST0

Shiite militia groups in Iraq are threatening to attack Turkish troops unless they are withdrawn within 48 hours, according to a Reuters report.
by John Hayward10 Dec 2015, 10:01 PM PST0

Masoud Barzani, the President of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) of Iraq, is currently in Ankara holding bilateral talks with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu. The meeting will cover trade and the fight against the Islamic State (ISIS), and follows growing tensions between Turkey and Baghdad.
by Frances Martel9 Dec 2015, 6:55 AM PST0

The Turkish government has clarified that it will not move the 150 soldiers deployed to northern Iraq from their position near Mosul, despite protests from the Iraqi government, though it will not double that amount as previously planned.
by Frances Martel8 Dec 2015, 6:48 AM PST0

The Turkish government has arrested two generals and a retired colonel on terrorism charges for involvement in the ordered inspection of trucks allegedly sent to Syria by Turkey’s intelligence agency to aid anti-Assad Turkmen rebels.
by Frances Martel2 Dec 2015, 8:01 AM PST0

A crackdown operation by the Turkish coast guard saw the arrests of around 1,300 migrants and three suspected people smugglers yesterday, just one day after Turkey reached a political deal with the European Union (EU) to stem the flow of migrants.
by Sarkis Zeronian1 Dec 2015, 10:34 AM PST0

Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, struck a confrontational note in a Thanksgiving Day interview with CNN, refusing to apologize for his forces shooting down a Russian warplane along the Syrian border this week. In fact, Erdogan said Turkey would take the same actions again, under similar circumstances.
by John Hayward27 Nov 2015, 8:21 AM PST0

Contents: Putin calls Turkey’s downing of Russian plane a ‘stab in the back’; Turkmen in Syria versus Russians in occupied Crimea; Russia – Turkey crisis evokes memories of centuries of Crimean wars
by John J. Xenakis25 Nov 2015, 6:17 AM PST0

On Tuesday morning, two Turkish F-16 fighters engaged a Russian Sukhoi-24 warplane and shot it down with an air-to-air missile, somewhere north of the Syrian port city of Latakia.
by John Hayward24 Nov 2015, 5:57 AM PST0

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has condemned the boos and cries of “allahu akbar” from Turkish fans at a soccer game against Greece this week, chiding fans for booing the Greek national anthem but not mentioning that fans also appeared to boo a moment of silence for the victims of last week’s terror attacks in Paris.
by Frances Martel20 Nov 2015, 7:40 AM PST0

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour that Turkey would consider sending ground forces into Syria to fight the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL/IS), but not unilaterally.
by Frances Martel11 Nov 2015, 11:58 AM PST0

With 95 percent of the vote in, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) appear to have solidified their control of the nation’s Parliament, with significant losses for Kurd-friendly leftist People’s Democratic Party (HDP) and main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP).
by Frances Martel1 Nov 2015, 10:55 AM PST0

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has responded to accusations that his party has not made enough of an effort to eradicate the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) from Turkey by asking of his detractors, “Look at me, look at my face. Do I have the face of someone who would support ISIL?”
by Frances Martel27 Oct 2015, 8:47 AM PST0

Turkish state-run media outlet Anadolu Agency is reporting that police have evidence the original target of the bombing of a Kurdish peace rally in Ankara on October 10 was the headquarters of the Kurd-friendly People’s Democratic Party (HDP).
by Frances Martel22 Oct 2015, 1:42 PM PST0

Contents: A cynical Turkey rejects Europe’s ‘concentration camp’ refugee proposal; As winter approaches, thousands of European refugees may be trapped in the cold
by John J. Xenakis20 Oct 2015, 6:15 AM PST0

Contents: Zambia prays for divine intervention in copper prices; Germany’s Angela Merkel begs for refugee help from Turkey
by John J. Xenakis19 Oct 2015, 5:52 AM PST0

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu said Thursday that he believes the October 10 bombing of a peace rally in Ankara was a collaborative attack organized by the Islamic State (ISIS), the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), and Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad.
by Frances Martel16 Oct 2015, 8:23 AM PST0

A Turkish court has demanded all media stop covering the investigation into the October 10 bombing of a peace rally in Ankara, the deadliest terrorist attack in post-Ottoman Turkish history.
by Mary Chastain15 Oct 2015, 1:40 PM PST0

Turkish media is reporting the first arrests directly in relation to Saturday’s twin bombings in the capital, Ankara: two suspected members of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) who tweeted about the event before it occurred.
by Frances Martel14 Oct 2015, 7:53 AM PST0

Turkey is banning relatives of those killed or wounded in Saturday’s twin bombing of a peace protest in Ankara from assembling and protesting the government, citing “sensitivities at this time.”
by Frances Martel13 Oct 2015, 8:40 AM PST0

Contents: Turkey blames ISIS for Saturday’s massacre as anti-government anger grows; Turkey is seen as increasingly unstable after massacre
by John J. Xenakis13 Oct 2015, 6:24 AM PST0

Following a suicide bombing in the nation’s capital, Ankara, thousands took to the streets Sunday to condemn the Islamist government for encouraging the anti-Kurdish hate they believe prompted the worst terrorist attack in Turkey’s history.
by Frances Martel12 Oct 2015, 8:03 AM PST0