HAMOURIA, Syria — A heavy bombardment killed at least 100 civilians, 20 of them children, in rebel-held Eastern Ghouta on Monday, as regime forces appeared to be preparing for an imminent ground assault.
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Wednesday the Trump administration continues to believe there’s “a very good opportunity” to achieve Middle East peace, despite Palestinian and wider criticism of US President Donald Trump’s impending moves on Jerusalem.
Organizers of the Munich Security Conference hurriedly rearranged the agenda for their Sunday morning sessions, after Israel’s Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman said he was relishing the original itinerary, on which he was scheduled to share a platform, unprecedentedly, with Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Monday he believes that U.S. President-elect Donald Trump will not make the same mistakes as the outgoing administration in relations with Turkey.
Turkey said Thursday it had the right to close a key air base used by the US-led coalition to strike jihadists in Syria, as tensions mount between NATO allies Ankara and Washington.
Elite Turkish police arrested several people Thursday during fresh raids over the nightclub attack that killed 39, as authorities tightened Turkey’s borders to prevent the fugitive killer from escaping.
Russian investigators arrived in Turkey on Tuesday to probe the assassination of Moscow’s ambassador at an Ankara art show, as both sides pledged the murder would not damage improving relations.
Russian investigators worked Tuesday to determine whether the assassination of their ambassador to Turkey was the work of a lone gunman or part of a wider conspiracy as the two countries, which have backed opposing sides in the Syrian war, said they would not let the killing disrupt efforts to repair their relationship.
After Austrian Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz made good on his promise to veto European Union membership talks for Turkey, the country has vowed to retaliate.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Wednesday called for the immediate extradition of eight Turkish soldiers who fled to Greece and sought asylum following a coup attempt in July.
As Israel and Ankara reportedly near a deal on normalizing ties, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday met the leader of Palestinian terrorist group Hamas for unscheduled talks.
A suicide bomb attack struck a busy shopping district in Istanbul on Saturday, killing 5 and wounding 36 at the time of this writing. No terrorist group has claimed responsibility for the attack as of yet, but Turkish officials say the most likely suspects would be either Kurdish militants aligned with the separatist PKK party, or minions of the Islamic State.
Turkey will not comply with the expected cease-fire in Syria if Ankara’s security is perceived to be under threat, according to Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu.
