Tag: Turkey

The U.S. Embassy in Ankara has denied reports that American pastor Andrew Brunson will be released from house arrest and allowed to return back to the United States.

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) – Police in Amsterdam are questioning a man detained on suspicion of throwing home-made explosive devices at the Turkish consulate in the Dutch capital. Police spokeswoman Marijke Stor said Monday that a 34-year-old Dutch man arrested

Turkey’s lira currency crumbles as Trump turns the screws after Erdogan double-cross; Trump turns the screws; How Erdogan apparently double-crossed Trump.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan intends to go down in history as the most consequential leader of his nation since Ataturk. He is reaching that goal by unraveling Ataturk’s secular reforms and turning Turkey into an Islamist nation.

The Single Supervisory Mechanism, the European Central Bank’s financial watchdog, has become concerned about the knock-on effects the fall of the Turkish lira will have on some of Turkey’s European lenders after it experienced one of the biggest one-day falls of any free-floating currency in 20 years.

The Turkish lira took a nosedive on Friday as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan decisively lost the first battle in his “economic war” against the United States.

“Our relations with Turkey are not good at this time!” Trump wrote on Twitter.

Turkey will boycott the 2019 edition of the Eurovision Song Contest in Israel because of what it calls a “confusion in mentality” that allows “an Austrian with a beard and skirt” to participate.

A senior Hamas member signaled the terror group was optimistic regarding efforts to broker a ceasefire with Israel Tuesday, saying talks on an agreement would likely wrap up by the end of August.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met with his Turkish counterpart, Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, on Friday and left the meeting agreeing to “resolve” the unspecified “issues” between them, paramount among them the sanctions Washington imposed on Ankara this week.

Turkey’s currency, the lira, plunged to a record low on Wednesday and continued to fall Thursday following the imposition of sanctions by the United States on two Turkish officials for their roles in the detention of American pastor Andrew Brunson.

Syria said late Thursday that its air defenses had destroyed an unspecified enemy target during an attempted an airstrike west of Damascus, as residents reported a series of loud explosions around the Syrian capital.

Turkish ruling and minority party politicians responded with outrage Thursday to the U.S. Treasury’s decision to sanction the nation’s Justice and Interior ministers in response to the continued detention of American pastor Andrew Brunson.

President Donald Trump directed the U.S. Department of Treasury to sanction two Turkish officials on Wednesday for their part in the “unfair and unjust detention” of Pastor Andrew Brunson by the government of Turkey.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned Turkey’s Minister of Justice Abdulhamit Gul and Minister of Interior Suleyman Soylu on Wednesday over their leading roles in the arrest and detention of American pastor Andrew Brunson.

State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert reiterated to reporters during a regular briefing Tuesday that, as Vice President Mike Pence had noted a week ago, Turkey faces “the very real risk of sanctions” if it does not free American pastor Andrew Brunson, arrested on dubious charges of aiding Marxist and Islamist terrorist groups.

A Turkish court on Tuesday ruled against American pastor Andrew Brunson’s appeal to be released from house arrest.

A study has found that a growing number of ethnic Turks in Germany no longer see both Germany and Turkey as their homeland, but identify solely as Turks.

Representatives from the Iranian, Russian, and Turkish governments met in the Russian resort city of Sochi on Monday to discuss the future of Syria, including humanitarian concerns, de-escalation zones, and the structure of post-civil war government.

Thousands of people in Germany with migrant backgrounds are sharing stories of everyday discrimination under the hashtag #MeTwo, inspired by football star Mesut Ozil’s resignation from Germany’s national team over racism.

Israel on Friday confirmed U.S. media reports that President Donald Trump asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a July 14 phone call to release Ebru Özkan, a Turkish woman accused of Hamas ties, in exchange for Turkey’s release of imprisoned American Pastor Andrew Brunson, who has been detained on terror and espionage charge. Turkey had denied these reports.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in South Africa as a guest of the BRICS annual summit on Thursday, celebrated that his nation had tripled the number of its embassies in Africa under his rule.

Two members of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) said on Wednesday that the news that Turkish authorities have placed American pastor Andrew Brunson in house arrest is a good sign that his almost two-year detention from alleged terrorism charges could be coming to a close.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu responded swiftly on Thursday to the threat of sanctions from President Donald Trump unless pastor Andrew Brunson is released. “We will never tolerate threats from anybody,” Cavusoglu said on Twitter.

Release Pastor Andrew Brunson or face large sanctions from the United States. That was the direct warning from President Donald J. Trump to Turkey and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan brought by Vice President Mike Pence to the State Department’s first Ministerial on Religious Freedom Thursday.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will meet with Russian leader Vladimir Putin during the annual BRICS summit in South Africa to discuss the ongoing conflict in Syria, he announced on Wednesday.

Turkish authorities announced on Wednesday that American Pastor Andrew Brunson, detained in 2016 for alleged ties to Islamist and Marxist terrorist groups, has been moved to house arrest to address health concerns.

illegal migrants crossing into Greece has surged by 122 percent compared to the same period last year, with the Turkish land border under increasing pressure.

A German football star of Turkish heritage has quit the national team and blamed “racism and disrespect” after he was criticized for posing for photos with the increasingly authoritarian president Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the U.S. is working to secure the freedom of Pastor Andrew Brunson, who remains in a Turkish jail.

Turkey announced on Thursday the official end of the three-month “state of emergency” that began in July 2016.

The Central Bank of Venezuela has begun refining gold in Turkey in a bid to escape the pressure of international economic sanctions against the Maduro regime, the country’s mining minister announced on Wednesday.

Turkey’s Foreign Ministry responded Thursday to President Donald Trump’s characterization on Twitter of the arrest of American Pastor Andrew Brunson as a “total disgrace,” insisting that his prolonged detention is a “legal process” necessary for the country’s national security.

Turkish-backed paramilitary groups, working with the Syrian rebel Ahrar al-Sham militia, have reportedly taken to attacking and torturing Kurdish civilians in northern Afrin, Syria, witnesses alleged this week.

A Turkish court, to the dismay of U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration, on Wednesday ruled against releasing Andrew Brunson, an American pastor imprisoned on terrorism and spying charges pending trial.