Turkey - Page 31

TEL AVIV — Turkey has been working to bring thousands of Islamic State fighters to the region to launch campaigns in Iraq and in the Kurdish regions along the Syria-Iraq border, according to informed Middle Eastern defense officials.

TEL AVIV — Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said over the weekend that his country would oppose anyone who supports Israel. 

Turkey has deported 4,500 Syrians this month alone, suggesting authorities are intensifying efforts to deal with the “rumbling grievances” by locals “over their prolonged presence,” Reuters reported this week.

KALFAT, Turkey — A village in central Turkey where Boris Johnson traces his Turkish ancestry to is abuzz with excitement and pride over the news that a man they see as one of their own has become the new prime minister of Britain.

Between 1914 and 1923, during and after World War I, hundreds of thousands of Armenians living in Turkey were systematically rounded up and murdered. Thousands more were forced to flee their homes. Some estimates put the death toll at more than 1.5 million.

Turkish officials in Beijing reportedly refuted remarks Chinese state media attributed to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at a recent meeting, claiming he had not said people in Xinjiang “live happily,” the South China Morning Post reported Monday.

Theresa May’s expected successor Boris Johnson is under fire from the Muslim Council of Britain for past comments suggesting “something about Islam” was responsible for the Islamic world ending up “centuries behind” the West.

The U.S. will cancel the sale of F-35 fighter jets to Turkey after Ankara decided to buy a rival missile defense system from Russia, U.S. President Donald Trump confirmed Tuesday.

Turkey on Tuesday rejected as “worthless” European Union sanctions against Ankara as it readied to send a new vessel to the eastern Mediterranean to lift its efforts to drill for hydrocarbons off the island of Cyprus.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan observed the third anniversary of a failed military coup against him on Monday in a speech at Istanbul’s Ataturk Airport, declaring that “Allah ruined” the enemy’s “traps” in his favor and honoring the “martyrs” who died fighting to keep him in power that day.

Turkey on Tuesday hit back at E.U. measures designed to punish Ankara for its illegal drilling operations off Cyprus, alleging anti-Turkish “prejudice and bias” in the decision while adding the fine will “in no way” affect the country’s activities in the eastern Mediterranean.

Israeli politician Yair Lapid on Saturday challenged the U.S. to boot Turkey from the F-35 stealth fighter program for taking delivery of advanced Russian air defense systems in defiance of U.S. warnings.

Turkey began to receive the S-400 air-defense missile-defense system on Friday despite U.S. warnings not to do so. The move by Turkey is likely to have “major ramifications” for the U.S.-Turkish relationship, according to Aykan Erdemir, a senior fellow at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies.

Forces loyal to Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad are struggling to seize the last remaining rebel stronghold in northwestern Syria held by Turkey-backed opposition fighters and al-Qaeda-linked jihadis who have joined forces against the regime, Reuters reported Wednesday.

When Turkey dispatched a second ship to drill for oil and gas in disputed waters off Cyprus last month, it drew fire not just from rival Nicosia but also the rebuke of Western allies and threats of EU sanctions.

Turkey set course for a clash with its NATO allies on Friday morning when the first shipment of a Russian S-400 missile defense system arrived, the Turkish Defense Ministry confirmed.

Armenia, the capital city of Quindío, Colombia, is boasting a new mural of a man wearing Ottoman-era garb on the side of its city council building, an image with no historical correlation to the city that is confusing, and angering, many residents, Colombian media reported Tuesday.

Turkey made clear on Wednesday it has no intention of heeding a European Union warning to cease illegal drilling activities off Cyprus.

Russia’s controversial sale of S-400 air defense missiles to NATO member Turkey has now reached the delivery stage, with the first batch en-route to their destination, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan confirmed Monday.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, while in Beijing this week, told reporters from his home country that a “solution” to help ethnically Turkic Uighurs and other Muslim minorities held in Chinese internment camps is possible, “taking into account the sensitivities” of both sides.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says he is willing to mediate between the United States and Iran to ease tensions over Iran’s nuclear program.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan cried “robbery” Thursday, accusing the United States of theft if it did not sell Turkey the advanced F-35 fighter jets it wants.

Turkey’s Islamist President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, during a trip to Beijing on Tuesday, reportedly struck a more positive note about China’s crackdown on Uighurs, a Turkic ethnic group, and other Muslims in Xinjiang province a decade after denouncing attacks on Uighurs as “genocide.”

Fighters loyal to renegade Gen. Khalifa Haftar in Libya this week denied Turkey’s claims that they arrested six Turks over the weekend.

This week, sportswear giant Nike agreed to pull their “Betsy Ross Flag” sneakers after former NFL player nd anthem-protester Colin Kaepernick, advised them that the American flag is a symbol of racism, hate, and slavery. However, the company has had no issue offering shoes with many other national flags and colors, including human rights abusers such as China and Turkey.

The Turkish government over the weekend demanded that Gen. Khalifa Haftar “immediately” release six Turkish nationals arrested in Libya to avoid a military response.

Gay rights activists pushed ahead with a pride rally in Istanbul, Turkey, on Sunday despite a ban from the governor’s office that has been in place for five years. Istanbul police allowed the demonstrators to gather and listen to a statement from the organizers before firing tear gas into the crowd.

The government of Turkey confirmed Tuesday that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will meet with President Donald Trump in Japan this weekend as both attend the annual G-20 summit in Osaka. High on the list of discussion topics is Erdogan’s insistence of buying Russian surface-to-air missiles that violate NATO protocol.

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) – Cyprus’ interior minister is accusing Turkey and breakaway Turkish Cypriots of helping to traffick migrants to the internationally recognized southern part of the ethnically split island nation.

Istanbul Mayor-elect Ekrem Imamoglu called his election Sunday – in a special election called to overturn his initial victory in May – a victory for Turkey and democracy generally after winning by a wider margin than during the first election.

ISTANBUL— Turkey’s opposition supporters partied long into the night after their candidate for Istanbul mayor beat a rival backed by long-time President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The United States was warned Friday it cannot unilaterally drop NATO ally Turkey from the F-35 fighter jet program as the partnership agreement specifically forbids it, Turkey’s head of Defense Industries Directorate said.

The U.N. refugee agency published a report for World Refugee Day (June 20) that found a record 71 million people around the world forced from their homes by war and persecution. 26 million of those people were driven out of their home countries entirely, while the rest were “internally displaced” or are currently in search of asylum.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared on Wednesday that the Egyptian government murdered former Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi and vowed to “do whatever it takes to prosecute Egypt in international courts.”

The editor-in-chief of the pro-government Turkish newspaper Yeni Safak accused, among others, the crown princes of United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia, Israel, the U.S. government, and “those who crucified Christ” of murdering former Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi in a column Wednesday.

A U.N. human rights expert investigating the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi wants the possible role of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to be officially examined, citing “credible evidence.”