An official with Iraq’s Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) told reporters this week that the Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga may deploy to Syria to fight the Turkish military if President Recep Tayyip Erdogan insists on “Operation Olive Branch,” the Turkish name for that nation’s invasion of Syria.
Contents: Turkey begins its air and ground invasion of Syria’s Afrin; China lies about ‘indisputable sovereignty’ in new confrontation in South China Sea; Summary of major Generational Dynamics predictions
Turkey on Saturday launched a new air and ground operation to oust Kurdish militia from a northern Syrian enclave, defying US warnings that the action risked destabilizing the area.
Contents: Turkey’s troops mass on border, preparing to invade northern Syria; Collapse of the Russian ‘peace process’; The growing conflagration in northwest Syria
WASHINGTON, DC — The Free Syrian Army (FSA), a group opposed to Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, is not participating in an imminent Turkey-backed offensive against U.S.-allied Kurds in northern Syria’s Afrin region, a representative from the rebel organization told Breitbart News.
Defense Minister Nurettin Canikli affirmed that the Turkish military would cross into Syrian territory and attack U.S.-backed Kurdish fighters in that country on Friday, a move that may trigger direct clashes between Turkey and the Bashar al-Assad regime.
In a speech to the Hoover Institution at Stanford University on Wednesday, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said the United States would retain a military presence in Syria for the foreseeable future.
The pro-government Turkish newspaper Yeni Safak reported on Thursday that Syrian Kurdish fighters and Turkish soldiers traded “harassment” and “artillery fire” on the border of the two countries, a sign that the two sides may resort to openly attacking each other as tensions soar in the region.
Former Fox News hosts Greta van Susteren and Eric Bolling were evidently hacked on Tuesday by Turks supportive of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The hackers took control of their Twitter accounts and used them to send direct messages to President Donald Trump.
Turkey vows to take action against a United States-supported plan to establish a Kurdish-majority force of 30,000 troops in Syria “regardless of who backs them,” cautioned Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu.
Contents: US in Syria announces a Border Security Force to prevent repeat of Iraq withdrawal blunder; Turkey, Russia and Syria infuriated by the Border Security Force announcement
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed on Monday to annihilate a 30,000-strong Kurdish-majority force in Syria that has the backing of the United States.
Contents: Al-Assad’s continued chlorine attacks on civilians follow Putin’s ‘Grozny model’; Syria’s al-Assad threatens to drive hundreds of thousands more refugees into Turkey and Europe
ANKARA – Turkey has warned its citizens against travel to the United States, saying Turks face the risk of arbitrary arrest and should take precautions if they do decide to travel, the latest tit-for-tat volley in a diplomatic feud between the NATO allies.
PARIS (AP) — Protests over press freedom and the deteriorating state of human rights in Turkey greeted Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as he arrived in Paris on Friday for talks with French President Emmanuel Macron.
Turkey’s religious affairs state agency came under heavy criticism on Thursday from the main opposition party after it said girls as young as nine could marry under Islamic law.
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is trying to bring Turkey’s relations with European nations back on track following a stormy 2017 that saw the Turkish leader quarrel with European leaders and accuse them of Nazi-like behavior.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan voiced support for Iranian President Hassan Rouhani during a Wednesday morning phone call, reportedly telling Rouhani his response to the uprising has been “appropriate” and expressing hope that the protests “will end in a few days.”
Turkey detained nearly 200 people over suspected links to Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) jihadists over a two-day period as part of enhanced counterterrorism efforts ahead of New Year celebrations.
US consular missions in Turkey are set to resume full visa services following a suspension triggered by the arrest of a staff member, the American embassy in Ankara said Thursday, leading Turkey to announce it will also resume full services.
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reportedly “laughed” off an International Criminal Court (ICC) request to arrest Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir for alleged genocide and war crimes.
There hasn’t been much love lost between Syria and Turkey since long before Syria’s civil war heated up in 2011, but the war of words escalated this week when Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called Syrian President Bashar Assad a “terrorist.” The Syrian regime responded by accusing Turkey of supporting terrorism and spilling Syrian blood.
Russia is reportedly trying to finalize a $2.5 billion deal to supply Turkey with an S-400 surface-to-air missile system that will not integrate with NATO’s system.
Contents: General Assembly Jerusalem vote: Low ‘yes’ count humiliates Palestinians; Palestinians in Jerusalem fail to get excited by UN vote
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned U.S. President Donald Trump that “the world will give a very good lesson to the United States” for its decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel in an impassioned rant on Thursday.
Contents: Thousands of Kurds in violent protests against Kurdistan government in northern Iraq; Iraq’s Baghdad government splits over role of Iran-backed Shia militias
Turkish authorities will not allow New Year celebrations at Istanbul’s iconic Taksim Square for security reasons, state media reported Wednesday, quoting local officials.
Beardless men sow confusion in pious Muslim society because clean-shaven men sometimes “cannot be distinguished from women” and can cause “indecent thoughts”, according to a Turkish Islamic preacher.
NEW YORK — President Donald Trump’s first National Security Strategy contradicts a major Palestinian propaganda talking point that claims the so-called Israeli-Palestinian conflict is the root problem fueling violence across the Middle East.
THESSALONIKI, Greece (AP) — A court in northern Greece has sentenced 23 people to prison terms ranging from eight to 1,489 years for smuggling Iraqi and Syrian refugees into the country from the Turkish border in 2015 and 2016.
Turkey is launching an initiative at the United Nations to annul a decision by the United States to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said.
Contents: European Union continues to face crises regarding migration; Bitter divisions emerge at EU summit over migration issues
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Thursday announced nebulous plans for his country to build an embassy to an independent Palestinian state in east Jerusalem.
Turkey has experienced a worsening crackdown on press freedom over the course of 2017, imprisoning the highest number of journalists anywhere in the world.
Contents: Organization of Islamic Cooperation throws a temper tantrum over Jerusalem; Palestinians disappointed by final communiqué of OIC Summit
The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) held an emergency summit called by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Istanbul on Tuesday. The meeting produced a resolution calling for the United States to rescind its formal recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, and vaguely threatened “political and economic restrictions” against countries, presumably including the U.S., which defy the OIC’s demands.
Top military officials from the United States, Iraq, and Turkey are expected to meet in Ankara this week to discuss security threats facing the Middle East.
The government of Turkey is staking out a hardline position against President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. On Monday, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called the United States a “partner in bloodshed” with Israel, which he denounced as a “child-murderer state.” On Tuesday, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu needled Arab states for their “very weak responses” on Jerusalem.
Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro will attend an emergency meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Turkey Wednesday on the Muslim world’s response to President Donald Trump’s declaration that the U.S. would acknowledge Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan delivered a dramatic speech decrying Israel as a “terror state” and “child-killer state” on Sunday and accusing American President Donald Trump of using an “Evangelist understanding” of Israel to accept Jerusalem as the capital of the state.