German Chancellor Angela Merkel has advocated giving the Turkish government billions of more euros for Syrian asylum seekers in order to reinforce the European Union (EU) migrant pact, while EU leaders agreed to give Turkey less money to prepare for EU accession.
BRUSSELS — German Chancellor Angela Merkel said early Friday that European Union leaders have agreed to reduce financial assistance for helping Turkey get ready for possible EU membership due to that country’s violations of the rule of law and human rights.
BRUSSELS (AP) — Germany Chancellor Angela Merkel is calling for cuts in European Union financial assistance aimed at helping Turkey get ready for eventual EU membership, given what she called a troubling direction the country has taken on democracy and rule of law.
Following President Trump’s refusal to certify the Iran nuclear deal, a senior Iranian leader claimed that “U.S. behavior” triggers the extreme, belligerent behavior of North Korea, as America is “not trustworthy.”
Center for Security Policy President Frank Gaffney joined SiriusXM host Alex Marlow on Wednesday’s Breitbart News Daily to talk about Kurdish independence in Iraq, the Iran nuclear deal’s continued survival after decertification, and the rising strategic threat of China.
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Officials say a European Union-funded project that provides cash assistance to the most vulnerable refugee families in Turkey has reached 1 million beneficiaries a year after its launch.
Contents: Kurds flee Kirkuk after Iraq army defeats them in complete rout; Devastating defeat to Iraq in Kirkuk exposes major splits between Kurdish factions
Contents: Mattis and Tillerson work to prevent Iraq vs Kurd military confrontation in Kirkuk; ISIS fighters permitted to leave Raqqa, Syria, with human shields; Syria demands ‘immediately’ pullout of Turkey’s forces from Idlib province
WASHINGTON, D.C. – From its warmongering in Iraq, Syria, and to a degree in Yemen, to its meddling in Lebanon, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the Palestinian territories and Turkey, the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and its terrorist proxy in Lebanon, Hezbollah, have caused chaos in the Middle East region since it came to power in 1979.
Contents: Iraqi troops and tanks seen massing near Kirkuk, poised to attack Kurds; Palestinian factions Fatah and Hamas announce unity agreement; Turkey’s tanks and troops cross border into Syria’s Idlib in apparent truce with HTS
Turkey’s Culture Minister Numan Kurtulmus reported to his parliament on Tuesday that some 140,000 books have been removed from libraries for “including propaganda of FETO.” FETO stands for Fethullah Terrorist Organization, which is the Turkish government’s name for followers of exiled imam Fethullah Gulen.
American and Turkish diplomats scramble to restore non-immigrant visa services in both nations, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has taken an aggressive approach. He asserted Thursday that Turkey is “not a tribal state” and told the United States, “We do not need you.”
The Iraqi government will attempt to reopen an oil pipeline into Turkey which bypasses the autonomous region of Kurdistan, the country’s oil ministry has announced.
The head of Turkey’s anti-Islamist main opposition party accused President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of attempting to implement a “hostage policy” to force the United States to do his bidding on Tuesday, a policy he predicted would fail.
Contents: Hundreds of ISIS fighters surrender as Iraqi town of Hawija falls; Tensions grow between Turkmens and Kurds in Kirkuk
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan publicly and personally attacked U.S. Ambassador John Bass, Tuesday, calling an arrested Turkish worker at the American consulate in Istanbul a “spy.” Bass suspended non-immigrant visa services in Turkey on Monday in response to the arrest.
Turkey launched a “security” operation in Syria’s Idlib province over the weekend that reportedly included artillery fire in support of rebels from the Free Syrian Army, who were fighting jihadists from al-Qaeda’s Syrian franchise. Turkey also expressed a desire to keep Kurdish groups from creating a “terror corridor.”
Turkey has frozen non-immigrant visa services for U.S. citizens, mirroring a U.S. announcement of the same policy Sunday in response to the arrest this week of a U.S. consulate worker in Istanbul for alleged ties to Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen.
The government of Turkey announced Friday that it will open its first cultural center in Latin America in Caracas, Venezuela, following a visit by that nation’s dictator, Nicolás Maduro, to Ankara for talks on economic and national security issues.
Yeni Safak, a Turkish newspaper known for its support of Islamist president Recep Tayyip Erdogan, accused the president of Iraq’s Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) of “support” for the Islamic State, despite the KRG’s pivotal role in fighting the jihadist group.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has pledged to “soon” close its border crossings and airspace to the autonomous Kurdistan region in northern Iraq to retaliate against Kurds who overwhelmingly voted “yes” to independence last week.
Contents: International Red Cross: Fighting in Syria worst since Aleppo; Analyst gives a chilling analysis of where the Syrian war is going
U.S.-supported Iraqi government troops and Iran-allied Shiite militiamen have reportedly retaken the “last” Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) bastion in northern Iraq, marking the latest sign that the jihadist group’s so-called caliphate in the region is dwindling.
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi appeared to extend an olive branch to the breakaway Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in remarks in Paris on Thursday, urging Kurdish Peshmerga military forces to “work together” with Baghdad’s army.
The presidents of Turkey and Iran reportedly stressed their strong objections to Iraqi Kurdistan’s efforts to become an independent state during a recent meeting in Tehran.
Venezuela’s dictator Nicolás Maduro will visit Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday and Friday, attending a meeting of the Turkey-Venezuela Business Forum shortly after reportedly seeking to restructure billions in Russian debt held by his failed state.
Shiite-led Arab lawmakers in Baghdad, Iraq, are punishing their Kurdish counterparts for voting in the independence referendum held by the autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in northern Iraq last week, banning them from participating in parliament and urging the country’s judicial branch to take punitive measures against them.
Contents: Kirkuk becomes the flash point after the Iraqi Kurdistan independence referendum; Significant differences in the three recent independence movements
Shiite-led Baghdad’s “oppression” prompted the autonomous Iraqi Kurdistan region to determine its fate in an independence referendum vote last week, argues the mufti of Iraq’s Sunni minority.
Tehran has reportedly deployed dozens of artillery-backed tanks and its powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) to link up with Iran-allied Shiite militias at the Iraqi Kurdistan border in response to the Kurds overwhelmingly voting in favor of independence from Iraq last Monday.
The sudden closure of one of Britain’s oldest airlines has been blamed on terror attacks against tourists and political instability in key holiday destinations, which the carrier boss said had severely damaged the market for flights. Writing to staff on
A group of Sunni Arab tribal leaders has voiced support for the non-binding independence referendum passed by northern Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan region this week, denouncing Shiite-led Baghdad’s opposition.
The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in northern Iraq has reportedly refused to hand over control of its international crossings to Shite-led Baghdad, which has vowed to seize authority over the borders of its autonomous region with the help of neighboring Iran and Turkey.
THESSALONIKI, Greece (AP) — Greek police announced they have arrested eight migrant traffickers who reportedly smuggled 38 migrants through Greece’s land border with Turkey.
Turkish President Recep Erdogan dismissed the possibility of Kurdistan becoming an independent state on Thursday following their independence referendum this week, claiming the process will only end in “disappointment.”
U.S. State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert rejected a proposal from Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan to trade wrongfully detained American pastor Andrew Brunson for Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen on Thursday, asserting the Trump administration was placing its efforts of bringing Brunson home.
Russian President Vladimir Putin traveled to Ankara this week to discuss the ongoing war in Syria with his Turkish counterpart, marking the latest sign of an improving relationship between the two countries that is prompting concerns in the West.
The prime ministers of Iraq and Turkey spoke on the telephone on Wednesday to discuss the likely outcome of the Kurdistan’s referendum on independence, the results of which will be announced Friday.
Following Kurdistan’s overwhelming vote in favor of seceding from Iraq on Monday, Baghdad’s parliament announced a series of measures intended to prevent their independence, including deploying Iraqi troops to Kurdish Peshmerga held areas.
Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdogan offered to free American pastor Andrew Brunson, imprisoned for allegedly spreading both pro-Kurdish propaganda and supporting Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen despite being a Christian, in exchange for Gulen himself on Thursday.
