Ankara has been criticized by the US State Department for restarting hydrocarbon exploration in contested waters. Washington said the move “deliberately complicates” de-escalation talks between NATO allies Greece and Turkey. In a statement released on Tuesday, State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said: “The United States deplores Turkey’s October 11 announcement of renewed Turkish survey activity in areas over which Greece asserts jurisdiction in the Eastern Mediterranean.” […]
Ankara
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On Sunday, Ankara announced that its Oruc Reis research ship would return to disputed waters in the eastern Mediterranean Sea for more surveying work. Greece, Germany and France slammed the decision, with Berlin calling on Turkey to refrain from any “provocations,” and Athens accusing Ankara of breaking its commitments. The United States voiced its displeasure over Turkey’s decision to return the Oruc Reis to disputed waters […]
The mediated ceasefire between Azerbaijan and Armenia over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region cannot be considered a solution to the conflict, the Turkish Foreign Ministry has said, reaffirming its support for Baku. The suspension of hostilities in the contested region, brokered by Russia on Friday, is “an important first step,” but it “will not replace a permanent solution,” Ankara said on Saturday. Turkey “will continue to stand […]
https://cdn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/07e4/0a/05/1080675929_0:0:1201:675_1200x675_80_0_0_bae20338f9827488150739a8fde32fc7.jpg Sputnik International https://cdn2.img.sputniknews.com/i/logo.png Sputnik https://cdn2.img.sputniknews.com/i/logo.png https://sputniknews.com/world/202010101080728610-ankara-says-karabakh-ceasefire-important-step-but-cannot-replace-sustainable-solution/ ANKARA (Sputnik) – The newly announced ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh is an important development, but it cannot replace a comprehensive solution to the long-lasting conflict, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said on Saturday. As a result of the 10-hour talks in Moscow, which continued into the early hours of Saturday, Armenia and Azerbaijan agreed to cease hostilities in conflict-torn Nagorno-Karabakh starting […]
MOSCOW (Sputnik) – While the US involvement in the Eastern Mediterranean does not serve the cause of peace and stability in the region, it also does not pose a threat to Turkey, Mustafa Sentop, the speaker of the Turkish parliament, told Sputnik. “The decision to base a navy ship in Souda Bay is another symbolic gesture in this regard. These actions by the U.S. will not […]
https://cdn1.img.sputniknews.com/img/107923/88/1079238800_0:98:2966:1766_1200x675_80_0_0_49b01f0b7dfc7ff6ab86efd249e47cce.jpg Sputnik International https://cdn2.img.sputniknews.com/i/logo.png Sputnik https://cdn2.img.sputniknews.com/i/logo.png https://sputniknews.com/us/202010071080700854-senators-urge-us-to-sanction-turkey-amid-reports-ankara-activated-s-400-to-detect-f-16s/ WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – Two US senators on Wednesday urged the Trump administration to impose sanctions on Ankara over reports Turkey activated the Russian-made S-400 air defense system to detect F-16 fighter jets flown by NATO. “We write concerning public reports that Turkey has activated the radars of its Russian-made S400 anti-aircraft system, in order to detect US-made F-16 fighter […]
US Ambassador David Satterfield is treating Turkey like a colony, Ankara’s health minister Fahrettin Koca said, commenting on the escalating row over the skyrocketing debt Turkey owes to American drug companies. “What the ambassador did is neither correct nor ethical. He is using manipulation at a time when we are holding talks with drug companies. He may be able to do such acts in colonies, but […]
The EU has no jurisdiction over maritime boundaries and should remain unbiased in Turkey’s dispute with Greece in the Mediterranean, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has warned the European Parliament. Ankara and Athens have competing claims to continental shelves in the east Mediterranean, believed to be rich in energy resources. Turkey says its shelf should be measured from the mainland, while Greece determines its claim based […]
The jailing of eight individuals in Saudi Arabia for the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi has not satisfied Turkey, which demanded more answers from Riyadh and vowed to continue its own investigation. The verdict by a Saudi Arabian court in the scandalous murder trial has left many questions unanswered and “fell short of meeting the expectations of Turkey and the international community,” the communications director for […]
https://cdn1.img.sputniknews.com/i/logo-itemprop.png Sputnik International https://cdn2.img.sputniknews.com/i/logo.png Sputnik https://cdn2.img.sputniknews.com/i/logo.png https://sputniknews.com/europe/202009031080360975-greek-diplomatic-sources-refute-nato-claims-that-ankara-athens-will-hold-technical-talks/ ATHENS (Sputnik) – Diplomatic sources in Greece refuted on Thursday information that Ankara and Athens had agreed to begin technical talks within NATO to de-escalate tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean, media reported. According to the sources, as cited by the AMNA news agency, such information does not correspond to the reality, however, Greece “duly noted the intention of NATO […]
On Friday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan confirmed that he had signed a decree converting Istanbul’s historic Hagia Sophia into a mosque which will open for Muslim prayers on 24 July. UNESCO has expressed “deep regret” over Turkey’s decision to convert Hagia Sophia back into a mosque after a court annulled a 1934 presidential decree that made it a museum. “Hagia Sophia is an architectural masterpiece […]
The EU Foreign Affairs Council scheduled for 13 July promises to be most interesting and intriguing. Earlier it was reported that the EU may take additional steps against Ankara over the drilling in Cyprus’ exclusive economic zone. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said after his meeting in Brussels with EU Foreign Affairs High Representative Federica Mogherini that Turkey would retaliate if the European Union introduces new […]
If Turkey decides to convert Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia, now a museum and originally a Byzantine Christian church, into an active mosque, this could sow discord between Christians and Muslims, the Russian Orthodox Church has warned. “A threat to Hagia Sophia is a threat to the entire Christian civilization,” Patriarch Kirill, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, said in his address, pointing to the huge religious […]
Republican US Senator John Thune on 30 June suggested purchasing and removing the Turkish-owned Russian-built S-400s from Ankara, in a bid to break a deadlock over weapons which Washington claims are incompatible with NATO security standards and might compromise operations of the new fifth-generation F-35 fighter jets. Retired Turkish Air Force Major General Beyazit Karatas commented on a GOP proposal to purchase Russian S-400 surface-to-air missile […]
Berlin will keep reviewing travel advice for Turkey, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas told his Turkish counterpart on Thursday. Any decisions are being coordinated with the EU and based on reliable data on coronavirus infections and the health situation, Maas added. Turkey is disappointed that the EU has excluded it, along with the US and others states, from a list of countries recommended for non-essential travel. […]
In his memoir published on 23 June, John Bolton claimed that US President Donald Trump was manipulated and easily influenced by the leaders of China, Russia, Turkey, and North Korea. In a series of tweets on Wednesday, Fahrettin Altun, the Turkish president’s communications director, lashed out at former US National Security Adviser John Bolton over what Altun described as false coverage of high-level contacts between Ankara […]
Media reports about a large shipment of Turkish-made personal protective equipment (PPE) failing quality standards upon arrival in the UK are baseless smears, Ankara has claimed. The story has caused headaches for Downing Street. A report first published by the Telegraph and later picked up by other outlets alleged that 400,000 items of PPE sent to the United Kingdom to help battle coronavirus were deemed unusable. […]