Turkish Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu said that the recent decision of several western countries to close their consulates as a precaution against a possible terror attack, aims at “starting a new psychological warfare in Türkiye,” adding that “it is an international operation against Türkiye.” “The ambassadors who wanted to carry out a legal operation against
Türkiye condemned Sweden over the burning of a copy of the Quran, the holy Book of Muslims in front of the Turkish Embassy in Stockholm on January 21, further straining ties between the two countries as Sweden seeks Turkish approval to be a member of the defense alliance NATO. A Turkish Foreign Ministry statement said
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan signaled that Türkiye may hold its critical presidential and general elections on May 14, fueling further the debate on bringing the election earlier than its scheduled date on June 18. “Late Menderes (Adnan, former Prime Minister) came out of the ballot box with an overwhelming victory on May 14, 1950, by
The arrested chair of Turkey’s top medical association TTB, Şebnem Korur Fincancı, was sentenced to 2 years and 8 months in prison for “disseminating propaganda for an illegal organisation through the press” for speaking on a news programme about alleged chemical weapons use by the Turkish Armed Forces. The Istanbul 24th Criminal Court ruled for
Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan asked Russian President Vladimir Putin for a unilateral ceasefire in Ukraine to support peace and negotiation efforts, in a written statement by the Turkish Presidential Office on January 5. The statement was issued following a telephone conversation between Erdoğan and Putin. Türkiye has been in contact both with Putin and Ukrainian
Main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu spoke harshly about the terror inspection initiated by the Interior Ministry against the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, defining the inspection as “conspiracy.” Speaking at his party’s parliamentary group on Jan. 3, Kılıçdaroğlu said that if the government appoints a trustee, the main opposition will consider the situation
Türkiye, Syria defence ministers held the first high-ranking meeting in Moscow along with intelligence officers on December 29, Turkish Defence Ministry announced. The meeting was attended by Turkish Defence Minister Akar, Intelligence Chief Hakan Fidan, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and Syrian Defence Minister Ali Mahmoud Abbas, along with Russian and Syrian intelligence chiefs. “Syrian
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced on December 26 that one of Türkiye’s 3 drilling ships working in Black Sea has discovered new natural gas reserve of 58 billion cubic meters worth 1 trillion dollars. “Thus, our gas reserve in the Black Sea has increased by 170 billion cubic meters and reached 710 billion cubic
The main opposition Republican People’s Party’s (CHP) İstanbul Metropolitan Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu was sentenced to 2 years in prison for insulting state officials, in a contentious court case on December 14. İstanbul court sentenced İstanbul Mayor İmamoğlu for 2 years, 7 months, and 15 days in prison for “insulting public officials working as committee,” and
The main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) rallied to the Justice Ministry with all of its members of the parliament and administrative cadres in order to protest the ministry’s lack of action against the child abuse case that shook Türkiye last week. All main opposition MPs and administrative cadres walk to Justice Ministry from the