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Ignoring the Middle East at one’s peril: Turkey plays games in NATO – Modern Diplomacy Amid speculation about a reduced US military commitment to security in the Middle East, Turkey has spotlighted the region’s ability to act as a disruptive force if its interests are neglected. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan set off alarm bells this week, declaring that he was not “positive” about…

Turkey continues to play hard ball over Sweden, Finland NATO membership – Al-Monitor Turkey’s Islamic-leaning Justice and Development Party government is demanding that both countries end their arms embargoes on Turkey over its military intervention in 2019 against the Kurds in northeast Syria. Tensions within NATO over Turkey’s demands for concessions from Finland and Sweden in exchange for backing the Nordic states’ membership of…

Finnish President: ‘Astonished’ Turkey Might Block Our NATO Application Finland’s president suggested that Turkey has changed its views on the Nordic nation joining NATO.Finnish President Sauli Niinistö said he was “astonished” by Turkey’s possible opposition.Niinistö said that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan previously suggested he was fine with Finland joining. Finnish President Sauli Niinistö said on Sunday that he was “astonished” that Turkish President…

The shady Russian monasteries in Greece – Human trafficking, money laundering, and power | Bild.de BILD has seen the secret report about criminal activities of Kremlin-affiliated monks on secluded Mount Athos A room full of men, in the North of Greece. All but one are dressed in black. One monk is pouring wine. A man says in a low voice: “Something big will happen…

No American F-16s for anti-Western, anti-democratic and belligerent Turkey | Cyprus Mail The United States expelled Turkey, a proven unreliable US ally, in 2019 from the F-35 air-fighter programme because it bought the Russian S-400 missile system. Now the Turks want to purchase 40 F-16s and upgrade kits for 80 more. Under no circumstances should Washington cave into Erdogan’s demands. Turkey will not use the…

Uruguay’s Senate puts appointment of ambassador to Ankara on hold | MercoPress Uruguay’s Senate unanimously agreed Tuesday not to move on with its advice and consent regarding the appointment of Hugo Cayrús as the country’s next ambassador to Ankara following the embarrassing incidents caused in Montevideo by Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu. The decision was mooted by Broad Front (Frente Amplio – FA) opposition…

Turkey: NATO’s Pro-Putin Ally – Gatestone Institute On February 25, Turkey abstained from voting on suspending Russia’s membership in most bodies of the Council of Europe in response to the military operation in Ukraine. “During the vote in Strasbourg, Turkey decided to abstain,” Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said. “We don’t want to break off the dialogue with Russia.”In an op-ed published in the Wall…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xq-swYw_2oY Turkey is one of the few countries where Russian airplanes can fly and Russian passport holders can enter without visas, making it a prime destination for Russians seeking to escape both Putin’s crackdowns and the effects of economic sanctions. For VOA, Dorian Jones reports from Istanbul. Source: Turkey Becomes an Oasis for Russian Exiles

Jamal Khashoggi Fast Facts – CNN Editorial Research Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi journalist and a Washington Post columnist, was critical of Saudi Arabia and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s policies. He was allegedly killed and dismembered on October 2, 2018, in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul by men with close ties to the highest levels of the Saudi government and bin Salman. Although the CIA has…

Over a dead body Turkey’s president woos the Saudi crown prince | The Economist Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government badly needs money THE FIRST requirement was to sweep a murder case under the carpet. On April 7th a court in Istanbul suspended the trial of 26 Saudis accused of killing Jamal Khashoggi, a dissident Saudi journalist, in Turkey in 2018, and transferred the file back…

Khashoggi goes unmentioned as Erdoğan seeks to boost Saudi trade ties | The Guardian With awkward embraces and fixed grins, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Mohammed bin Salman struck a pose of reconciliation. For the past three years, the presence of the Turkish leader and the Saudi crown prince in the same room would have been unthinkable, but in a drawing room of a Jeddah…

Germany takes Italy to U.N. court again over Nazi compensation claims | Reuters General view of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, Netherlands January 23, 2020. REUTERS/Eva Plevier/File Photo THE HAGUE, April 30 (Reuters) – Germany has filed a case against Italy at the highest U.N. court because Rome continues to allow victims of Nazi war crimes to claim compensation from…

Greece Blocks Turkey From NATO Air Drill – Voice of America Athens — It was billed as a promising breakthrough — Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan meeting last month and agreeing to try to resolve their countries’ age-old differences, keeping, at least, a lid on tensions as the conflict in Ukraine rages. But on Thursday, as armed Turkish jets streamed…

Erdogan Wants to Bond With Saudi He Scorned – Bloomberg A street kiosk in front of a mural of Turkish President Recep Erdogan in Bursa, Turkey, on Jan. 4. – Photographer: Moe Zoyari/Bloomberg By When Saudi critic Jamal Khashoggi was murdered by his own country’s agents in Istanbul three years ago, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan appeared to revel in the bad publicity it…

Greece, Turkey trade barbs over Aegean airspace incursions | Reuters Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis speaks during joint statements with his Finnish counterpart Sanna Marin at the Maximos Mansion in Athens, Greece, April 28, 2022. REUTERS/Costas Baltas ATHENS/ANKARA, April 28 (Reuters) – Greece on Thursday accused its neighbour Turkey of undermining NATO unity by violating its airspace with fighter jets, prompting an angry Turkish…

Turkey violates Greek airspace 126 times! | Proto Thema News It was the worst day for a while Turkish fighter jets committed 126 violations over Greek airspace on Wednesday the worst day yet for some time. The Turkish airforce flew over more than 13 islands in the Aegean Sea. The egregious actions occurred the day Greece summoned the Turkish Ambassador to protest against the…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3n-4F8Nlts&t=1s During his visit to Uruguay, the Turkish Foreign Minister showed the local Armenians gathered in front of the Turkish embassy in Montevideo the sign of the Gray Wolves organization. With a gesture of Turkish far-right nationalists, the head of the Turkish Foreign Ministry reacted to the action of protesters against his arrival in Uruguay on the eve of the 107th anniversary of the…

The Armenian Genocide Holds a Bitter Lesson for Ukraine | The Intercept (WARNING – GRAPHIC CONTENT) BUCHA, UKRAINE – APRIL 13, 2022 – An investigator pulls a human remains pouch out of another mass grave where civilians killed by Russian invaders are buried during exhumation, Bucha, Kyiv Region, northern Ukraine. (Photo credit should read Anatolii Siryk / Ukrinform/Future Publishing via Getty Images) If there’s…

The survey was carried out in 27 Turkish provinces between March 2 and 26, 2022 by means of face-to-face interviews, with 2,180 respondents representing Turkey’s adult population.

Turkey-EU relations have been marked by political crises. As a result, Turkey’s EU accession process has more or less been put on the back burner. However, since the tensions in the Eastern…

Russia’s Ukraine Propaganda Has Turned Fully Genocidal Egged on by the language of annihilation and extermination, Russian soldiers have become willing executioners. On Feb. 26, only two days into the war, Russian state news agency RIA Novosti published an op-ed titled “The Coming of Russia and of the New World.” Its author, without a trace of irony, praises Russian President Vladimir Putin for the…

The move will almost certainly end the last case aimed at serving justice for a heinous crime that drew global outrage. Turkey Transfers Khashoggi Murder Trial to Saudi Arabia – The New York Times A symbolic funeral held in Istanbul in 2018 for Jamal Khashoggi, the dissident journalist killed in the the city’s Saudi Consulate.Credit…Bulent Kilic/Agence France- ISTANBUL — A court in Turkey ordered…

A Tanker’s Giant U-Turn Reveals Strains in the Market for Russian Oil – The New York Times The ship, originally sailing to Philadelphia, apparently lost its buyer in the middle of the Atlantic. A number of tankers carrying Russian oil face similar problems. A tanker loaded with one million barrels of Russian oil set sail from Murmansk this month, headed for Philadelphia. Then, in…

Greece: Staff Concluding Statement of the 2022 Article IV Consultation Mission | IMF A Concluding Statement describes the preliminary findings of IMF staff at the end of an official staff visit (or ‘mission’), in most cases to a member country. Missions are undertaken as part of regular (usually annual) consultations under Article IV of the IMF’s Articles of Agreement, in the context of a…

Turkish-European-Israeli gas project in Iraqi Kurdistan was target of Iran missiles | The Arab Weekly Sources say the gas export plan could threaten Iran’s place as a major supplier of gas to Iraq and Turkey. A nascent plan for Iraq’s Kurdistan region to supply gas to Turkey and Europe, with Israeli help, is part of what angered Iran into striking the Kurdish capital Erbil…

Israel-Turkey gas pipeline discussed as European alternative to Russian energy | Reuters The production platform of Leviathan natural gas field is seen in the Mediterranean Sea, off the coast of Haifa, northern Israel June 9, 2021. REUTERS/Amir Cohen Subsea gas pipeline to Turkey, Europe idea conceived years agoEurope seeking alternatives to Russian suppliesIndustry officials cite production, political hurdlesTurkey, Israel looking to put diplomatic strains…

Erdoğan’s troll army preparing for Turkey’s elections – Ahval Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s so-called ‘troll army’ is preparing to campaign among Turks living in Germany ahead of next years’ election, German newspaper Die Welt said. Erdoğan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) is not only using its organisational structure to influence opinion in the German-Turkish community, but a small army of the president’s…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gNp0PfK0CI One of President Putin’s justifications for his invasion of Ukraine is that he wants to “denazify” the country. Ros Atkins looks at the distortions and untruths that Russia is spreading about Nazis in Ukraine – including about the role of the Azov regiment, who are based in Mariupol and are part of Ukraine’s national guard. Source: What untruths is Russia spreading about Nazis…

The initial group of Ak-trolls were, for the most part, bot accounts active on Twitter that shared computer-generated posts alongside a hashtag in favour of Erdoğan and his government’s policies. These accounts would create tweets using the hashtag and also interact/retweet with tweets using the same hashtags. A 2016 study published by the cyber security company Norton Symantec shows that among…

Exclusive: Russia Backs Europe’s Far Right – New Lines Magazine Last November, during Matteo’s working visit to Moscow, my boss arranged a private meeting with him, renting a room on the same floor of the Lotte Hotel to prevent the Western press from catching wind of the meeting. So wrote Mikhail Yakushev, a Russian national, in a Microsoft Word document he emailed to himself…

Turkey opens new dispute over sovereignty of east Aegean islands | Al Jazeera Turkey for the first time disputes Greece’s sovereignty over its east Aegean islands which were meant to remain demilitarised. Athens, Greece – As NATO confronts Russia over security in Europe, renewed tension between Greece and Turkey is gnawing at the alliance’s eastern heel. In letters sent to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres…

Turkey: Is the worst yet to come? WIIW (news) The use of negative real interest rates to support credit growth has again led to a lira rout and skyrocketing inflation. The crisis is unlikely to be over The progress on structural reforms and institutional upgrading carried out in the early 2000s began to be reversed after 2013, as the government turned more authoritarian and…

Traders Puzzled By Bizarre Mystery As Turkish Central Bank Inexplicably Posts “Unprecedented” $10 Billion Profit On Last Day Of 2021 …with inflation running at over 36% and Turkey’s official reserves dwindling, the question for some is how much longer policy makers can stand in the way of dollar demand. In a world where central banks now openly engage in helicopter money paradrops and monetizing…

The Hidden Story of Christian Genocide in the Ottoman Empire – Video – όποιος World renowned Israeli historian Benny Morris sat down with i24NEWS to discuss his new body of work which seeks to unravel the systematic genocide of Christian subjects of the Ottoman Empire before and after its collapse. As found in The Thirty-Year Genocide: Turkey’s Destruction of its Christian Minorities, between 1894…

Christianity in Turkey and the Middle East | Opinion – Daily Sabah Christian minorities living in the Middle East, the birthplace of the religion, aim to maintain their culture on the axis of the Muslim majority. With the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, they attempted to obtain their social rights while being divided into scattered communities. Christians, who reside in various places from Turkey…

Missiles and sensors: German technology for the Turkish drone war – Matthias Monroy Turkey’s best-selling armed drone is equipped with cameras from German company Hensoldt, a spokesperson confirms. The device could guide missiles developed with German help to a target. The government in Berlin also has a stake in the defence company. Turkey uses the drones for attacks that violate international law. For almost…

Someone Offered ‘Harvard’ Jobs to Known Women in India. It Was a Scam. – The New York Times The Harvard Job Offer No One at Harvard Ever Heard Of An online scam targeted prominent women in India, telling them the Ivy League was calling. NEW DELHI — Nidhi Razdan was all set to travel to Harvard University to start a new job, and a…

Turkish lira hits new low after Erdogan’s latest rate cut | Reuters Summary Dollar more than doubled in value against lira this yearErdogan has pushed for risky rate cuts to boost growthCentral bank cuts rate by 100 basis points as expected ISTANBUL, Dec 16 (Reuters) – The Turkish lira plunged as much as 5.6% to a record low against the dollar on Thursday after…

Turkish Currency Hits a New Low, Again – The New York Times The Central Bank has cut interest rates, even as inflation continues to soar, deepening President Erdogan’s disputed economic plan and setting off a new plunge in the lira. ISTANBUL — The Turkish lira hit new lows on Thursday after the Central Bank reduced interest rates for the fourth successive month in what…

Disinformation has become a global security issue: Erdoğan | Daily Sabah From being a mere national security issue, disinformation spreading through various outlets, including social media, has now morphed into a global security threat, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Saturday. “Lies, manufactured news, and disinformation spread rapidly through the use of social media,” the president said in a video message on the first day…

Review of Erdoğan’s Long Arm in the US: Turkish Influence Operations among American Muslims | Middle East Quarterly Hacked emails tell the story of how Erdoğan’s Turkish proxies first pitched the idea of infiltrating “Capitol Hill and the U.S. security establishment through front organizations and lobbyists under the guise of journalism.” Yayla, director of the Center for Homeland Security at DeSales University, discusses Turkish…

The West wants to overthrow Erdogan but it has lost its power to do so – Yeni Safak In the past decade, the U.S., or the West in general, has starkly increased the number of articles on Turkey that potshot President Erdogan. Despite all the covert and overt interventions across various fields, we witness them uncontrollably hurling insults at Erdogan with a rage stemming…

Azerbaijan is trying to create tension in the Armenian Greek relations – Ambassador speaks about Thessaloniki incident | ARMENPRESS YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 24, ARMENPRESS. The Azerbaijani advertisement on public transport in the Greek city of Thessaloniki with the words “Shushi is Azerbaijan” was removed by the efforts of the Armenian Embassy, community structures, the Greek-Armenian Chamber of Commerce and the Armenian National Committee of Thessaloniki,…

How Athens became the unexpected hub for Afghan women – POLITICO A text to the prime minister’s wife played a key role in opening the door to a country more known for its strict migration policies. ATHENS — The women of Afghanistan’s deposed democracy have found a temporary home in an unlikely location: Athens. In recent months, Greece appears to have welcomed more women…

Turkey will be in Athens in 5 hours in event of Greek missile attack: AKP official – Turkish Minute A senior official from Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has said Turkish forces will be in Athens in five hours in the event of a missile attack amid increased tension between the two countries in the east Mediterranean, Turkish media outlets reported. The…

Erdogan Defends Pursuit of Lower Interest Rates as Lira Sinks – BNN Bloomberg (Bloomberg) — Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan defended his pursuit of lower interest rates to boost economic growth and job creation, pushing the lira to a new record low against the dollar. Turkey’s Central Bank Delivers Erdogan Another Cut as Lira Burns Turkey has abandoned old policies based on high borrowing…

Flight carrying over 100 evacuated Afghans reaches Greece – APNEWS THESSALONIKI, Greece (AP) — More than 100 Afghans believed to have been at risk from the Taliban were granted temporary shelter Monday in Greece after being evacuated on a special flight to the northern city of Thessaloniki. Greek officials said among the 119 people on board was Afghanistan’s former minister of borders and tribal…

bne IntelliNews – Greece goes shopping for new defence relationships Last month Greece signed a pair of new Defence and Security Agreements with the USA and the UK, which mark the latest development in a larger Greek diplomatic coup over the course of the year. The background to these new agreements (and earlier ones with Israel, France, Cyprus and Egypt, on which more in a…

Turkish President Sues Greek Newspaper For Insulting Him Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has filed a lawsuit against Greek daily newspaper ‘Dimokratia’ at a prosecutor’s office in Ankara, it was reported on Wednesday. The lawsuit specifically targets the newspaper’s director, two chief editors, and a journalist, Dimokratia noted in an announcement. “Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is prosecuting the newspaper ‘Democracy’ [Dimokratia] and wants to…

Erdogan’s Policies and Turkey – Daily Times Last month, Turkey made it into the grey list of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the global money laundering and terrorist financing watchdog headquartered in Paris. Turkey now joins its close ally Pakistan in FATF’s crosshairs. Surprisingly, Turkey becomes the largest economy to be included in this list. The FATF listing for Ankara comes on the…

Turkey’s Neo-Ottoman Designs Knock on Europe’s Door Relations between Turkey and Europe have become increasingly strained over the last several years, as many fear that Erdogan is promoting pan-Turkism in the continent. The European Parliament voted to propose the suspension of Turkey’s accession talks for entry into the European Union. At the end of March, the European Council published a report on the current…

Why is Turkey causing trouble on Europe’s borders again? | The Spectator In the cold, damp forest lining the border between Poland and Belarus, thousands of refugees flown over from the Middle East have waiting to cross into the EU for days. Belarusian riot police are shoving them away from their gates and towards Poland, where only more forces await. The Belarusian dictator Alexander…

The Turkish Gambit – Modern Diplomacy Turkey goes on with an unusual and risky policy in military and technical cooperation, effectively regarding it to be a continuation of Recep Erdogan’s foreign policy agenda. Following a memorable game round when Ankara, much to its own surprise, ended up purchasing Russia’s S-400 ABM systems, Turkey has now decided to update its fighter fleet. Turkey’s policy could…

As Turkey Chafes at Erdogan, He Gets Spikier Abroad – The New York Times President Recep Tayyip Erdogan canceled an appearance at the global climate talks over a perceived slight, part of a pattern of creating international dramas to bolster his domestic standing. ISTANBUL — The global climate summit in Glasgow was supposed to be a big moment for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of…

According to reports out of Somalia, on November 3, Somali security officials confiscated parts for six drones at Mogadishu’s Aden Abdullah Airport. The Somali security officials arrested two Turkish engineers who accompanied the shipment and planned to assemble the aircraft. Turkey manages the airport, however, and the Turkish embassy quickly intervened to compel their release before the Somali government could complete its investigation.

Then came the chance the Turks have been waiting for: To get rid of Christians once and for all – Haaretz.com In the late 1800s, Christians made up 20 percent of Turkey’s population. By the late 1920s, they were down to just 2 percent. New research reveals the scope of the genocide committed by three successive regimes Share in TwitterShare in Facebook In May…

Why Turkey wants new F-16 fighter jets In-depth: For Turkey, getting approval to buy F-16Vs and modernisation kits could be its last chance to ensure it has a capable and relatively modern air force for the foreseeable future. In early October, Turkey requested to buy 40 new Lockheed Martin F-16V fighter jets along with 80 modernisation kits for its F-16 fleet from the United…

Turkey’s New Maps Are Reclaiming the Ottoman Empire – Foreign Policy Erdogan’s aggressive nationalism is now spilling over Turkey’s borders, grabbing land in Greece and Iraq. In the past few weeks, a conflict between Ankara and Baghdad over Turkey’s role in the liberation of Mosul has precipitated an alarming burst of Turkish irredentism. On two separate occasions, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan criticized the Treaty…

Is the West now trying to bully Turkey? – CGTN Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a news conference in Ankara, Turkey, October 25, 2021. /Getty Frederick North, 2nd Earl of Guilford, is often credited with popularizing the phrase “a storm in a teacup,” which is commonly understood as blowing a trivial matter out of proportion. This is how some are describing Turkish…

Honeymoon could soon be over for Erdogan’s Turkey in Africa In the nearly ten years since Recep Tayyip Erdogan made his famous visit to Mogadishu in August 2011, Turkey has rapidly become one of Somalia’s most important (and generous) international benefactors. After Erdogan became the first head of state from outside of Africa to visit Somalia since the country’s disastrous civil war erupted in…

UK and Greece sign deal to bolster defence and trade ties Britain and Greece agreed to strengthen ties on Monday as they drafted a new framework to boost trade, security and digital co-operation. It is also expected to enable bilateral deals to be done on education, tourism and maritime affairs between the two Nato member states. “The framework we’ve signed with Greece will open…

Turkish state-run bank lacks immunity in US criminal laundering case | Courthouse News Service The Second Circuit’s ruling found Halkbank engaged in commercial activity when it allegedly laundered $1 billion of Iranian money through the U.S. financial system. (CN) — Federal prosecutors can continue to prosecute a Turkish bank in a Manhattan courthouse for allegedly evading U.S. sanctions against Iran by laundering $20 billion…

Germany’s New Government and Its Foreign Policy on Turkey: Lines of Conflict and Areas of Cooperation – Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik In stark contrast to Germany’s Bundestag elections in 2017, Turkey has hardly been mentioned in this year’s election campaign. Nevertheless, today’s relatively relaxed atmosphere between Berlin and Ankara and the lack of prominence ascribed to their relationship in the German election campaign do…

The Man Behind Erdogan’s Worst Spat With the West: QuickTake – BNN Bloomberg (Bloomberg) — Recep Tayyip Erdogan is leading Turkey toward the biggest showdown with key Western allies since the Turkish president assumed power two decades ago. At the heart of the row is a joint call by ambassadors from 10 countries — including the U.S. and Germany — on Turkey to free…

There Was Once a Dream That Was the Turkish Republic – War on the Rocks Elections in Turkey are scheduled for June 2023, the centenary of the Republic. It’s a nice symbolic year, and the government of president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has quite the show planned for its voters: an indigenous electric car, a sleek new fighter jet, a nuclear power plant, and the…