Erdoğan, at last, sends Sweden’s NATO bid to Turkish parliament

BRUSSELS — The Turkish government on Monday submitted Sweden's NATO accession bid to the country's parliament for ratification, ending a months-long guessing game over whether Ankara intended to postpone its approval process further.

"The Protocol on Sweden's NATO Accession was signed by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on October 23, 2023 and referred to the Grand National Assembly of Turkey," the presidency posted on social media platform X.

Erdoğan threatens to ‘part ways’ from EU after critical European Parliament report

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Saturday slammed a report from the European Parliament on the country’s EU accession talks and threatened to “part ways” from the bloc.

Questioned by journalists about the report, Erdoğan said that “the EU is trying to break away from Turkey,” according to Turkish state media Anadolu Agency.

What’s at stake in the upcoming Erdogan-Putin meeting?

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is scheduled to meet Vladimir Putin on Monday, hoping to persuade the Russian leader to rejoin the Black Sea grain deal that Moscow broke off from in July.

The meeting, to take place in Sochi on Russia’s southern coast, comes after weeks of speculation about when and where the two leaders might meet. Erdogan previously said Putin would travel to Turkey in August.

Turkey extols booming defence industry at international arms fair

Istanbul, Turkey – The pride in Ugur Zengin’s voice is palpable as he stands in front of a full-scale model of Turkey’s fifth-generation stealth fighter jet.

“It’s a very prestigious project and a technical breakout for Turkey that will introduce a lot of new technologies for the whole defence industry,” said Zengin, vice president of the National Combat Aircraft project.

“There will be a very high percentage of local parts in the aircraft.”

Turkish MPs to vote on bill that could block Facebook and Twitter

Turkey’s parliament is preparing to vote on a bill that would effectively block sites such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube unless they comply with strict new regulations, as Ankara significantly steps up its efforts to control social media content.

The draft legislation would force social media companies with more than 1 million daily users in Turkey to establish a formal presence in the country or assign an in-country representative who would be legally accountable to the Turkish authorities.

As EU stumbles, Putin and Erdoğan take charge in Libya

The EU can step up or sit back down, but Russia and Turkey have taken charge — at least when it comes to Libya.

Minutes after European Council President Charles Michel vowed Wednesday that the EU would “step up” its efforts to halt “worrying military escalations” in Libya, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced a cease-fire to begin at midnight Sunday.

Turkey’s ‘anti-Erdoğan’ deserves Nobel Peace Prize

When Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan launched a fierce political crackdown in the wake of a failed coup in 2016, Osman Kavala did not expect to become a target.

“I doubt if they’d be interested in me,” Kavala, a former businessman and Turkey’s best-known promoter of social and political reconciliation, told a British visitor in September 2017.

As gold trade booms, Venezuela eyes stronger Turkey ties

Ankara, Turkey – When Venezuela’s industry chief Tareck El Aissami swapped the Caribbean sun for the wintry skies of central Anatolia on Wednesday, he was greeted by bouquet-bearing dignitaries eager to play a role in Turkey’s growing gold trade with the Latin American state.

His arrival in the city of Corum was the latest development in a burgeoning gold market that has raised eyebrows among the international community, which largely views Venezuela as a pariah state.

Erdogan and UN warn of human catastrophe in Idlib

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has urged the international community to prevent a Syrian government offensive in Syria’s Idlib, as the United Nations says it fears the century’s “worst humanitarian catastrophe” there.

“Not only innocent Syrians, but the entire world stands to pay the price [otherwise],” he said.

Erdogan, who met with his Russian and Iranian counterparts at a summit in Tehran last week, also said Russia and Iran had a responsibility to stop a potential humanitarian disaster in Idlib.

Erdogan: Turkey needs Russia’s S-400 missile defence system

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has reiterated his country’s need for the highly advanced Russian S-400 missile system, a planned purchase the US opposes.

Speaking at a graduation ceremony for military officers, the Turkish leader said Ankara would try to procure the missile system as soon as possible.

The S-400, touted by experts to be one of the most advanced systems in the world, can engage multiple aerial targets within a 400 kilometre range.

Turkish President Erdogan Vows Action Against ‘Economic Terrorists’ Over Lira Currency Plunge

ANKARA (Reuters) - President Tayyip Erdogan on Monday accused “economic terrorists” of plotting to harm Turkey by spreading false reports and said they would face the full force of the law, as authorities launched investigations of those suspected of involvement.

The lira currency, which has lost more than 40 percent against the U.S. dollar this year, pulled back from a record low of 7.24 earlier on Monday after the central bank pledged to provide liquidity, but it remained under selling pressure and its meltdown continued to rattle global markets.

Erdoğan calls Putin as Turkish currency tumbles

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan spoke by phone with Vladimir Putin to discuss “trade and economic cooperation,” the Kremlin said Friday, as the Turkish lira tumbled and Donald Trump said he would ramp up tarriffs against Ankara.

The statement will fuel speculation that Erdoğan is moving closer to Russia as relations worsen between Turkey and the United States, even though both countries are NATO members.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan spoke by phone with Vladimir Putin to discuss “trade and economic cooperation,” the Kremlin said Friday, as the Turkish lira tumbled and Donald Trump said he would ramp up tarriffs against Ankara.

The statement will fuel speculation that Erdoğan is moving closer to Russia as relations worsen between Turkey and the United States, even though both countries are NATO members.

Erdoğan accuses US of planning to form 'terror army' in Syria

Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has accused the US of forming a “terror army”, after Washington announced plans for a 30,000-strong force inside Syria to protect territory held by its mainly Kurdish allies.

On Sunday, the US-led coalition said it was working with its Syrian militia allies, the mainly Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), to set up the new border force. The force would operate along the borders with Turkey and Iraq, as well as within Syria along the Euphrates river, which separates most SDF territory from that held by the government. The announcement was one of the few insights into the Trump administration’s longer-term thinking for Syria.

Confrontational Erdoğan stuns Greek hosts on Athens visit

What had been billed a groundbreaking visit to Greece, the first by a Turkish president in 65 years, turned into a verbal theatre of war as Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, flouting the niceties of diplomacy, crossed an array of red lines.

Disputes that had lain dormant – not least the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne delineating the borders between the two nations – were prised open with brutal force on Thursday by Erdoğan on the first day of a historic visit dominated by the leader’s unpredictability.

Erdogan: Jerusalem status a red line for Muslims

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has threatened to cut diplomatic ties with Israel over reports that the United States plans to recognise Jerusalem as the Israeli capital.

Such a move would be a "red line" for Muslims, Erdogan said on Tuesday.

Reports emerged on Friday that US President Donald Trump was considering recognising Jerusalem as Israel's capital, a move that would be symbolised by relocating the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, upsetting decades of US policy.

Turkey’s free press on trial

In a small courtroom at the city’s gargantuan Palace of Justice, Canan Coşkun took the stand with her hands clasped nervously behind her back.

As a journalist covering the courts for Cumhuriyet — the Turkish newspaper that has been most outspokenly critical of the government — Coşkun is no stranger to judicial proceedings. But on this Tuesday morning in June, she wasn’t there to cover a case. She was on trial herself, for the fourth time this year.

Let's Find Out the Truth About the Beating of Americans by Erdogan's Turkish Security

Members of President Tayyip Erdogan’s security detail beat up protesters in Washington, DC on May 16. Eleven people were injured and two hospitalized.

The Subcommittee on Europe, Eurasia, and Emerging Threats of the House Foreign Affairs Committee held a hearing on May 25 to consider “Violence Outside the Turkish Ambassador’s Residence.” Chairman Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) said at the hearing: “The attack by members of President Erdogan’s security detail on peaceful protesters earlier this month was offensive and showed a deep disrespect for the United States and the values we cherish. Those responsible should be punished as the law allows and I call on our own authorities to make sure such a situation is never again allowed to occur.”

Will Erdogan’s Thugs Face No Consequences For Attacking Us On U.S. Soil?

My four-year-old son has been telling what he witnessed yesterday. Two dozen peaceful Kurdish protestors, including two children, were attacked by the Turkish President Erdogan’s security guards at the Turkish Embassy Residence in Washington D.C.

His story goes like this, “The bad guys tried to catch mama; mama cried and the police came, and the bad guys hit apo (uncle) Mehmet.”

The bad guys are the Turkish President Erdogan’s security detail, who have been more than security, acting instead like mafia henchmen. It is a known fact that Erdogan is highly suspicious and that he carefully chooses his bodyguards. For example, one of the bodyguards Tuesday was his cousin.

'I could have died': how Erdoğan's bodyguards turned protest into brawl

The first sign things could turn violent outside the Turkish ambassador’s residence in Washington came when a group of men in trim suits and slick ties approached the small group of demonstrators who had gathered nearby to protest the visit by president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

“They curse us, they curse my wife, my mother, my sister, my grandma,” Seyid Riza Dersimi told the Guardian.