Turkey

ISTANBUL, April 26 (Xinhua) -- Turkish prosecutors issued on Monday detention warrants for 532 military personnel over their alleged links to a network accused of orchestrating a coup attempt in 2016.

Police units launched operations in 62 provinces as part of an investigation co-conducted by prosecutors in Istanbul and Izmir, said the state-run Anadolu agency.

Prosecutors concluded that the suspects have connections with the network headed by U.S.-based Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen, according to Anadolu.

ISTANBUL (AP) — Turkey’s foreign ministry has summoned the U.S. Ambassador in Ankara to protest the U.S. decision to mark the deportation and killing of Armenians during the Ottoman Empire as “genocide.”

Deputy Foreign Minister Sedat Onal met with David Satterfield late Saturday to express Ankara’a strong condemnation. “The statement does not have legal ground in terms of international law and has hurt the Turkish people, opening a wound that’s hard to fix in our relations,” the ministry said.

 22 Apr 2021; MEMO: Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu announced that his country has begun talks to purchase a new batch of Russian-made S-400 missile defence systems.

Cavusoglu added that the Turkish administrations, including the Ministry of Defence, are currently discussing the purchase, while criticising the US' position on the deal, pointing out that Ankara needs the missile system.

ISTANBUL, Apr 22 (NNN-ANADOLU) – Turkey, Qatar, and the United Nations will “resolutely continue their earnest efforts” to achieve peace in Afghanistan, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said yesterday.

The trio planned to co-convene a high-level conference in Istanbul, from Apr 24 to May 4, with participation of the Afghan government and the Taliban.

The ministry said, the conference was agreed to postpone to a later date when “conditions for making meaningful progress would be more favourable.”

ISTANBUL, April 22 (Xinhua) -- Turkey will host a trilateral meeting with the foreign ministers of Afghanistan and Pakistan on Friday in Istanbul.

The meeting will address the latest developments in the Afghan peace process, the Turkish foreign ministry said in a written statement on Thursday.

Cooperation opportunities in security, energy, connectivity, and irregular migration will be on the agenda as well, it added.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu "will also hold bilateral meetings with his Afghan and Pakistani counterparts," the statement said.

ANKARA, April 21. /TASS/: Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Russia can buy Turkish weapons and military equipment if it needs it.

"Turkey is selling its drones to those who need them. The deal [with Ukraine] is not aimed against Russia. If Russia has the need to buy our products, it can buy them, just like we earlier purchased its S-400 [air defense systems]," he told the Haber Turk TV channel.

Cavusoglu reiterated that Turkey continues negotiations with Russia about buying the second regiment of S-400 air defense systems.

 21 Apr 2021; MEMO: President Recep Tayyip Erdogan appointed a prominent member of Turkey's ruling AK Party, Mehmet Mus, as trade minister today and split the Family, Labour and Social Policies Ministry into two ministries, Reuters reported.

In a presidential decree, Ruhsar Pekcan was replaced as trade minister by Mus, who has been a lawmaker for Erdogan's AK Party since 2011 and served as the party's deputy chairman in charge of the economy.

 20 Apr 2021; MEMO: Ankara filed a complaint against Riyadh at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) over the semi-official Saudi boycott of trading with Turkey, Arabi21 reported yesterday.

Reporting the Turkish Sabah newspaper, Arabi21 said that Turkish officials had presented restrictive Saudi trade policies and practices.

ISTANBUL, April 19 (Xinhua) -- Turkey has administered over 20 million COVID-19 vaccines across the country since the start of the mass vaccination program in mid-January, the country's health ministry announced Monday.

So far, over 12.2 million people have received their first doses, and 7.8 million others have taken their second shots, according to the data released on the ministry's website.

18 Apr 2021; MEMO: The Turkish Coast Guard Command announced on Saturday that it rescued 41 asylum seekers in the Aegean Sea who were pushed back into Turkish territorial waters with one set on fire by the Greek Coast Guard, Anadolu Agency reported.

The command said on its website that coast guard teams were dispatched to rescue asylum seekers early Saturday off the Cesme district in Izmir province.

An asylum seeker with a burn on his leg was handed to Emergency Medical Personnel.