Turkey

29 Nov 2019; MEMO: French President Emmanuel Macron should check his own head before describing NATO “brain dead”, Turkish president said Friday in a rebuff of the French leader, Anadolu Agency reports.

“French President Mr. Macron, I am telling you in Turkey and I will say in NATO, first check your own brain death,” said Recep Tayyip Erdogan, slamming Macron over his remarks that Turkey should not expect NATO support for its anti-terror operation in northern Syria.

ANKARA, November 30. / TASS /: The launch of the Turk Stream pipeline is scheduled for January 8, 2020, said Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday at the ceremony of launching the TANAP gas pipeline, through which Azerbaijani gas will be supplied to Turkey and Europe.

"Of course, we have another very important step that we will take. On January 8 in Istanbul we will launch a gas pipeline called the Turk Stream," Erdogan said.

ANKARA, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Thursday slammed French President Emmanuel Macron for his criticism on Turkey's military offensive in Syria against the Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG).

"Macron cannot be the leader of Europe by wobbling like this ... Macron should not forget, as (German Chancellor Angela) Merkel said, Turkey is a NATO ally. He should stand by the allies," Cavusoglu told reporters at the Turkish parliament.

ANKARA, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- Turkey will deport 11 French national Islamic State (IS) suspects to their home country next month, said Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu on Thursday.

"This week we will carry out repatriations (of IS suspects) to Belgium and Ireland on Friday and Saturday. Also, we will send 11 French national Daesh (IS) members back to France at the beginning of December," Soylu stated at a conference on migration in the province of Izmir.

"Turkey is serious about migration management, because the country is serious in fighting terrorism," he said.

ISTANBUL, Nov 29 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Turkey and Libya’s internationally recognized government have signed an agreement on maritime boundaries in the Mediterranean Sea as well as a deal on expanded security and military cooperation, the Turkish government said.

There were no immediate details on the maritime accord, which could further complicate disputes over energy exploration in the eastern Mediterranean where Turkish drilling has angered Greek Cypriots, Athens and the European Union.

ANKARA, Nov. 26 (Xinhua) -- Turkey has never promised to anyone that it would not install or use the Russian-made S-400 air defense system, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Tuesday.

"We have no commitment to anyone that we will not install or not use the S-400. We purchased it because we needed an air defense system. Is an air defense system taken to keep it in the box?" the top Turkish diplomat told reporters.

ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey is fully abiding by the agreements it reached with Russia and the United States regarding northeast Syria and is not resuming its military offensive, a security source said on Monday.

Ankara reached separate agreements with Moscow and Washington last month to remove the Kurdish YPG militia from a swathe of land in northeast Syria bordering Turkey, which in return stopped its military offensive against the militia.

ISTANBUL, Nov. 24 (Xinhua) -- The Turkish government's optimism for an economic recovery amid high inflation and economic contraction since the end of last year lacks solid foundation, analysts said, warning that the year 2020 could prove quite challenging as well.

What the latest indications only show is that the shrinkage in economy has stopped, but a genuine recovery is a long way off, Gokhan Capoglu, an economist, told Xinhua.

At the end of last month, the Turkish Central Bank lowered its inflation projection for 2019 to 12 percent, down from 13.9 percent.

ANKARA, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- Turkey would seek alternatives if it could not acquire U.S. F-35 fighter jets, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said Saturday.

"All should be aware that Turkey will have to look for alternatives if F-35s cannot be acquired for any reason," Akar said during an interview with Al Jazeera.

The Russia-made S-400 missile defense systems Turkey recently procured would not be integrated into the NATO systems within the Turkish defense system and would instead be part of a "stand-alone system," the minister stated.

ANKARA, Nov 24 (NNN-ANADOLU) – Turkey would seek alternatives, if it could not acquire the U.S. F-35 fighter jets, Turkish Defence Minister, Hulusi Akar, said.

“All should be aware that Turkey will have to look for alternatives, if the F-35’s cannot be acquired for any reason,” Akar said, during an interview.

The Russia-made S-400 missile defence systems, Turkey recently procured, would not be integrated into the NATO systems, within the Turkish defence system, and would instead be part of a “stand-alone system,” the minister stated.