Turkey

Turkey: ‘Declaring rights over Syrian oil is occupation’

11 Nov 2019; MEMO: Declaring property rights over Syrian oil is the real occupation, Turkey’s ruling party spokesman said Saturday.

“Those who say that they will transfer the resources of the Syrian people to SDG are in favor of terrorism against the Syrian people,” Omer Celik, a spokesman for the Justice and Development (AK) Party, said in a tweet.

Turkey begins deporting foreign jihadists

11 November 2019; AFP: Turkey said Monday it had begun sending back foreign jihadists to their countries of origin, with an American already expelled and more than 20 Europeans in the process of deportation.

A "foreign terrorist fighter" from the US was deported early on Monday, with two more -- from Germany and Denmark -- due to be expelled later in the day, interior ministry spokesman Ismail Catakli told state news agency Anadolu.

Turkish, Russian Presidents Discuss Syria, Bilateral Ties

ANKARA, Nov 10 (NNN-ANADOLU) – Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, discussed Syria and bilateral relations over the phone, Turkey’s presidential office said.

Both leaders confirmed their commitment to the “Sochi deal” reached on Oct 22, between Ankara and Moscow, for the withdrawal of Syrian Kurdish fighters from the areas along the Turkish border in northern Syria.

Turkish, Russian presidents discuss Syria, bilateral ties

ANKARA, Nov. 9 (Xinhua) -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Saturday discussed Syria and bilateral relations over the phone, Turkey's presidential office said.

Both leaders confirmed their commitment to the "Sochi deal" reached on Oct. 22 between Ankara and Moscow for the withdrawal of Syrian Kurdish fighters from the areas along the Turkish border in northern Syria.

Erdogan and Putin also discussed steps to be taken for developing bilateral relations and increasing bilateral trade volume, said the presidency.

Turkey says to start sending IS fighters home amid row with Europe

ANKARA, Nov. 9 (Xinhua) -- Turkey said that it would start sending captured foreign Islamic State (IS) fighters to their countries next week amid a row with European nations.

Over the last week, Turkish interior minister Suleyman Soylu has several times harshly criticized European countries for inaction, vowing to repatriate IS militants, even if their citizenship has been revoked.

On Friday, he was even more direct and told semi-official Anadolu news agency that the repatriation process will start as soon as Monday.

Erdogan says Turkey will not leave Syria until other countries pull out

9 Nov 2019; MEMO: Turkey will not leave Syria until other countries pull out, President Tayyip Erdogan was quoted as saying on Friday, and Ankara will continue its cross-border offensive against Kurdish fighters until every one of them has left the region, Anadolu reports.

Turkey launched its third military incursion into northeast Syria last month to drive Kurdish YPG fighters from its border and establish a “safe zone” where it aims to settle up to 2 million Syrian refugees.

Turkey: We have not forgotten Greek atrocities against Turks

8 Nov 2019; MEMO: Turkey has not forgotten the atrocities that Greeks committed against Turks during the former’s war of independence, the Turkish Foreign Ministry’s spokesperson Hami Aksoy said today.

Responding to a statement regarding the Armenian genocide made by Greek President Prokopis Pavlopoulos in his recent visit to Armenia, Aksoy stated that “Greece systematically annihilated Turks and Muslims in the region during and after the period of independence from the Ottoman Empire.”

Erdogan: ‘US is not fulfilling agreement with Syria’

8 Nov 2019; MEMO: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday that the United States is not fulfilling its obligations in the Syrian deal, i.e. to take Kurdish fighters out of the Turkish-Syrian border region, stressing that he would discuss the matter with President Donald Trump during their meeting next week.

Erdogan announces slain ISIS leader’s child captured

ANKARA, November 7. /TASS/: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has announced Thursday that Turkish security services have detained a child of the eliminated leader of the Islamic State terrorist organization, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

"A DNA test confirmed that [the child is al-Baghdadi’s]. They [al-Baghdadi’s arrested family members - TASS] remain in custody in a Turkish deportation center. The Justice Ministry will deliver relevant decisions in their regard," Erdogan underlined.

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