Ouster of Turkey’s highly-regarded prime minister strengthens Erdogan, shakes markets

Ouster of Turkey’s highly-regarded prime minister strengthens Erdogan, shakes markets

Special to WorldTribune.com Stripped of a large chunk of his authority, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on May 5 announced he would step down, boosting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s grip on power. The shock announcement, dubbed a “palace coup” by Erdogan’s opposition, unnerved Turkey’s financial markets, with the lira losing almost four percent its value […]

Erdogan: Will Turkey stop shelling anti-ISIL Kurdish forces in Syria? No way

Erdogan: Will Turkey stop shelling anti-ISIL Kurdish forces in Syria? No way

Special to WorldTribune.com President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey will not cease its attacks on Kurdish forces even though the Kurds have been the only consistently effective ground force against common foe Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL). Erdogan on Feb. 17 said Turkey would continue shelling Kurdish targets in Syria to prevent the […]

Turkish military strikes Syrian regime targets near Aleppo

Turkish military strikes Syrian regime targets near Aleppo

Special to WorldTribune.com Turkey’s military carried out attacks on Kurdish and Syrian regime targets in Aleppo province on Feb. 13, reports said. Turkish forces shelled Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) targets near the town of Azaz, and also responded to fire from Syrian regime forces on a military guard post in Turkey’s southern Hatay […]

Russia suspects Turkey is preparing for incursion into Syria

Russia suspects Turkey is preparing for incursion into Syria

Special to WorldTribune.com Moscow said it has reason to suspect that Turkey is planning a military incursion into Syria. The Russian Defense Ministry said it has observed “a growing number of signs of hidden preparation of the Turkish armed forces for active actions on the territory of Syria.” Ankara responded by saying it has the […]

Turkey: NATO radars confirmed Russian jet’s airspace violation

Turkey: NATO radars confirmed Russian jet’s airspace violation

Special to WorldTribune.com Turkey reported that NATO radars detected a Russian Su-34 warplane violating its airspace. “Russia can not cover up its violation of our airspace. It’s not possible to hide such an incident if it did happen, or to make up a violation if it didn’t happen,” Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said on […]

Iraqi prime minister: No evidence Turkey wants to fight ISIL

Iraqi prime minister: No evidence Turkey wants to fight ISIL

Special to WorldTribune.com Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi said on Jan. 21 he is “not seeing evidence” of Turkey’s willingness to fight Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL). While attending the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Abadi told CNBC he believes Turkey views the Kurdish population within its border as a greater problem […]

The problem with Islamist Turkey’s ‘zero problems’ policy

The problem with Islamist Turkey’s ‘zero problems’ policy

Special to WorldTribune.com By Gerald Robbins The culprit in last week’s suicide bombing at the U.S. Embassy in Ankara was not, as expected, an Islamic terror group bent on attacking American interests. Rather, a Marxist organization known as the Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party Front claimed responsibility. The group’s communiqué explained the assault as a response […]