Special to WorldTribune.com The one thing Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan enjoys more than a turn of phrase is the filet mignon of raw power. Erdogan has had a voracious appetite for that red meat, moving quickly to shift the center of power in Turkey to the presidency, saying that the parliamentary system has outlived […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Special to WorldTribune.com A filmmaker who produced documentaries showing the barbaric atrocities committed by Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) was assassinated in Turkey on Dec. 27. “Filmmaker Naji Jerf, father of two children, was assassinated… today in Gaziantep,” the group Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently (RBSS), with which Jerf worked, said in a […]
Special to WorldTribune.com Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met with Hamas leader Khaled Masha’al on Dec. 19, the first such meeting after reports of warming ties between Turkey and Israel. Turkey’s Anadolu news agency reported that Masha’al briefed Erdogan on the latest political developments in the region during the 60-minute meeting in Istanbul. The report […]
Special to WorldTribune.com Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Nov. 30 said he would resign if Russian President Vladimir Putin could prove Turkey was protecting its oil commerce with the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL). “I will say something very strong here,” Erdogan, in Paris for the climate change summit, told state-run Anatolia […]