Special to WorldTribune.com ANKARA — A leading human rights organization has urged Turkey to stop aiding Al Qaida-aligned rebels in Syria. The Human Rights Association said Al Qaida militias in Syria were using Turkey for recruitment and financing. In a report, the association urged the government of Prime Minister Recep Erdogan to crack down on […]
Special to WorldTribune.com WASHINGTON — The United States has praised the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad a month after it planned to attack it. Secretary of State John Kerry praised Assad for implementing his agreement to start destroying Syria’s chemical weapons arsenal. Kerry, in remarks that angered neighboring Turkey, said he was “very pleased” […]
Special to WorldTribune.com NICOSIA — The United States is said to have blocked weapons shipments to Western-aligned rebels in Syria. A Syrian opposition member, Farid Ghadry, said the decision by President Barack Obama was taken in late 2011 as part of White House policy to sustain the regime of President Bashar Assad. “The embargo was […]
Special to WorldTribune.com ANKARA — Turkey has been considering forcing its way into the area of energy exploration in Cyprus. Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz said the government was considering a plan for Ankara to begin exploring for crude oil and natural gas in the so-called Cypriot exclusive economic zone. Yildiz said a Turkish seismic […]
Special to WorldTribune.com JERUSALEM — Despite a U.S.-arranged reconciliation, Turkey continues to block NATO programs with Israel. Greece’s ambassador to Israel asserted that Ankara has not lifted its ban on military cooperation with Israel. Ambassador Spiros Lampridis said Turkish Prime Minister Recep Erdogan has used Ankara’s veto power to block NATO exercises and other activities […]
Special to WorldTribune.com Geostrategy-Direct.com ANKARA — Turkish Prime Minister Recep Erdogan, deemed the closest ally of President Barack Obama, has been moving away from the United States. Erdogan has become increasingly critical of U.S. policy in the Middle East. The criticism began in 2012 with U.S. inaction toward Syria and then over Washington’s condemnation of […]
Special to WorldTribune.com ANKARA — Turkey has acknowledged that scores of pilots resigned from the Air Force in 2013. The Defense Ministry has confirmed reports of a massive resignation at the Air Force. Defense Minister Ismet Yilmaz said more than 100 pilots left the service in the space of a month in 2013. “In January-February, […]
Special to WorldTribune.com ANKARA — Turkey has been bracing for another delay of its first nuclear energy reactor. Officials said the government of Prime Minister Recep Erdogan has been unhappy with plans by Russia’s state-owned Rosatom to build four 1,200 megawatt reactors at Akuyu. The officials said the government was concerned that the reactors would […]
Special to WorldTribune.com WASHINGTON — The United States must increase vigilance over Turkey amid the development of energy resources in the eastern Mediterranean, a report said. The American Enterprise Institute asserted that Turkey could use its huge military to destabilize the eastern Mediterranean in the competition for natural gas reserves. The institute cited Turkish threats […]
Special to WorldTribune.com By Miles Yu, Geostrategy-Direct.com ANKARA — Prime Minister Recep Erdogan, alarmed by the military coup in Egypt, was said to fear a similar scenario in Turkey. Diplomatic sources said Erdogan was the only NATO or Middle East leader to have openly sided with the Muslim Brotherhood against Egypt’s military. They said the […]