Special to WorldTribune.com Saudi Arabia and Turkey are considering sending ground troops into Syria to support rebels fighting the Russia-backed Bashar Assad regime, analysts say. “The Saudis believe that the chance of a peaceful solution for the Syrian crisis is very limited,” said Mustafa Alani of the independent Gulf Research Center. “They don’t see that […]
Special to WorldTribune.com A group of academics who criticized Turkish military action against Kurds in the country’s southeast were briefly detained by Turkish security forces. The 27 academics were part of a group of 1,000 signatories of a published document critical of the military campaign against Kurdish PKK forces. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan denounced the […]
Special to WorldTribune.com Turkey is continuing to press its brutal siege on the Kurdish de facto capital. Kurds represent about 20 percent of Turkey’s population, and Kurdish fighters have been the only successful fighting force against the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL). The months-long battle for Diyarbakir, a walled city on the Tigris […]
Special to WorldTribune.com The Egyptian government has asked Israel for clarification on talks aimed at repairing relations between Jerusalem and Turkey. Egypt is calling on Israel not to give in to Turkey’s demands on the lifting of the naval blockade on the Hamas-run Gaza Strip, senior clerks in Jerusalem told Haaretz on Jan. 7 on condition of […]
Special to WorldTribune.com Israel will not lift the blockade on the Gaza Strip as part of a deal that renews relations with Turkey, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Dec. 21. “They (Turkey) argued against the blockade on Gaza and of course we don’t intend to change our naval blockade policy,” Netanyahu said according to […]
Special to WorldTribune.com The United States is involved in a “cover-up” over Turkey’s alleged smuggling of Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) oil, Russia’s defense ministry said on Dec. 5. “When U.S. officials say they don’t see how the terrorists’ oil is smuggled to Turkey… it smells badly of a desire to cover up […]
Special to WorldTribune.com Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he has warned Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani over accusations that Erdogan and his family are involved in black market oil trading with Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL). In a phone conversation on Dec. 3, Erdogan said he told Rouhani: “You will pay a high […]
Special to WorldTribune.com Turkey needs to focus its military attacks more on Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) instead of Kurdish opposition forces, U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said. “We need it to do more within its own territory, so it controls its border, which it has not done effectively since ISIL first arose,” […]
Special to WorldTribune.com Russia says it has proof that Turkish President Recep Tayyip and his family “are involved” in the smuggling of oil from Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) territory. The Russian Defense Ministry on Dec. 2 displayed what it said were satellite images showing columns of oil tankers filling up at installations […]
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 […]