Turkey

23 September 2023; MEMO: The Turkish Central Bank has, once again, hiked interest rates in the country, pushing its policy rate up five points to 30 per cent, in a continued effort to curb soaring inflation, AP reports.

According to the report, the Bank said, on Thursday, that the increase was necessary in the face of services inflation and surging oil prices. It means that the country’s interest rate is sitting at a level not seen since 2003.

23 September 2023; MEMO: Turkish Defence Minister Yasar Guler stressed the need for the Bashar Al-Assad regime to meet several requirements before Turkish forces withdraw from northern Syria.

The requirements include the establishment of a new constitution and the holding of democratic elections, in addition to the formation of a government that represents all Syrian sects.

21 September 2023; MEMO: Turkiye has said it welcomes talks in Saudi Arabia on ending the war in Yemen, calling for constructive support from all parties for a lasting solution, Hurriyet Daily News reports.

According to the report, Turkiye will continue to resolutely support preservation of the national unity and territorial integrity of brotherly Yemen.

21 September 2023; MEMO: Turkish President, Tayyip Erdogan, said he does not agree with the negative approach other leaders are showing towards his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, Turkish broadcasters quoted him as saying on Thursday, Reuters reports.

ISTANBUL, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- The first cargo ship carrying Ukrainian grain arrived off Türkiye's Bosphorus Strait on Thursday using a temporary "humanitarian corridor."

The Ihlas news agency said the ship "Resilient Africa" anchored off the Sariyer district at the Black Sea entrance of the Bosphorus Strait.

The vessel will later pass through the strait, heading to Israel, according to the agency.

Ukraine announced in August a "humanitarian corridor" to allow grain shipment after Russia withdrew from a UN-brokered grain agreement.

ISTANBUL, Sept. 16 (Xinhua) -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday said that Türkiye may "part ways with the European Union (EU)," suggesting that his country may end the bid to join the European bloc.

"The European Union is trying to break away from Türkiye," Erdogan told journalists in Istanbul before leaving for New York to attend the annual UN General Assembly meetings.

ANKARA, September 14. /TASS/: Specific conditions necessary for the resumption of the grain deal will be on the agenda of the planned talks between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres during the High-level Week of the UN General Assembly, a diplomatic source in Ankara told TASS.

12 September 2023; MEMO: Turkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said yesterday that plans announced by India, Saudi Arabia and the EU to create a trade corridor that would link South Asia to Europe and bypass Turkiye “will not work”.

Speaking to reporters upon his return from the G20 summit in India, Erdogan stressed that the most suitable traffic line from east to west is the line crossing from Turkiye.

13 September 2023; MEMO: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reiterated on Tuesday his call for a new and civilian constitution for his country, the local media reported widely. Erdogan made his call during a speech at a conference on Tuesday which considered the need for a “2023 constitution to replace the 1982 constitution”.

The president called upon all political parties, academics specialised in the field and other experts to help to draft the new document.

ISTANBUL, Sept 12 (NNN-AGENCIES) — An international team of rescuers on Tuesday pulled to safety a US explorer who spent nine days trapped deep in the narrow tunnels of a Turkish cave with internal bleeding.

“Mark Dickey was removed from the last exit of the cave,” the Turkish Caving Federation said, adding that the “cave rescue part of the operation has ended successfully.”

The 40-year-old explorer developed stomach problems while examining the depths of the Morca Cave, a remote complex of twisting underground passageways in southern Turkey’s Taurus Mountains.