Turkey

Turkey: Blinken wraps up frantic Mideast tour with tepid, if any, support for pauses in Gaza fighting

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken wrapped up a grueling Middle East diplomatic tour on Monday in Turkey after only limited success in efforts to forge a regional consensus on how best to ease civilian suffering in Gaza as Israel intensifies its war against Hamas.

Turkey recalls ambassador from Israel for consultations over Gaza operation

ANKARA, November 4. /TASS/: Turkey’s ambassador has been recalled from Israel for consultations, the Turkish Foreign Ministry told reporters.

"In the wake of the unfolding humanitarian tragedy in the Gaza Strip caused by Israel’s incessant attacks on civilians and also by Israel’s rejection of appeals for a ceasefire and the unimpeded access of humanitarian aid, it has been decided to recall our Ambassador to Tel Aviv, Sakir Ozkan Torunlar, to Ankara for consultations," the ministry said.

Turkey: Erdogan says he will try to facilitate Sweden's NATO bid ratification

ANKARA, Nov 4 (Reuters) - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said he would try to facilitate the parliamentary ratification of Sweden's NATO membership as much as possible, but added that Stockhom had still not taken sufficient action on Kurdish militants.

Erdogan submitted a bill approving Sweden's NATO membership bid to parliament for ratification last month, a move welcomed by the alliance and Stockholm. Turkey had initially raised objections due to what it said was Sweden's harbouring of groups it deems terrorist.

Turkish police seize over one ton of drugs

ANKARA, Nov. 3 (Xinhua) -- Turkish security forces seized 1.1 tons of drugs in anti-narcotic operations across 44 provinces, the country's Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said Friday.

A total of 176 suspects were detained in the operations involving 387 teams, 985 police officers, two aircraft, and 27 narcotic detection dogs, Yerlikaya said on social media X.

The police seized 846 kg of methamphetamine, 223 kg of skunk, 11 kg of cocaine, 15 kg of marijuana, five kg of bonzai, 0.5 kg of heroin, 35,000 narcotic pills, 14 pistols, four rifles, and a large amount of money.

Türkiye arrests 37 suspects linked to int'l criminal ring

ISTANBUL, Nov. 2 (Xinhua) -- Turkish authorities have arrested 37 people suspected of being part of an Australia-based international crime syndicate, Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said on Thursday.

The gang, known as Comanchero, is involved in drug trafficking, murder, kidnapping, and other crimes, Yerlikaya said in a post on the social media platform X.

The minister said the gang tried to smuggle drugs from different countries and launder the money they made from illegal activities in Türkiye, without revealing when or where the arrests took place.

Turkish parliament won't speed up Sweden's NATO bid -committee chair

ANKARA, Nov 1 (Reuters) - The Turkish parliament's foreign affairs committee will discuss ratifying Sweden's NATO membership bid as part of its regular agenda as the issue was not so urgent for Ankara as for some other countries, its chair said on Wednesday.

President Tayyip Erdogan submitted the ratification bill for Sweden's NATO membership bid to parliament last month, a move welcomed by Stockholm as it would clear the way for it to join the Western defence alliance.

Turkish, Iranian FMs discuss Israel-Hamas conflict

ANKARA, Nov. 1 (Xinhua) -- Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Wednesday that Türkiye doesn't want the conflict in the Gaza Strip to spiral into a regional war.

"We do not want it to turn into a war that will affect the countries in the region. We call on actors to promote lasting peace," Fidan said at a joint press conference with his visiting Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir Abdollahian in the capital Ankara.

He said that Türkiye was ready to "take responsibility and be guarantor" if an agreement is reached to end the Israel-Hamas conflict.

Turkiye prepares to notify ICC about Israel’s war crimes

31 October 2023; MEMO: President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced last week in a pro-Palestinian rally that they would declare Israel a “war criminal” to the world. Authorities are now exploring ways to bring crimes committed by Israel against Palestinian civilians before the International Criminal Court (ICC), Daily Sabah reports.

Israel has lost all sense of statehood and acts like an organisation, says Erdogan

01 November 2023; MEMO: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has accused Israel of losing its sense of statehood and acting instead like an organisation, Anadolu has reported. “It must be stopped immediately,” he added.

“The Israeli administration, backed by unconditional support from Europe and America, has been committing crimes against humanity in front of the entire world for exactly 25 days,” he said in a speech to the Turkish people after a government meeting in Ankara on Tuesday evening.

Türkiye condemns attack on Turkish-funded hospital in Gaza

ANKARA, Oct. 30 (Xinhua) -- Türkiye's Foreign Ministry condemned on Monday "in the strongest terms" what it said was an Israeli attack on the Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital in Gaza.

"There can be no justification for such an attack on the only cancer hospital in Gaza, since all necessary information, including the coordinates of the institution in question, was shared with the Israeli authorities in advance," the ministry said in a statement.

Israeli airstrikes severely damaged the Turkish-funded hospital, according to the Palestinian health authorities in Gaza.

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