Turkey

ANTALYA, March 10. /TASS/: The statement by UK Foreign Minister Liz Truss that Russia could attack the Baltic states and Moldova is an example of a British fake, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Thursday following talks with Ukrainian and Turkish foreign ministers Dmitry Kuleba and Mevlut Cavusoglu.

ANTALYA /Turkey/, March 10. /TASS/: Moscow has never wanted war and seeks to end the current conflict, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at a press conference following a meeting with his Ukrainian and Turkish counterparts, Dmitry Kuleba and Mevlut Cavusoglu.

He pointed out that Moscow was ready to discuss security guarantees for Kiev, did not rule out the possibility of a meeting between Presidents Vladimir Putin of Russia and Vladimir Zelensky of Ukraine and did not expect a conflict involving nuclear weapons to break out.

10 March 2022; MEMO: Turkey will continue to buy Russian oil and gas, the country's Deputy Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said yesterday.

Ankara relies on Russia for 45 per cent of its demand for natural gas, 17 per cent for oil and 40 per cent for gasoline, Bayraktar explained.

"The world needs more oil. It should come from somewhere, from the US, from Venezuela, from Iran, Saudi Arabia, or from anywhere we want," he noted.

9 March 2022; MEMO: Turkiye's President, on Wednesday, strongly rejected any moves resembling "a witch-hunt" against the Russian people, arts, scholars or artists, Anadolu News Agency reports.

"Just as we would not abandon Ukraine, we also do not accept actions akin to a witch-hunt against the Russian people, literature, students or artists," President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told his Justice and Development (AK) Party's parliamentary group.

10 March 2022; MEMO: Jordan's Islamic Action Front (IAF) has condemned Israeli President Isaac Herzog's visit to Turkey, Quds Press has reported. The IAF reiterated its steadfast stance against normalisation of ties with the occupation state.

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Israeli President Isaac Herzog travels to Turkey on Wednesday, becoming the first Israeli leader to visit in 14 years, as the two countries move to turn a new page in their troubled relationship.

Herzog is scheduled to hold talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara before traveling to Istanbul for meetings with Turkey’s Jewish community there.

09 March 2022; MEMO: Turkey is worried about the potential for Israel to back the Kurdish PKK militia in response to Ankara's alleged support for the military wing of the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, Rai Al-Youm reported on Tuesday.

07 March 2022; MEMO: The Russian and Ukrainian Foreign Ministers have agreed to meet at the diplomatic forum at the southern Turkish resort city of Antalya this week, offering hope for Turkey to mediate in the war between Moscow and Kyiv.

The decision to attend the Antalya Diplomatic Forum was announced today by Turkey's Foreign Minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, who said that his Russian and Ukrainian counterparts – Sergei Lavrov and Dmytro Kuleba – agreed to meet at the event in an effort to come to a ceasefire resolution in Ukraine.

08 March 2022; MEMO: Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu yesterday warned that Istanbul and neighbouring governorates are expecting a major earthquake, Arabi21 reported.

"It is not a secret," he said during a meeting held in the Disaster and Emergency Directorate to assess disaster preparedness. "We have expectations that a major earthquake is coming," he added that it could happen soon.

07 March 2022; MEMO: Turkey started to host over 20,000 Ukrainian citizens amid Russia's invasion of the country, Interior Minister, Süleyman Soylu said, Sunday, adding that Turkey is more than happy to welcome them, Anadolu News Agency reports.

According to the report, the Minister Soylu said some 1.5 million Ukranians had to leave their homes due to the war, stating European countries failed to make independent decisions as they promised to sustain the peace in the region.