Turkey

What’s at stake when Turkey’s leader meets Putin in a bid to reestablish the Black Sea grain deal

ISTANBUL (AP) — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will meet with Vladimir Putin on Monday, hoping to persuade the Russian leader to rejoin the Black Sea grain deal that Moscow broke off from in July.

Here are some key things to know and what’s at stake:

WHERE WILL THE TALKS BE HELD?

The meeting in Sochi on Russia’s southern coast comes after weeks of speculation about when and where the two leaders might meet.

Erdogan previously said that Putin would travel to Turkey in August.

Turkish Intelligence Killed Senior PKK Member In N. Iraq

ANKARA, Sept 2 (NNN-TRT) – The Turkish National Intelligence Organisation (MIT), killed a senior member of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), in a cross-border operation in northern Iraq’s Sulaymaniyah region.

The “neutralised” PKK member, Rezan Gungen, codenamed “Rezan Botan,” was allegedly trained in Sulaymaniyah, for assassination attempts against Türkiye’s security forces.

Turkish authorities often use the term “neutralised” in their statements to imply the “terrorists” in question surrendered or were killed or captured.

Türkiye launches air strike against Kurdish militants in N. Iraq

ANKARA, Sept. 1 (Xinhua) -- Türkiye launched an air operation targeting "terrorists" in the Qandil and Asos regions of northern Iraq early on Friday, the country's Defense Ministry said in a statement.

The operation was carried out in the early morning to "neutralize" the terrorist elements of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and other Kurdish armed groups, said the statement.

Turkish authorities often use the term "neutralized" in their statements to imply the "terrorists" in question surrendered or were killed or captured.

Turkiye could see power generation from first nuclear plant sooner than planned

31 August 2023; MEMO: Electricity generation from Turkiye’s first nuclear power plant could be sooner than initially planned, Akkuyu Nuclear Deputy Construction Director, Dmitry Romanets, told Anadolu at the country’s largest technology and aerospace event, TEKNOFEST, on Thursday.

Turkiye seeks partners for TF-X fighter program

01 September 2023; MEMO: The first aircraft of Turkiye’s indigenous fighter program, the TF-X, sits in a hangar ahead of its maiden flight at the end of the year. But fiscal problems could stand in the way of its success, according to an analyst, even as the country’s President seeks partners for the program, Defence News reports.

Turkiye Parliament speaker condemns Cyprus mosque attack

29 August 2023; MEMO: Turkish Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmus condemned the attack on a mosque in the Greek Cypriot administration’s city of Limassol.

In a post he published on his social media accounts on Sunday, Kurtulmus conveyed his strong condemnation of the attack on the historic Koprulu Haci Ibrahim Aga mosque.

Turkiye, Saudi seek $30bn in trade exchanges

29 August 2023; MEMO: Riyadh and Ankara seek to increase their trade exchange to $30 billion in the medium and long terms, according to the head of the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkiye (TOBB), Rifat Hisarciklioglu.

In a speech he delivered yesterday during a Turkish-Saudi roundtable meeting in the Turkish capital, Ankara, Hisarciklioglu said a significant growth in trade exchange between Turkiye and Saudi Arabia is expected by the end of this year.

Turkiye’s Erdogan opposes ECOWAS's decision to intervene militarily in Niger

22 August 2023; MEMO: Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has opposed the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) decision to intervene militarily against the coup leaders in Niger, warning that it would lead to instability in Africa. 

Ankara evacuates more than 1,200 people as Greece wildfires spread to Turkiye

24 August 2023; MEMO: Nine villages and more than 1,200 people have been evacuated as wildfires, raging in Greece, spread to neighbouring Turkiye, local media reports.

According to the report, the wildfires raging in Greece are also affecting neighbouring border province of Canakkale in Turkiye.

More than 1,500 hectares have burned, and 48 people had to be treated for smoke intoxication.

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