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☆ Turkey Launches Airstrikes Against Militants in Iraq, Syria
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-16 | by ( Jan. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkey's military carried out airstrikes against Kurdish militants in northern Iraq and Syria on Monday night, destroying 23 targets, the defence ministry said, sustaining an escalation of conflict south of the country's border. The upswing in violence began on Friday when nine Turkish soldiers were killed in clashes with Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants in northern Iraq, prompting Ankara to conduct airstrikes and operations both there and in northern Syria. The latest airstrikes were carried out late on Monday in the Metina, Gara, Hakurk and Qandil regions of northern Iraq as well as in northern Syria to ensure border security and prevent attacks, the ministry said. Turkish forces regularly strike PKK militants based in the mountains of northern Iraq. Turkey has carried out a series of military incursions and bombing campaigns in Syria against the Kurdish YPG militia, which it regards as a wing of the PKK.

Persons: Daren Butler, Michael Perry Organizations: Kurdistan Workers Party, European Union, Kurdish YPG Locations: ISTANBUL, Iraq, Syria, Ankara, Gara, Hakurk, Turkey, United States, Turkish, Kurdish

☆ Turkish Strikes Hit Water, Power Infrastructure in Syria’s Kurdish-Held Northeast
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-15 | by ( Jan. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Turkey has carried out a wave of air strikes on electricity and oil infrastructure in Syria's Kurdish-held northeast that has put several power stations out of service, local sources and Syrian state media said on Monday. Hogir Najar, a media official at the Kurdish-run autonomous administration, told Reuters that at least 40 sites had been hit in Turkish shelling in the last two days, including power stations, water pumping stations and oil infrastructure. Syrian state television also reported the strikes on Monday, saying a Turkish drone had hit the Dirbasiyah power station and that Turkish air bombardment hit a power transfer station in the main town of Qamishli. Two water stations were also put out of service as Turkish strikes on Monday had cut off their electricity supply, Syria's state news agency SANA said. The air strikes destroyed targets consisting of caves, shelters and depots as well as a natural gas production facility, the ministry said in a statement on Sunday.

Persons: Hogir, Najar, SANA, Hussein Seifo, We're, Maya Gebeily, Angus MacSwan Organizations: Reuters, Kurdistan Workers Party, European Union, Turkey's National Intelligence Agency, MIT, Anadolu Agency Locations: BEIRUT, Turkey, Kurdish, Turkish, Qamishli, Syria, United States, Iraq, Anadolu

☆ Turkey Destroys 25 Kurdish Militant Targets in Northern Syria, Iraq - Ministry
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-13 | by ( Jan. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: 1 min

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkey carried out air strikes in northern Syria and Iraq, hitting 25 Kurdish militant targets, the Turkish Defence Ministry said in a statement on Saturday. The operations were conducted in northern Syria and Metina, Hakurk and Qandil regions of northern Iraq at 9 p.m. (1800 GMT), the ministry said. The defence ministry said many militants were "neutralised" - a term mostly used to mean killed - in air strikes that destroyed 25 targets consisting of caves, shelters and depots. Nine Turkish soldiers were killed in a clash on Friday with members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). (Reporting by Burcu Karakas; Editing by Mark Potter and Mike Harrison)

Persons: Burcu Karakas, Mark Potter, Mike Harrison Organizations: Turkish Defence Ministry, Kurdistan Workers Party Locations: ISTANBUL, Turkey, Syria, Iraq

☆ Sweden expects Turkey to approve its NATO membership 'within weeks'
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-30 | by ( Silvia Amaro | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

BRUSSELS — Sweden expects Turkey to approve its NATO membership "within weeks," the country's foreign affairs minister told CNBC after a months-long impasse over Stockholm's future within the alliance. Sweden sent a formal application to join NATO back in May 2022, alongside Finland. The latter became an official member in April 2023, but Sweden has been kept waiting by member nations Hungary and Turkey. During a NATO summit in July, Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan agreed to let Sweden into the alliance. "I had a bilateral with my colleague the foreign minister of Turkey, Hakan Fidan, where he told me he expects the ratification to take place within weeks," Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs Tobias Billström said Wednesday in Brussels.

Persons: Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Ulf Kristersson, Jens Stoltenberg, Hungary's, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Hakan Fidan, Tobias Billström, Billström Organizations: Swedish, NATO, BRUSSELS —, CNBC, Kurdistan Workers Party, Foreign Locations: Vilnius, BRUSSELS, BRUSSELS — Sweden, Turkey, Sweden, Finland, Hungary, Turkish, Brussels

☆ Erdogan says he will try to facilitate Sweden's NATO bid ratification
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

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. Erdogan also said planned talks in parliament about Turkey's 2024 state budget would now take priority, suggesting that the approval of Sweden's NATO membership might not be rapid. "But we will try to facilitate the work (on ratifying Sweden's NATO bid) as much as possible. Finland's membership was sealed in April, but Sweden's bid had been held up by Turkey and Hungary.

Persons: Tayyip Erdogan, Stockhom, Erdogan, Haberturk, Jason Neely, Gareth Jones Organizations: NATO, Kurdistan Workers Party, Thomson Locations: ANKARA, Stockholm, Turkey, Kazakhstan, embargoes, Sweden, Finland, Ukraine, Hungary

☆ Erdogan Says He Will Try to Facilitate Sweden's NATO Bid Ratification
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-04 | by ( Nov. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

ANKARA (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. Erdogan also said planned talks in parliament about Turkey's 2024 state budget would now take priority, suggesting that the approval of Sweden's NATO membership might not be rapid. "But we will try to facilitate the work (on ratifying Sweden's NATO bid) as much as possible. Finland's membership was sealed in April, but Sweden's bid had been held up by Turkey and Hungary.

Persons: Tayyip Erdogan, Stockhom, Erdogan, Haberturk, Jason Neely, Gareth Jones Organizations: NATO, Kurdistan Workers Party Locations: ANKARA, Stockholm, Turkey, Kazakhstan, embargoes, Sweden, Finland, Ukraine, Hungary

☆ Turkey's Erdogan submits Sweden's NATO bid to parliament for ratification -presidency
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan addresses lawmakers from his ruling AK Party at the Turkish Parliament in Ankara, Turkey October 11, 2023. NO ARCHIVES./File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsANKARA, Oct 23 (Reuters) - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Monday submitted a bill approving Sweden's NATO membership bid to parliament for ratification, the presidency said, in a move welcomed by Stockholm that clears the way for it to join the Western defence alliance. "The Protocol on Sweden's NATO Accession was signed by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on October 23, 2023 and referred to the Grand National Assembly of Turkey," the presidency said on social media platform X without elaborating. Finland's membership was sealed in April, in a historic expansion of the alliance, but Sweden's bid had been held up by Turkey and Hungary. Erdogan has previously linked Sweden's NATO bid to U.S. support for its request.

Persons: Tayyip Erdogan, Erdogan, Sweden's, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Ulf Kristersson, Kristersson, Gumrukcu, Huseyin Hayatsever, Simon Johnson, Alex Richardson, Hugh Lawson Organizations: AK, Turkish, Presidential Press, Rights, NATO, Kurdistan Workers Party, European Union, Grand National Assembly of, Sweden's, Thomson Locations: Ankara, Turkey, Rights ANKARA, Stockholm, United States, Sweden, Grand National Assembly of Turkey, Finland, Ukraine, Hungary

However since parliament opened on Oct. 1, its foreign affairs commission, which would debate the NATO bid, has received almost 60 international agreements to review - excluding Sweden's, official data shows. A second person familiar with U.S.-Turkish talks said a rough proposal - in which each side would take steps toward ratifying the NATO bid on the one side, and the F-16s purchase on the other - had been delayed. IN NO RUSHTurkey, NATO's second-biggest military, is still expected to ultimately endorse Sweden's bid and could rapidly move on it. Addressing the drone incident, which occurred near U.S. troops on Oct. 5, Erdogan said last week: "Isn't Turkey a NATO ally of the U.S.? Finnish membership was sealed in April, marking an historic expansion of the Western defence bloc, but Sweden's bid remains held up by Turkey and Hungary.

Persons: Tayyip Erdogan, Ulf Kristersson, Jens Stoltenberg, Yves Herman, Joe Biden, RUSH Turkey, NATO's, Sweden's, Erdogan, Yasar Guler, Humeyra Pamuk, Simon Johnson, Bernadette Baum Organizations: NATO, REUTERS, Rights, Washington, State Department, AK Party, U.S, U.S . State Department, RUSH, Kurdistan Workers Party, European Union, Turkish Defence, Swedish, U.S . Senate, White House, Lockheed Martin Corp, Palestinian, Hamas, aircraft, Thomson Locations: Swedish, Vilnius, Lithuania, Rights ANKARA, Turkey, Sweden, Ankara, United States, Syria, U.S, NATO, Finland, Russia, Ukraine, Hungary, Brussels, Stockholm, Helsinki, Iraq, Gaza, Riyadh

☆ Turkey says it 'neutralised' 58 Kurdish militants in northern Syria
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-07 | by ( Tuvan Gumrukcu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

ANKARA, Oct 7 (Reuters) - Turkish forces have "neutralised" 58 Kurdish militants in northern Syria in overnight attacks on militant targets, the Defence Ministry said on Saturday, as conflict in the region escalated nearly a week after a bomb attack in Ankara. Since the bomb attack, Ankara has launched a barrage of air strikes and attacks against militant targets in northern Syria and Iraq, while ramping up security operations at home. The ministry said the operations, which it says are carried out under self-defence rights, had "neutralised" 58 militants in the region. Late on Friday, the ministry had said Turkey's military had conducted air strikes in northern Syria, destroying 15 militant targets where it said militants were believed to be. Turkey, which has mounted several incursions into northern Syria against the YPG, has said a ground operation into Syria is an option it could consider.

Persons: Olive Branch, Tayyip Erdogan, Fethullah Gulen, Jan Harvey Organizations: Turkish, Defence Ministry, Kurdistan Workers Party, Syrian Kurdish, Syrian SDF, AK, Saturday, Islamic, European Union, SDF, Islamic State, NATO, Thomson Locations: ANKARA, Syria, Ankara, Turkey, Syrian, Iraq, Olive, Islamic State, U.S, Turkish, United States, Washington

The military "neutralised" 26 Kurdish militants in northern Syria overnight in retaliation for a rocket attack on a Turkish base, the defence ministry said. Turkey also conducted air strikes and destroyed 30 militant targets elsewhere in northern Syria, including an oil well, a storage facility and shelters, the defence ministry said. Turkey said the attackers came from Syria but the Syrian SDF forces denied this. The Turkish foreign ministry statement said that one of Turkey's drones was lost during operations against Kurdish militants in northeast Syria due to "different technical evaluations" with third parties on the ground. Turkey has mounted several previous incursions into northern Syria against the YPG.

Persons: Ali Yerlikaya, Daren Butler, Huseyin Hayatsever, Jonathan Spicer, Nick Macfie Organizations: Syrian Kurdish, Kurdistan Workers Party, Syrian SDF, European Union, SDF, Islamic State, Pentagon, NATO, Kurdish, Thomson Locations: Turkey, Syria, Ankara, ISTANBUL, Turkish, Kurdish, Syrian, Syria's, Iraq, Agri, TURKISH, U.S, United States, Washington, Hasakah

☆ What is the Syrian Kurdish YPG?
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsOct 5 (Reuters) - U.S.-allied Syrian Kurdish forces said on Thursday that Turkish attacks had killed eight people in an escalation prompted by a bomb attack in Ankara claimed by Kurdish militants. A Turkish defence ministry official said a ground operation into Syria was one option for Turkey, which has previously mounted several incursions into northern Syria against the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia. BORN IN SYRIAN WARThe YPG, or the People's Protection Units, emerged as a powerful armed group during the Syrian civil war, which began in 2011. It is affiliated to the main Syrian Kurdish faction, the Democratic Union Party (PYD), and has a female counterpart, the YPJ. YPG control was initially concentrated in three predominantly Kurdish regions of northern Syria - known in Kurdish as Rojava.

Persons: Khalil Ashawi, Bashar al, Assad, Abdullah Ocalan, Tom Perry, Jon Boyle Organizations: REUTERS, Kurdish, Syrian Kurdish, Islamic State, Kurdistan Workers Party, Democratic Union Party, U.S, Syrian Democratic Forces, Islamic, AS, European Union, NATO, DAMASCUS, Kurdish Regional Government, Thomson Locations: Tal Abyad, Syria, Syrian Kurdish, Ankara, Turkey, Syrian, United States, France, Kurdish, U.S, TURKEY, Damascus, Qamishli, Iraq

☆ Turkey Conducts Fresh Air Strikes in Northern Iraq
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-03 | by ( Oct. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: 1 min

ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkish air forces conducted fresh air strikes in northern Iraq on Tuesday and destroyed 16 targets of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), Turkey's defence ministry said. The operations were conducted in the Metina, Gara, Hakurk, Qandil and Asos regions of northern Iraq at 8 p.m. (1700 GMT) and that every measure was taken to avoid harm to civilians and the environment, the ministry said. Two attackers detonated a bomb in front of Turkish government buildings in Ankara on Sunday, leaving both of them dead and two police officers wounded, and the PKK claimed responsibility for the attack. (Reporting by Huseyin Hayatsever)

Persons: Huseyin Hayatsever Organizations: Kurdistan Workers Party Locations: ANKARA, Iraq, Gara, Hakurk, Ankara

☆ After Ankara bombing, Turkey hits back in Iraq and at home
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-02 | by ( Daren Butler | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/5] Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan addresses members of parliament as he attends the reopening of the Turkish parliament after the summer recess in Ankara, Turkey, October 1, 2023. On Sunday morning, two attackers detonated a bomb near government buildings in Ankara, killing them both and wounding two police officers. It launched an insurgency in southeast Turkey in 1984 and more than 40,000 people have been killed in the conflict. It said the attackers had hijacked the vehicle and killed its driver in Kayseri, a city 260 km (161 miles) southeast of Ankara. Turkey's armed forces have in recent years conducted several large-scale military operations in northern Iraq and northern Syria against Kurdish militants.

Persons: Tayyip Erdogan, Murat Cetinmuhurdar, Abdul, Latif Rashid, Ali Yerlikaya, Yerlikaya, Yasar Guler, Huseyin Hayatsever, Robert Birsel, Jonathan Spicer, Mark Heinrich, Alex Richardson Organizations: REUTERS Acquire, Kurdistan Workers Party, United Nations, Iraq, European Union, Reuters, PKK, Counterterrorism, Immortals Battalion, Kurdish, Islamic, Defence, Thomson Locations: Turkish, Ankara, Turkey, Handout, Iraq, Iraq ISTANBUL, Istanbul, Iraq's, Gara, Kurdistan, United States, Kayseri, Kurdish, Ataturk, Islamic State, Syria

☆ What is the PKK, the Kurdish rebel group behind bomb blast in Turkey?
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

* The PKK is a militant group founded by Abdullah Ocalan in southeast Turkey in 1978 with an ideology based on Marxist-Leninist ideas. * It launched its insurgency against the Turkish state in 1984 with the initial aim of creating an independent Kurdish state. It subsequently moderated its goals to seeking greater Kurdish rights and limited autonomy in southeast Turkey. Much of the fighting in the past was focused in rural areas of mainly Kurdish southeast Turkey, but it has also conducted attacks in urban areas. * In recent years the conflict has moved from southeast Turkey to be focused mainly in northern Iraq, where the PKK has bases in the mountains.

Persons: Abdullah Ocalan, Ocalan, Abdul, Latif Rashid, Daren Butler, Jonathan Spicer, Angus MacSwan Organizations: Kurdistan Workers Party, Marxist, European Union, BATTALION, PKK, Turkish, Islamic, Thomson Locations: ISTANBUL, Turkish, Ankara, Turkey, Iraq, Kurdish, United States, Syria, Kenya, Istanbul, Kurdistan, U.S, Islamic State

☆ Turkey says "neutralised" many militants in north Iraq air strikes
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-02 | by ( Daren Butler | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/5] Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan addresses members of parliament as he attends the reopening of the Turkish parliament after the summer recess in Ankara, Turkey, October 1, 2023. Murat Cetinmuhurdar/PPO/Handout via REUTERS Acquire Licensing RightsSummary Air strikes destroy 20 militant targets in Iraq, Turkey saysPKK group earlier claimed responsibility for Ankara attackIt was the first such attack in Ankara in yearsISTANBUL, Oct 2 (Reuters) - Turkish air strikes in north Iraq late on Sunday "neutralised" many Kurdish militants and destroyed their depots and shelters, Turkey's defence ministry said, hours after a Kurdish group claimed responsibility for a bomb attack in Ankara. The outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militant group claimed responsibility for the attack. The bomb killed one attacker and authorities killed the other, the interior minister said. It launched an insurgency in southeast Turkey in 1984 and more than 40,000 people have been killed in the conflict.

Persons: Tayyip Erdogan, Murat Cetinmuhurdar, Daren Butler, Robert Birsel Organizations: REUTERS Acquire, Kurdistan Workers Party, Reuters, Immortals Battalion, European Union, Renault, Turkish, Islamic, Thomson Locations: Turkish, Ankara, Turkey, Handout, Iraq, ISTANBUL, Gara, United States, Ataturk, Kayseri, Islamic State

☆ Ankara blast echoes past attacks in Turkey
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/2] Members of Turkish Police Special Forces secure the area near the Interior Ministry following a bomb attack in Ankara, Turkey October 1, 2023. Turkey blamed Kurdish militants for the Istanbul blast, which reminded Turks of a wave of attacks carried out by various militant groups in Turkish cities between mid-2015 and early 2017. June 28, 2016 - A triple suicide bombing and a gun attack killed 45 people and wounded more than 160 people at Istanbul's main airport. March 19, 2016 - A suicide bomber killed four people in a busy shopping district of Istiklal Street in the heart of Istanbul. Sept 8, 2015 - Kurdish militants killed 15 police officers in two bombings in eastern Turkish provinces of Mardin and Igdir.

Persons: Cagla, Tayyip Erdogan, Azra Ceylan, Canan, Gareth Jones, William Maclean Organizations: Turkish Police Special Forces, Ministry, REUTERS, Authorities, Kurdistan Workers Party, Islamic State, Kurdistan Freedom Hawks, Islamic, Explosives, Thomson Locations: Ankara, Turkey, Istanbul, Turkish, Izmir, Kayseri, Turkey's, Gaziantep, Islamic State, Istanbul's, Diyarbakir, Istiklal, Iranian, Mardin, Igdir, Suruc, Syrian, Gdansk

WASHINGTON, Sept 28 (Reuters) - The Senate Foreign Relations Committee's new chairman on Thursday said he would look at Turkey's $20 billion Lockheed Martin (LMT.N) F-16 fighter jet deal and that more issues than Sweden's ascension to NATO would affect the decision on lifting his predecessor's longstanding hold. Cardin said he had discussed Sweden's NATO accession with Turkish officials at a NATO ambassador's meeting on Wednesday. Leaders of the U.S. Senate and House foreign affairs panels review every major foreign arms sale. "Menendez being out of the picture is an advantage," Erdogan was quoted as telling reporters by Turkish media. The top Republican on the Senate panel, Senator Jim Risch, has put a hold on arms sales to Hungary over the issue.

Persons: Lockheed Martin, Ben Cardin, Cardin, Bob Menendez, Tayyip Erdogan's, Menendez, Nadine Menendez, Erdogan, Sweden's, Jim Risch, Patricia Zengerle, Jonathan Oatis Organizations: Relations, Lockheed, Turkish, NATO, U.S . Senate, Kurdistan Workers Party, Republican, Thomson Locations: NATO, Sweden, Greece, Ankara, Stockholm, Turkey, Finland, Russia, Ukraine, Hungary, Budapest

REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsWASHINGTON, Sept 14 (Reuters) - The Biden administration on Thursday imposed sanctions on five Turkish companies and a Turkish national, accusing them of helping Russia evade sanctions and supporting Moscow in its war against Ukraine. The move is part of a bigger package of measures hitting Russia with sanctions on more than 150 targets, including the country's largest carmaker. The U.S. State Department imposed sanctions on Denkar Ship Construction for providing ship repair services to previously designated vessels of a company connected to the Russian Defense Ministry. The U.S. also imposed sanctions on a major local copper producer - Russian Copper Company. The Treasury slapped sanctions on Finland-based logistics firms Siberica Oy and Luminor Oy, accusing them of sending a wide variety of electronics into Russia.

Persons: Joe Biden, Biden, Jonathan Ernst, reconvenes, Wally Adeyemo, we've, Sanayi, Denkar, Ilker Dogruyol, Dogruyol, Tayyip Erdogan, Humeyra Pamuk, Daphne Psaledakis, Polina Devitt, Gleb Stolyarov, Don Durfee, Alexandra Hudson, William Maclean, Paul Simao Organizations: Cancer, White, REUTERS, Rights, Turkish, Ukraine, Reuters, NATO, Treasury, . Treasury Department, U.S . State Department, Denkar, Russian Defense Ministry, State Department, ID Ship Agency, GAZ Group, Russian Copper Company, Siberica, Luminor, U.S, Kurdistan Workers Party, European Union, United, Thomson Locations: Washington , U.S, Russia, Moscow, Turkey, Washington, Ankara, Sweden, United States, Ukraine, Sea, Turkish, U.S, Finland, Kyiv, Hungary, London

☆ Sweden's NATO Accession and Turkey's Bid to Buy F-16 Jets Should Be Kept Separate, Erdogan Says
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-10 | by ( Sept. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +3 min

ANKARA (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden's administration is linking F-16 fighter jet sales to Turkey with Turkish ratification of Sweden's NATO membership bid, and this "seriously upsets" Ankara, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday. Biden made a connection between the supply of F-16s and Turkish action in ratifying Sweden's application to join NATO, Erdogan said. After months of objections, Erdogan agreed at a NATO summit in July to forward Sweden's NATO bid to the Turkish parliament for ratification. "It is not possible for me to say 'yes' (to Sweden's NATO membership bid) alone unless such a decision is approved by (our) parliament." Stockholm recently voiced hope that Turkish lawmakers would ratify its NATO bid when they reconvene in October, as agreed at the NATO summit in July.

Persons: Joe Biden's, Tayyip Erdogan, Erdogan, Biden, Lockheed Martin Corp's, Jake Sullivan, extraditing, Sweden's, Krishn Kaushik, Aftab Ahmed, Huseyin Hayatsever, Mark Heinrich Organizations: NATO, Lockheed, U.S . National, Kurdistan Workers Party, European Union, Turkish Locations: ANKARA, Turkey, Ankara, New Delhi, U.S, Washington, Turkish, Sweden, United States, Stockholm, Finland, Russia, Ukraine, Hungary, Budapest

☆ Sweden's NATO accession and Turkey's bid to buy F-16 jets should be kept separate -Erdogan
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Biden made a connection between the supply of F-16s and Turkish action in ratifying Sweden's application to join NATO, Erdogan said. After months of objections, Erdogan agreed at a NATO summit in July to forward Sweden's NATO bid to the Turkish parliament for ratification. "It is not possible for me to say 'yes' (to Sweden's NATO membership bid) alone unless such a decision is approved by (our) parliament." Stockholm recently voiced hope that Turkish lawmakers would ratify its NATO bid when they reconvene in October, as agreed at the NATO summit in July. While Finnish membership was sealed in April, Sweden's bid remains held up by Turkey and Hungary.

Persons: Tayyip Erdogan, Adnan Abidi, Joe Biden's, Erdogan, Biden, Lockheed Martin Corp's, Jake Sullivan, extraditing, Sweden's, Krishn Kaushik, Aftab Ahmed, Huseyin Hayatsever, Mark Heinrich Our Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, NATO, Lockheed, U.S . National, Kurdistan Workers Party, European Union, Turkish, Thomson Locations: New Delhi, India, Rights ANKARA, Turkey, Ankara, U.S, Washington, Turkish, Sweden, United States, Stockholm, Finland, Russia, Ukraine, Hungary, Budapest

☆ Swedish foreign minister still hopeful Turkey will ratify NATO bid in Oct
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Swedish and NATO flags are seen printed on paper this illustration taken April 13, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsSTOCKHOLM, Sept 1 (Reuters) - The Swedish foreign minister said on Friday he remained hopeful that Turkey will ratify Sweden's planned NATO membership when the Turkish parliament reconvenes in October, as agreed with President Tayyip Erdogan at a summit of the alliance in July. Sweden applied for NATO membership last year in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine and most alliance members quickly ratified its bid. After months of pressure, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said after a NATO summit in Vilnius in July he would forward the ratification of Sweden's NATO bid to parliament in October when it reconvenes after the summer break. Tensions with Turkey have also been heightened by demonstrations in Sweden where protesters have burned copies of the Koran, enraging many Muslims.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Sweden's, reconvenes, Tayyip Erdogan, Tobias Billstrom, Billstrom, Simon Johnson, Terje Solsvik Organizations: NATO, REUTERS, Rights, Turkish, U.S . Congress, Kurdistan Workers Party, Thomson Locations: Rights STOCKHOLM, Swedish, Turkey, Vilnius, Sweden, Ukraine, Turkiye, Ankara

☆ German MP says she was detained in Turkey for social media posts
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BERLIN, Aug 13 (Reuters) - A German lawmaker said on Sunday she was detained for several hours when entering Turkey earlier this month based on social media posts she made in 2019, adding that she would still travel to Turkey and speak her mind about its government. Akbulut, a Turkey-born German citizen of Kurdish heritage, was released after making contact with the German foreign ministry, she said. It was not clear exactly what she was referring to, nor which social media posts she believed triggered the Turkish arrest warrant. The German embassy in Ankara and the consulate in Antalya were in contact with lawmaker, a source at the German foreign ministry told Reuters. Reporting by Riham Alkousaa in Berlin Additional reporting by Ece Toksabay in Ankara Editing by Ros RussellOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Goekay, Tayyip Erdogan's, Akbulut, Riham Alkousaa, Ros Russell Organizations: Linke, Kurdish, Turkish Parliamentary Group, Reuters, Kurdistan Workers Party, European Union, Toksabay, Thomson Locations: Turkey, Antalya, Turkish, Germany, Berlin, Ankara, Syria, Akbulut, United States

Those export controls, which "were imposed for important reasons," remain in place, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's office said in statement. "The Prime Minister discussed Sweden's accession to NATO with our partners in Vilnius, including with President Erdogan," the statement said. Ahead of the NATO summit, Turkey, already seeking assurances over the F-16s in talks with Washington, asked that Canada's export controls also be rolled in to the final discussion, the person familiar with the talks said. At Vilnius, Canada outlined its position to Turkey on rules regarding uses of any exported technologies, and was awaiting a response. This means the talks on export controls are no longer frozen, a move that helped play a role sealing Erdogan's pledge over Sweden, the person said.

Persons: Erdogan, Tayyip Erdogan's greenlight, Justin Trudeau's, Joe Biden, Devlet Bahceli, We've, Huseyin Hayatsever, Jonathan Spicer, Steve Scherer, John Irish, Tom Perry, Jamie Freed Organizations: NATO, Atlantic, Organization, Canada, Canadian, Washington, U.S, Kurdistan Workers Party, European Union, Nationalist Movement Party, Erdogan's, Thomson Locations: Turkey, Erdogan, ANKARA, Canada, Ankara, Sweden, Stockholm, Vilnius, Washington, United States, Armenia, Nagorno, Karabakh, Finland, Turkish, Ukraine, Turkey's, Helsinki, European, Istanbul, Ottawa

VILNIUS, July 11 (Reuters) - Washington will move ahead with the transfer of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey in consultation with Congress, U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said on Tuesday, a day after Ankara gave the green light for Sweden to join NATO. He intends to move forward with that transfer," Sullivan told reporters, without giving any details on the timing. Both Turkish officials and the Biden administration have rejected any suggestion that Ankara's approval of Sweden's NATO accession was being linked to the F-16 sale in the months of talks to address Turkish opposition. Russian officials said Sweden's expected accession to NATO would have "negative implications" for Russia's security and that Moscow would have to respond. TIMING UNCERTAINThe timing of both the F-16 transfer and Sweden's NATO entry remains unclear.

Persons: Jake Sullivan, Sullivan, Joe Biden, Bob Menendez, Biden, Tayyip Erdogan, Camille Grand, Erdogan, Gerard Araud, Sweden's, Peter Szijjarto, Jens Stoltenberg, Steve Holland, Justyna, John Irish, Nick Macfie, Heather Timmons, Devika Organizations: U.S . National, NATO, Lockheed Martin Corp, Senate Foreign Relations, Democrat, Turkish, European Council, Foreign Relations, Twitter, Kurdistan Workers Party, EU, Monday, Finland's, Nordic, Thomson Locations: VILNIUS, Washington, Turkey, U.S, Ankara, Sweden, Lithuanian, Vilnius, NATO, French, Swedish, United States, Turkey's, Moscow, Hungary, Finland, Ukraine

☆ Erdogan links Sweden's NATO membership to Turkey's EU accession
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Turkey's bid to join the EU has been frozen for years after membership talks were launched in 2005 under Erdogan's first term as prime minister. In a surprise change of tack, Erdogan on Monday linked Ankara's approval of Sweden's NATO bid to Turkey finally joining the EU. Sweden and Finland applied for NATO membership last year, abandoning policies of military non-alignment that had lasted through the decades of the Cold War in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. While Finland's NATO membership was green-lighted in April, Turkey and Hungary have yet to clear Sweden's bid. Erdogan also said that an end to the war between Ukraine and Russia would ease Kyiv's NATO membership process.

Persons: Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey's, Erdogan's, Erdogan, Huseyin Hayatsever, Ali Kucukgocmen, Toby Chopra, Alex Richardson Organizations: Union, NATO, EU, European Union, Kurdistan Workers Party, Ece Toksabay, Thomson Locations: ISTANBUL, Ankara, Turkey, Vilnius, Sweden, Finland, Ukraine, Hungary, Stockholm, Madrid, United States, Russia

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