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☆ Egypt's foreign minister to visit Syria, Turkey on Monday
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Feb 26 (Reuters) - Egypt's Sameh Shoukry will travel to Damascus on Monday in the first visit by an Egyptian foreign minister since Syria's conflict erupted in 2011, according to a statement by the Egyptian foreign ministry. Shoukry will visit Turkey and Syria - both hit hard by a deadly earthquake on Feb. 6 - to "convey a message of solidarity from Egypt with the two countries" according to the foreign ministry statement. Turkey's foreign ministry confirmed the visit, saying Shoukry will hold talks with his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu and visit the southern province of Adana and the port of Mersin, where an Egyptian aid ship is set to arrive. Egypt's President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi spoke with Assad by phone for the first time on Feb. 7 and on Sunday, a delegation of top parliamentarians from around the region - including Egypt's parliament speaker - met Assad in Damascus. Relations began thawing in 2021, part of a push by Turkey to ease tensions with several regional powers.

☆ Earthquake death toll surpasses 50,000 in Turkey and Syria
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

[1/2] Workers clean the rubble of a collapsed building in the aftermath of a deadly earthquake in Antakya, Hatay province, Turkey, February 21, 2023. REUTERS/Thaier Al-SudaniANKARA, Feb 24 (Reuters) - The death toll from the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria that struck on Feb. 6 surpassed 50,000 on Friday after Turkey declared more than 44,000 people died. The Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) said the death toll in Turkey due to earthquakes rose to 44,218 on Friday night. With Syria's latest announced death toll of 5,914, the combined death toll in the two countries rose to above 50,000. Reporting Ali Kucukgocmen; Writing by Huseyin Hayatsever; Editing by Chris ReeseOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Turkey investigates building contractors as quake toll rises
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Eloisa LopezhISTANBUL, Feb 23 (Reuters) - Turkey will widen an investigation into building contractors suspected of violating safety standards following its devastating earthquake, the interior minister said, as the country stepped up housing plans for victims. "Our cities will be built in the right places, our children will live in stronger cities. The number of people killed in Turkey in this month's devastating earthquakes has risen to 43,556, Soylu said overnight. Urbanisation Minister Murat Kurum said 164,000 buildings with more than 530,000 apartments were destroyed or severely damaged by the earthquake. The 7.8 magnitude earthquake on Feb. 6 damaged or destroyed hundreds of thousands of buildings and left millions homeless.

A 7.8 magnitude earthquake on Feb. 6 killed more than 47,000 people, damaged or destroyed hundreds of thousands of buildings in Turkey and Syria and left millions homeless. In Turkey, 865,000 people are living in tents and 23,500 in containers, while 376,000 are in student dormitories and public guesthouses outside the earthquake zone, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday. Six people were killed in the latest earthquake to strike the border region of Turkey and Syria, authorities said on Tuesday. Turkey's internet authority blocked access to a popular online forum, Eksi Sozluk, on Tuesday, two weeks after it briefly blocked access to Twitter, citing the spread of disinformation. Information Technologies and Communications Authority (BTK) website shows the website was blocked late on Tuesday, without citing any explicit reason.

[1/2] U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu arrive at a meeting in Ankara, Turkey February 20, 2023. REUTERS/Cagla GurdoganANKARA, Feb 20 (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Monday Washington strongly supports Sweden and Finland's quick NATO accession given steps they have already taken, even as his Turkish counterpart stressed the need for more concrete action. The Nordic countries' NATO bids have been stalled because Turkey has refused to ratify them, saying Stockholm in particular has harboured what it calls members of terrorist groups. "If they take steps that convince our parliament and people, there could be a development in this direction," he added. Sweden and Finland applied last year to join the trans-Atlantic defence pact after Russia invaded Ukraine, but faced unexpected objections from Turkey.

☆ Turkey not exporting items for use in Russia war effort - Foreign Minister
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ANKARA, Feb 20 (Reuters) - Turkey is not exporting products that could be used in Russia's war effort, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Monday, after U.S. warnings this month about exports of chemicals, microchips and other items. "It is not true that we have exported to Russia products that can be used in the defence industry," Cavusoglu said. Speaking after meeting U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Ankara, Cavusoglu also said Turkey will not allow U.S. and European sanctions to be violated in or via Turkey, and Ankara is taking steps to prevent it. Western nations applied the export controls and sanctions after Moscow's invasion nearly a year ago. Yet supply channels have remained open from Hong Kong, Turkey and other trading hubs.

☆ U.S. will back quake-hit Turkey "as long as it takes", Blinken says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken walks to board a plane at Incirlik Air Base near Adana, Turkey February 19, 2023. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne/PoolANKARA, Feb 20 (Reuters) - The United States will support Turkey "for as long as it takes" after its devastating earthquakes, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Monday, while his Turkish counterpart said there was no need to wait for a disaster to improve ties. "The United States and Turkey do not agree on every issue but it is a partnership that has withstood against challenges," Blinken told a joint news conference with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu in Ankara. Total U.S. humanitarian assistance to support the earthquake response in Turkey and Syria has reached $185 million, the U.S. State Department has said. Standing alongside Blinken, Cavusoglu said it was not possible for Turkey to purchase F-16 warplanes with pre-conditions and that he believed the issue can be overcome if the U.S. administration maintains a decisive stance.

[1/4] People gather for a funeral in a large graveyard, in the aftermath of the deadly earthquake outside Kahramanmaras, Turkey February 17, 2023. The scene in Pazarcik, epicentre of the quake that struck in the dead of night on Feb. 6, captured the struggle facing people trying to find and bury their dead since the disaster, which has killed more than 43,000 in Turkey and neighbouring Syria. Tents had been erected to perform Islamic burial rituals, and to wrap the bodies in a shroud. Ghassals - who prepare bodies for burial in accordance with Islamic rituals - had been working "in rotation as hundreds of bodies piled up at once", he added. On Friday, thousands across Turkey participated in symbolic funerals for the dead who were still under the rubble.

☆ NATO chief says 'time is now' for Turkey to ratify Finland and Sweden membership bids
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Huseyin Hayatsever | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

ANKARA, Feb 16 (Reuters) - NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Thursday the "time is now" for Turkey to ratify applications by Finland and Sweden to join the defence alliance. Finland and Sweden applied to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February last year and their membership bids have been ratified by all allies except Hungary and Turkey. Turkey says Sweden harbors members of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which is seen as a terrorist group by Turkey, the European Union and others. "For me, this just demonstrates that Sweden and Finland understand and are implementing policies which recognize the concerns that Turkey expressed. Cavusoglu repeated Turkey's position that it could evaluate Finland and Sweden's bids to join NATO separately.

☆ Disease the new threat as Turkey faces post-quake water shortage
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Henriette Chacar | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Debris are seen in the aftermath of a deadly earthquake in Hatay, Turkey February 15, 2023. REUTERS/Clodagh KilcoyneKAHRAMANMARAS, Turkey, Feb 15 (Reuters) - More than a week after his home was wrecked in a deadly earthquake that hit southern Turkey, Mohammad Emin's body is still covered in dust and grime. He also said he had not been able to take a shower nor, like several other camp residents who Reuters spoke to, change his clothes. Batyr Berdyklychev, the World Health Organization's representative in Turkey, said the water shortage "increases the risk of waterborne diseases and outbreaks of communicable diseases." The WHO was working with local authorities to step up monitoring of waterborne diseases, seasonal influenza and COVID-19 among those displaced, he added.

More than 105,000 people were injured in the quake, he said, with more than 13,000 still being treated in hospital. Afterwards, Gungor's relatives hugged the rescue team, made up of military personnel and members of the disaster management authority AFAD. Families in both Turkey and Syria said they and their children were dealing with the psychological aftermath of the quake. A first convoy of U.N. aid entered rebel-held northwest Syria from Turkey via the newly-opened Bab al-Salam crossing. Russia also said it was wrapping up its search and rescue work in Turkey and Syria and preparing to withdraw.

☆ Defying odds: A story of survival under Turkey's earthquake rubble
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Ali Kucukgocmen | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Berber was speaking from a bed at Mersin City Hospital, some 250 km from the 15-storey building that collapsed in the city of Antakya in southern Hatay province, where half the buildings were either destroyed or heavily damaged. I looked around, my son turned on a light, took a flashlight and said 'Father, it's an earthquake!' "I shouted, shouted and shouted. Deniz Gezer, internal medicine specialist at Mersin City Hospital, said one of the biggest problems for survival was the cold. Caglar Aksoy Colak, a doctor at Mersin City Hospital, said doctors only provided "supportive treatment" for Berber.

The combined death toll in Turkey and Syria has climbed to more than 41,000, and millions are in need of humanitarian aid, with many survivors having been left homeless in near-freezing winter temperatures. It asked Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to open more border crossing points with Turkey to allow aid to get through. "I shouted, shouted and shouted. Civil war hostilities have obstructed at least two attempts to send aid to the northwest from elsewhere in Syria, but an aid convoy reached the area overnight. "The children and I, by some miracle, we ended up in this small space that I had left empty."

[1/8] Seho Uyan, who survived a deadly earthquake, but lost his four relatives, sits in front of a collapsed building in Adiyaman, Turkey February 11, 2023. Turkey said about 80,000 people were in hospital, with more than 1 million in temporary shelters. U.N. aid chief Martin Griffiths described the earthquake as the region's worst event in 100 years, predicting the death toll would at least double. He praised Turkey's response, saying his experience was that disaster victims were always disappointed by early relief efforts. It has killed 24,617 inside Turkey, and more than 3,500 in Syria, where tolls have not been updated since Friday.

[1/6] Rescue workers try to rescue a 15-year-old girl trapped under the rubble, in the aftermath of a deadly earthquake in Kahramanmaras, Turkey February 10, 2023. The death toll exceeded 24,150 across southern Turkey and northwest Syria a day after Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said authorities should have reacted faster to Monday's huge earthquake. Earlier, the World Food Programme said it was running out of stocks in rebel-held northwest Syria as the state of war complicated relief efforts. A similarly powerful earthquake in northwest Turkey in 1999 killed more than 17,000 killed in 1999. In the Samandag district of Turkey, rescuers crouched under concrete slabs and whispered "Inshallah" - "God willing" - as they carefully reached into the rubble and plucked out a 10-day-old newborn.

☆ Amid rows of bodies, Turks check for relatives one by one after earthquake
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

ANTAKYA/KAHRAMANMARAS, Turkey, Feb 8 (Reuters) - Turks stepped over hundreds of bodies in stadiums and parking lots on Wednesday, carefully lifting blankets from their faces to try to identify dead relatives after a once-in-a-generation earthquake devastated the region. "My wife doesn't speak Turkish, and I can't see very well," said the husband, who did not give a name. One woman who could not find her sister yelled: "My God, look how we are, we will be thankful if we find dead bodies of our people." To the north in Kahramanmaras, near the earthquake epicentre, at least another 100 bodies were assembled on the floor of an athletics stadium, where residents sought to identify them. Along the red-padded wall and underneath rows of empty spectator seating, three smaller bodies were wrapped in sheets on child-sized stretchers.

[1/9] Rescuers work at the site of a damaged building in the aftermath of a deadly earthquake in Kahramanmaras, Turkey, February 8, 2023. said Melek, 64, in the southern city of Antakya, adding that she had not seen any rescue teams. With the scale of the disaster becoming ever more apparent, the death toll - now 6,234 in Turkey - looks likely to keep on rising. In neighbouring Syria, already devastated by 11 years of war, the death toll climbed to more than 2,500 overnight, according to the Syrian government and a rescue service operating in the rebel-held northwest. The initial quake struck just after 4 a.m. on Monday, the dead of night in the dead of winter, giving the sleeping population little chance to react.

☆ Powerful quake rocks Turkey and Syria, kills more than 3,400
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

A man carries a girl following an earthquake, in rebel-held town of Jandaris, Syria February 6, 2023. People search through rubble following an earthquake in Diyarbakir, Turkey February 6, 2023. Rescuers carry out a girl from a collapsed building following an earthquake in Diyarbakir, Turkey February 6, 2023. He said their shared four-story building collapsed just as he, his wife and three children ran toward the exit. Rescuers stand on rubble of a collapsed building, following an earthquake, in Latakia, Syria, February 6, 2023 in this handout image.

[1/4] Cennet Sucu is rescued from the rubble of collapsed hospital, following an earthquake in Iskenderun, Turkey February 6, 2023. REUTERS/Umit BektasISKENDERUN, Turkey, Feb 6 (Reuters) - Rescue teams on Monday were searching through the wreckage of the state hospital in Iskenderun, Turkey, that was partly flattened by a huge earthquake that has already claimed almost 3,000 lives. The rescuers climbed up the enormous pile of debris that was once the part of the Iskenderun Hospital that provided intensive care. My friends and I did not try to leave the building, we didn't leave our patients. More than 1,200 buildings were destroyed by the quake in Hatay province alone, where Iskenderun is located.

☆ Large fire, plume of smoke at Turkey's Iskenderun port -witnesses
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

ISKENDERUN, Turkey, Feb 6 (Reuters) - A large fire burned and a plume of black smoke drifted high into the air on Monday above Turkey's southern Iskenderun port, in the Mediterranean Sea-side province of Hatay, according to Reuters witnesses and footage. The region was hit by two major earthquakes earlier in the day, leaving widespread damage and loss of life. It was not immediately clear what was burning. Reporting by Ece Toksabay and Huseyin Hayatsever; Editing by Jonathan SpicerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Turkey's Havas may stop services to Russian airlines' U.S.-made planes -letter
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( Jonathan Spicer | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

ANKARA, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Turkey's airport ground service provider Havas told Russian and Belarusian airliners that it may stop providing services to their United States-origin aircraft, in line with Western sanctions against Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine. The Havas letter mentioned "some or all flights" of Russian and Belarusian airlines' aircraft that contain more than 25% of U.S. origin technology. As a result of this, we may find ourselves unable to serve some or all of your flights," the Havas letter said. Havas asked Russian and Belarusian airlines for a list of aircraft that contain less than 25% of U.S. origin technology, advising them to plan flights to be operated with those planes. Havas, Turkey's largest airport ground services provider, operates in many airports including the biggest cities Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir and Antalya.

ANKARA, Feb 2 (Reuters) - Turkey summoned ambassadors of nine Western countries including the United States and Sweden on Thursday to criticise their decisions to temporarily shut diplomatic missions and issue security alerts following Koran-burning incidents in Europe. The envoys of Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Britain were also summoned, according to foreign ministry sources in Ankara. Germany, France and the Netherlands were among countries that temporarily closed diplomatic missions in Turkey for security reasons this week. The source added that the security of all diplomatic missions is ensured in accordance with international conventions and "allies should cooperate with" Turkish authorities. The U.S. embassy confirmed its Ambassador Jeffry Flake attended a meeting at Turkey's foreign ministry on Thursday.

☆ Turkey looks positively on Finland's NATO bid but not on Sweden's -Erdogan
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/4] Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan addresses lawmakers of his ruling AK Party during a meeting at the parliament in Ankara, Turkey February 1, 2023. Presidential Press Office/Handout via REUTERSANKARA, Feb 1 (Reuters) - Turkey looks positively on Finland's application for NATO membership, but does not support Sweden's bid, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday. We will not say 'yes' to their NATO application as long as they allow burning of the Koran," Erdogan said in a speech to his AK Party deputies in parliament. Erdogan signalled on Sunday that Ankara could agree to Finland joining NATO ahead of Sweden and Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Monday made similar statements. Reporting by Nevzat Devranoglu and Ezgi Erkoyun; Writing by Huseyin Hayatsever; Editing by Daren ButlerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Turkey's Erdogan signals Finland's NATO bid may be considered over Sweden
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ANKARA, Jan 29 (Reuters) - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan signalled on Sunday that Ankara may agree to Finland joining NATO ahead of Sweden, amid growing tensions with Stockholm. "We may deliver Finland a different message (on their NATO application) and Sweden would be shocked when they see our message. But Finland should not make the same mistake Sweden did," Erdogan said in a televised speech aired on Sunday. Sweden and Finland applied last year to join NATO following Russia's invasion of Ukraine and need all member countries' approval to join. If you don't extradite them, then sorry about that," Erdogan said, referring to Turkey's agreement with Sweden and Finland last June over their NATO application.

☆ Turkey alerts citizens to risk of attack in United States, Europe on heels of Western warnings
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ANKARA, Jan 28 (Reuters) - Turkey warned its citizens on Saturday against "possible Islamophobic, xenophobic and racist attacks" in the United States and Europe after its Western allies cautioned their citizens in Turkey about possible terror attacks. Recent increases in "anti-Islam and racist acts" reflect the dangerous dimensions of religious intolerance and hatred in Europe, the ministry said. Several embassies in Ankara including those of the United States, Germany, France and Italy on Friday released security alerts for their citizens in Turkey that flagged "possible retaliatory attacks by terrorists against places of worship." Sweden's foreign ministry also advised its citizens in Turkey on Saturday to avoid crowds and demonstrations. A far-right, anti-immigrant politician burned a Koran last week near the Turkish embassy in Stockholm during a protest, heightening tensions between Turkey and Sweden.

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