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☆ Erdogan seeks new term in Turkey runoff election
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-28 | by ( Tamara Qiblawi | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Polls have opened in Turkey’s presidential runoff as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan fights for a historic third term on Sunday. Erdogan is going head-to-head with opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu, a 74-year-old bureaucrat and leader of the left-leaning CHP. In the first round of voting on May 14, Erdogan secured a nearly five-point lead over Kilicdaroglu but fell short of the 50% threshold needed to win. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan speaks at the AK Party headquarters in Ankara, Turkey May 15, 2023. Umit Bektas/ReutersSix opposition groups had formed an unprecedented unified bloc behind Kilicdaroglu to try to wrest power from Erdogan.

We are not bound by the West’s sanctions,” Erdogan told CNN’s Becky Anderson. APBy contrast, Erdogan has doubled down on his relationship with Putin – and he thinks the West should follow suit. “This was possible because of our special relationship with President Putin,” he told CNN, referring to the grain deal. In his interview with CNN, Erdogan tackled another key flashpoint in Turkish tensions with the West: Sweden’s accession to NATO. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan tells CNN's Becky Anderson, left, he expects voters who value stability and confidence to back him in the May 28 runoff vote.

Istanbul, Turkey CNN —Turkey will have a runoff election on May 28 after longtime leader President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was forced into a second round with only a narrow lead over his rival, Kemal Kilicdaroglu. Neither candidate achieved the required 50% to take the presidency outright, but Kilicdaroglu now faces a tough battle to win the second round after Erdogan performed better than some opinion polls had suggested. With the final count, the electorate will turn to a second round of voting that could extend Erdogan’s 20-year grip on power, or set the stage for a change in political direction. “If our nation says second round, we gladly accept it. We will absolutely win this election in the second round.

☆ Turkey’s opposition faces an uphill battle in runoff with Erdogan
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Tamara Qiblawi | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Istanbul CNN —A hushed silence fell over the crowd outside the Istanbul headquarters of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development (AK) party. Sullen faces turned to the election count on the large screen — Erdogan’s vote had dropped below the 50% threshold needed to clinch the first round of Sunday’s historic election. Erdogan secured a five-point lead over his principal opponent, destining them to a run-off vote. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and his wife Emine Erdogan meet supporters outside a polling station in Istanbul, Turkey May 14, 2023. Then our President Erdogan saves us.”Ahead of the run-off vote, Erdogan now has two weeks in which to save himself – and all the indications are that he begins, as ever, from a place of strength.

His main opponent is CHP leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, who represents an election coalition of six opposition parties. For the first time, Turkey’s factious opposition has coalesced around a single candidate. When a vicious earthquake on February 6 laid waste to large parts of southeast Turkey, Erdogan’s battled political aftershocks. More than 1.8 million voters living abroad already cast their votes on April 17, Turkish newspaper Daily Sabah reported Wednesday, citing the country’s deputy foreign minister. The Supreme Election Council (YSK) chief Ahmet Yener said last month that at least 1 million voters in quake-stricken zones are expected not to vote this year amid displacement.

☆ Exclusive: Evidence emerges of Russia’s Wagner arming militia leader battling Sudan’s army
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Nima Elbagir Gianluca Mezzofiore Tamara Qiblawi Barbara Arvanitidis | Nima Elbagir | Gianluca Mezzofiore | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

London CNN —The Russian mercenary group Wagner has been supplying Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) with missiles to aid their fight against the country’s army, Sudanese and regional diplomatic sources have told CNN. Haftar has backed the RSF, sources say, although he denies taking sides. That day, Russia airdropped surface-to-air missiles to Dagalo’s militia positions in northwest Sudan, according to regional and Sudanese sources. For years, Dagalo has been a key beneficiary from Russian involvement in Sudan, as the primary recipient of Moscow’s weapons and training. Egypt has a long-standing relationship with Burhan and has privately backed him in the power struggle, according to Sudanese and regional diplomatic sources.

CNN —Fierce fighting across Sudan has left hopes for a peaceful transition to civilian rule in tatters. An international outcry saw Bashir formalize the group into paramilitary forces known as the Border Intelligence Units. They commanded separate battalions of Sudanese forces, who were sent to serve with the Saudi-led coalition forces in Yemen. He said that RSF leader Dagalo had “mutinied” against the state, and if captured, would be tried in court of law. CNN has previously reported on how Russia has colluded with Sudan’s military leaders to smuggle gold out of Sudan.

☆ Xi Jinping: Saudi's MBS rolls out the red carpet for China's president, in a not too subtle message to Biden
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Tamara Qiblawi | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Saudi leaders will infuse the trip with a dose of spectacle. The Saudi king – or his powerful Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman – may bestow the Chinese leader with some honors and medals. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman fist bumps US President Joe Biden upon his arrival at Al Salman Palace, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on July 15. Today, the US consumes only a fraction of that Saudi oil, and China is Saudi Arabia’s biggest client and trading partner. Over the last year, Gulf Arab countries appear to have ramped up their independent-minded policy.

Rumors of a Chinese presidential visit to the US’ largest Middle East ally have been circulating for months, but are yet to be confirmed by the governments of Saudi Arabia and China. Beijing has not made an official announcement that Xi will visit Saudi Arabia. A strong US ally for eight long decades, Saudi Arabia has become bitter over what it perceives to be waning US security presence in the region, especially amid growing threats from Iran and its armed Yemeni proxies. Both China and Saudi Arabia have also taken different stances to the West with regards to the Ukraine war. Biden said in October that the US has to “rethink” its relationship with Saudi Arabia, which the President had seemingly tried to repair in a July visit to Riyadh.

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