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☆ A Year After a Devastating Quake: Container Cities, Trials and Grief
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-06 | by ( Ben Hubbard | Safak Timur | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

At 4:17 a.m. on Tuesday, thousands of people in cities across southern Turkey gathered to cry, light candles and chant against the government, marking the moment a year ago that a powerful earthquake devastated the region. The 7.8-magnitude quake, followed by a second violent tremor hours later, damaged or destroyed hundreds of thousands of buildings, killing more than 53,000 people in southern Turkey and another 6,000 people in northern Syria. It was the area’s broadest and deadliest earthquake in hundreds of years. Many accused building contractors of cutting corners to increase their profits and the government of failing to enforce safe building standards. That vow remains only partly fulfilled, and efforts to hold people accountable over faulty constructions are proceeding slowly.

Persons: Recep Tayyip Erdogan Locations: Turkey, Syria

She lost her mother and brother when the building collapsed in the earthquake. Damage from the earthquake is still visible in Antakya, Hatay province. Scott McLean/CNNSearch for the missingLast year’s earthquake killed more than 50,000 people in Turkey, and thousands more in neighboring Syria. “If I can’t find his body, then I will be waiting for him my whole life.”Smoke billows from the scene of collapsed buildings on February 7, 2023 in Hatay, Turkey. Smoke billows from the Iskenderun Port as rescue workers work at the scene of a collapsed building on February 7, 2023 in Iskenderun, Turkey.

Persons: Karabas, Sengul, Rukiye, Mehmet, “, ” Karabas, Scott McLean, Guray Ervin, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Ismail Demir, ”, Sema Gulec, DEMAK, Gulec, Weeks, Batuhan, –, can’t, Burak Kara, Nur, She’s, Khaled Kassar, Kassar, Anwar, Jamal, ” Kassar, Mustafa Kara Ali, Erdogan, Yasin Akgul, Ekrem Imamoglu, Imamoglu, “ Banks Organizations: Southern, Southern Turkey CNN —, CNN, Hatay, Gulec’s, Interior Ministry, CHP, Getty, Development Party Locations: Southern Turkey, Turkey, Syria, Gaziantep province, Islahiye, Antakya, Hatay province, Iskenderun, Hatay, morgues, Syrian, Homs, Gaziantep, Turkish, AFP, Turkey’s, Istanbul, Istanbul’s, Kocaeli

ISTANBUL (AP) — Turkey has seen its fifth central bank leader depart in as many years as Hafize Gaye Erkan, the first woman in the top role, stepped down after just eight months in the job. Photos You Should See View All 45 ImagesHere are key things to know about the central bank shakeup and what it means for Turkey's battered economy:WHY IS THERE A NEW CENTRAL BANK LEADER? Erkan resigned after weeks of media stories about her father’s undue influence in the central bank’s Istanbul office. Previous changes in central bank leadership has seen Erdogan row back on efforts to bring inflation under control through interest rate hikes. He was brought in as the bank’s deputy head at the same time Simsek took over the Finance Ministry and Erkan was appointed to lead the central bank.

Persons: Hafize Gaye Erkan, Goldman Sachs, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, — Erkan, ”, Fatih Karahan, Mehmet Simsek, Erdogan, Erkan, Karahan, Simsek's, Simsek, Liam Peach, Selcuki, ” “ It’s, ” Selcuki Organizations: —, Finance, WHO, FATIH, Finance Ministry, University of Pennsylvania, Federal Reserve Bank of New, Amazon, Capital Economics, Istanbul Economy Research Locations: ISTANBUL, — Turkey, Turkey, Istanbul, Simsek, U.S, Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Columbia, New York, Ankara

ISTANBUL (AP) — Millions of people across Turkey on Tuesday will mourn the loss of more than 53,000 friends, loved ones and neighbors in the country's catastrophic earthquake a year ago. To mark what it calls the “Disaster of the Century," the government has arranged a series of events to commemorate the one-year anniversary of disaster in southern Turkey. Hatay, which lies between the Mediterranean Sea and the Syrian border, was the worst affected of the 11 southern provinces hit by the 7.8 magnitude quake. Including the 6,000 people killed in neighboring Syria, the quake left more than 59,000 dead. He also will take part in handing over completed homes to survivors, and then spend the rest of the week touring other cities in the earthquake zone.

Persons: Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Ozgur Ozel Organizations: Republican Locations: ISTANBUL, Turkey, Hatay, Ulu, Syrian, Syria, Kahramanmaras, rehouse, Gaziantep

☆ Turkey to Discuss 'New Mechanism' for Ukraine Black Sea Grain Exports With Russia - Minister
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-04 | by ( Feb. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan will discuss a new mechanism to allow Ukrainian grain exports through the Black Sea with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin during his upcoming visit to Turkey, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Sunday. There are efforts to find "new methods" to transport Ukrainian grain to the world markets, Fidan said in an interview with private A Haber television. Ankara has sought to persuade Russia to return to the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which Moscow pulled out of in July 2023, a year after it was implemented. The accord was brokered by the United Nations and Turkey to provide safe passage to exports from Ukrainian ports. Fidan said some ships had managed to transport Ukrainian grain from the Black Sea, even without the accord in place.

Persons: Tayyip Erdogan, Vladimir Putin, Hakan Fidan, Putin, Erdogan, Fidan, Haber, Huseyin Hayatsever, Sharon Singleton Organizations: Turkish, Initiative, Moscow, United, Kyiv Locations: ANKARA, Turkey, Russian, NATO, Ukraine, Ankara, Russia, United Nations, Ukrainian, Israel, Gaza, Moscow

☆ Turkey central bank chief quits, citing need to protect her family
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-03 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Turkish Central Bank Governor Hafize Gaye Erkan answers questions during a news conference for the Inflation Report 2023-III in Ankara, Turkey on July 27, 2023. Anadolu Agency | Anadolu Agency | Getty ImagesTurkey's central bank governor Hafize Gaye Erkan resigned on Friday, citing a need to protect her family amid a "reputation assassination", and she was swiftly replaced by a deputy who is expected to carry on her tight policy stance. The first woman to lead the central bank, Erkan was its fifth governor in as many years. Since then the central bank had hiked its key rate to 45% from 8.5%. Last month, opposition newspaper Sozcu published an article about a central bank employee who said she was wrongfully dismissed from the bank by Erkan's father.

Persons: Turkish Central Bank Governor Hafize Gaye Erkan, Hafize Gaye Erkan, Tayyip Erdogan, Erkan, Fatih Karahan, Erdogan, Sozcu, Erkan's Organizations: Turkish Central Bank Governor, Anadolu Agency, Getty, Official Gazette, Turks, Federal Reserve Bank of New Locations: Ankara, Turkey, Federal Reserve Bank of New York, U.S

☆ Turkey’s Central Bank Chief Steps Down Amid Long Inflation Battle
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-03 | by ( Ben Hubbard | More About Ben Hubbard | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey appointed a new central bank governor early Saturday, hours after the abrupt resignation of his previous appointee, who said she was stepping down because of “a major reputation assassination campaign.”The departing central bank chief, Hafize Gaye Erkan, was the fifth in five years, and the first woman to hold the post. The bank’s deputy governor, Fatih Karahan, was swiftly promoted to take her place. The surprise change-up came about eight months into a shift in Turkey’s economic program aimed at taming a yearslong cost-of-living crisis that has been painful for many Turks. Annual inflation as of last month was about 65 percent. In an apparent effort to reassure investors, senior officials said that Ms. Erkan’s departure did not signal a change in policy.

Persons: Recep Tayyip Erdogan, ”, Hafize Gaye Erkan, Fatih Karahan, Erkan’s Locations: Turkey

☆ Turkey Completes New Homes in Area Hit by Devastating Earthquake
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-03 | by ( Feb. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey on Saturday handed over keys to newly-completed homes to some of those left homeless after last year's devastating earthquake, one year after the country's deadliest disaster in its modern history. Powerful quakes on Feb. 6, 2023 in southern Turkey killed more than 50,000 people in 11 provinces and left millions homeless. Some 75,000 houses will be delivered over the next two months, Erdogan said, adding that the government planned to deliver a total of 200,000 houses this year. Around 680,000 homes were destroyed in the earthquake region, Urbanisation Minister Mehmet Ozhaseki told reporters on Friday, adding that 390,000 families are registered to receive houses to be built there. After the earthquakes, Erdogan promised 319,000 new homes by February 2024 and a total 680,000 a year later.

Persons: Tayyip Erdogan, Erdogan, Mehmet Ozhaseki, Huseyin Hayatsever, Alexandra Hudson Organizations: Saturday Locations: ANKARA, Turkey, Hatay, Israel, Gaza

ISTANBUL (AP) — Two gunmen took seven hostages at a factory owned by U.S. company Procter & Gamble in northwest Turkey on Thursday, according to media reports, apparently in protest of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. Turkish media published an image of one of the purported suspects inside the factory, a man wearing what appeared to be a rudimentary explosives belt and holding a handgun. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been particularly outspoken, referring to Israeli “war crimes” and comparing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Nazi leader Adolf Hitler. The photograph of the suspect carried in the Turkish media shows him with a black-and-white Arabic headscarf covering his face. He is standing next to a graffitied wall showing the Turkish and Palestinian flags with the slogan “The gates will open.

Persons: Ismet Zihni, Suheyla, “, ‘ We’ve, ”, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Benjamin Netanyahu, Adolf Hitler, Bruce Shipkowski Organizations: U.S, Procter, Gamble, Health Ministry, Police, G Turkey, Embassy, Associated Press Locations: ISTANBUL, Turkey, Israel, Gaza, Gebze, Kocaeli, Cincinnati, Istanbul, U.S, Turkish, Ankara, Trenton , N.J

☆ Istanbul church shooting victim was a Muslim, says local official
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-29 | by ( Scott Mclean | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —The lone victim of Sunday’s ISIS-claimed shooting at the Santa Maria Catholic Church in Istanbul was a Muslim, according to a local official. “During the attack, a citizen from Bayburt at the entrance, a Muslim citizen, lost his life,” said the mayor. A funeral ceremony for Tuncer Murat Cihan, the victim of the shooting, is held on Monday. Dilara Senkaya/Reuters“According to the priest, he was constantly going to church and the priest knew this person and referred to him as ‘a good person,’” added Genc. ISIS has claimed responsibility for a shooting, according to a statement from the ISIS-affiliated Amaq news agency, citing a security source from the terror group.

Persons: Sukru Genc, ”, Ali Yerlikaya, Tuncer Murat Cihan, Dilara Senkaya, ” Genc, BirGün, Genc, Witold Lesniak, Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s, “, ” Erdogan, Davut Gul, Anadalou Organizations: CNN, ISIS, Santa Maria Catholic Church, Turkish, Reuters, Polish Locations: Istanbul, Sariyer, Bayburt, Turkish, Tajikistan, Russia, Turkey

☆ Man Killed in Istanbul Church Shooting Was Out for a Walk, Relative Says
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-29 | by ( Jan. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

Murat Cihan, the victim's cousin, said his relative had no political or religious connections and lived "in his own world". CCTV footage verified by Reuters shows the two gunmen waiting briefly in an entrance hall at the church, before following a man inside. Another angle shows the attackers shooting the man walking in ahead of them. Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu said the Polish consul general was also inside the church with his family during the attack. Footage from inside the church on Monday showed bullet holes on the side of a pew, as well as another in a wall.

Persons: Mehmet Emin Caliskan, Tuncer Murat Cihan, Murat Cihan, Sukru Genc, Ekrem Imamoglu, Tayyip Erdogan, Tuncer, Alex Richardson Organizations: Islamic, Authorities, Italian Santa Maria Catholic Church, Reuters, Islamic State Locations: Mehmet Emin Caliskan ISTANBUL, Istanbul, Italian, Sariyer, Tajikistan, Russia, Sariyer's, Polish

☆ Biden administration tells Congress it intends to sell Turkey F-16s after Erdogan approved Sweden’s NATO membership
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-26 | by ( Jennifer Hansler | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

The State Department also sent Congress a formal notification of its intent to sell $8.6 billion worth of F-35s to Greece. Blinken, in turn, told the Turkish president multiple times that members of Congress would not approve the sale of jets until Turkey allowed Sweden to join NATO. The Turkish Parliament finally voted in favor of Sweden’s NATO accession Tuesday, and Erdogan signed off on the instruments of ratification Thursday. The US official said this was to assure Congress there was no way for Turkey to back out of the deal. Hungary still must approve Sweden’s NATO bid for the nation to finally become a member.

Persons: CNN —, Biden, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Antony Blinken, Blinken, Erdogan, Hakan Fidan, Fidan, Robert Menendez –, Turkey –, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Menendez, Sen, Ben Cardin Organizations: CNN, NATO, The State Department, Turkish, Foreign, The New, Greek, House Foreign Affairs Committee, State Department Locations: Turkey, Greece, Sweden, Finland, Vilnius, Lithuania, London, The New Jersey, Turkish, Hungary

☆ Turkey Moving Swiftly Toward Final Step on Sweden's NATO Bid
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-26 | by ( Jan. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkey is expected to send the final instrument of ratification for Sweden's NATO membership to Washington within days, now that President Tayyip Erdogan signed it off, in a move Ankara hopes will clear the way to its purchase of U.S. F-16 fighter jets. A source familiar with the issue said the document could be deposited as early as Friday, marking the last step in a process that began in 2022. After 20 months of delay, Turkey moved rapidly this week to ratify the Swedish bid, with parliamentary ratification coming on Tuesday and President Tayyip Erdogan signing off on the approval on Thursday. As per formal NATO rules, the final document in the process - the instrument of ratification - needs to be deposited in the U.S. State Department archives in Washington. Both Erdogan and members of the U.S. Congress had previously linked Ankara's final approval of Sweden to the $20 billion sale of Lockheed Martin F-16s and modernization kits to Turkey.

Persons: Tayyip Erdogan, Erdogan, Lockheed Martin, Joe Biden, Jonathan Spicer, Tomasz Janowski Organizations: NATO, U.S, U.S . State Department, U.S . Congress, Lockheed, Turkish, Reuters, Congress, State Department Locations: ISTANBUL, Turkey, Washington, Ankara, Hungary, Sweden, NATO, Ambassador

☆ Erdogan, Eyeing More Trade With Iran, Says Turkey Weighing Opening New Border Crossings
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-25 | by ( Jan. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey is considering opening new border crossings with eastern neighbour Iran, President Tayyip Erdogan said late on Wednesday after talks with his Iranian counterpart, as they seek to revive sagging economic relations. Trade between Turkey and Iran peaked in 2012 at nearly $22 billion but has since fallen. Efforts to establish trade centres in border (areas) to increasing the economic development of our border provinces continue," he said. Turkey, a NATO ally, and Iran currently have four border crossings between them. Turkey, which has also been hit with U.S. sanctions for acquiring Russian defence systems, opposes what it calls unilateral economic sanctions as a policy.

Persons: Tayyip Erdogan, Erdogan, Ebrahim Raisi, Omer Bolat, Daren Butler, Gareth Jones Organizations: Turkish Trade Locations: ANKARA, Turkey, Iran, Tehran, NATO, Ankara

STOCKHOLM (AP) — Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson has agreed to meet with his Hungarian counterpart Viktor Orbán, who invited Kristersson to Budapest to discuss Sweden’s accession into NATO, Swedish media reported Thursday. Orbán's invitation comes as Hungary and Turkey remain the only NATO members not to have ratified Sweden’s bid to join the defense alliance. Turkish legislators have endorsed Sweden’s NATO membership, lifting a major hurdle on the previously nonaligned country’s entry into the military alliance. Lawmakers ratified Sweden’s accession protocol 287 to 55, with ruling party members saying the country’s tougher stance on Kurdish militants was key to winning approval. Finland joined the alliance in April, becoming NATO’s 31st member, after Turkey’s parliament ratified the Nordic country’s bid.

Persons: Ulf Kristersson, Viktor Orbán, Kristersson, ” Kristersson, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Vladimir Putin Organizations: STOCKHOLM, NATO, Lawmakers, Sweden’s, Nordic Locations: Swedish, Budapest, Hungary, Turkey, Brussels, Ankara, Ukraine, U.S . Turkey, Stockholm, Sweden, Finland

☆ US Envoy Sees Rapid F-16s Sale to Turkey After Sweden NATO Bid Sign-Off
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-25 | by ( Jan. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

In an exclusive interview on Thursday, Ambassador Jeff Flake said that once the formal ratification document is received in Washington, the U.S. State Department will immediately send Congress notification of the F-16s sale. Turkey's parliament ratified Sweden's NATO membership bid on Tuesday, clearing a major hurdle to expanding the Western military alliance after 20 months of delay. "So I would expect as soon as that is conveyed to Washington, then congressional notification (of the F-16 sales) will happen." "The president here needs to sign it and then the instrument needs to be conveyed to Washington," he told Reuters by phone. Both Erdogan and members of the U.S. Congress had tied Turkey's backing of Sweden's NATO bid with congressional approval of the $20 billion sale of Lockheed Martin aircraft and modernization kits to Turkey.

Persons: Jonathan Spicer ISTANBUL, Tayyip Erdogan, Jeff Flake, Erdogan, Lockheed Martin, Joe Biden, Jonathan Spicer, Mark Potter Organizations: NATO, U.S, Congress, U.S . State Department, Gazette, Republican, Reuters, U.S . Congress, Lockheed Locations: U.S, Turkey, Ankara, Washington, Sweden, NATO

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey’s central bank raised its key interest rate by another 2.5 percentage points on Thursday, pressing ahead with a series of hikes aimed at combating inflation that reached nearly 65% in December. Erdogan is a longtime proponent of an unorthodox policy of cutting interest rates to fight inflation, which runs contrary to mainstream economic thinking. The European Central Bank is expected to keep its record-high benchmark rate steady at its meeting Thursday, following a rapid series of hikes over more than a year. Hafize Gaye Erkan, a former U.S.-based bank executive, took over as central bank governor in June, becoming the first woman to hold that position in Turkey. Previously, Erdogan had fired central governments who reportedly resisted his push to cut interest rates.

Persons: Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Erdogan, Merrill Lynch, Mehmet Simsek, Hafize Gaye Erkan, Erkan, ” Organizations: European Central Bank, Turkish Locations: ANKARA, Turkey, Ukraine, U.S

☆ US Says It Is Looking Forward to Turkey Finalizing Sweden's NATO Process
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-24 | by ( Jan. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

By Humeyra PamukWASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States on Wednesday welcomed the Turkish parliament's ratification of Sweden's NATO membership bid this week and urged Ankara to formally finalize the process. State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel told a briefing that Washington was looking forward to Hungary, which has yet to approve Sweden's NATO bid, moving along in the process. Turkey's ratification of Sweden's NATO bid and the U.S. sale of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey have become linked over the past years. The Biden administration has said it supports the sale but kept urging Ankara to approve Sweden's NATO bid saying Congress might be connecting the two issues. When asked on Wednesday if the State Department would send the formal notification for the jets once Sweden's NATO process is fully formalized, Patel did not commit to a timeline.

Persons: Humeyra Pamuk, Vedant Patel, Washington, Tayyip, Erdogan, Patel, Biden, Blinken, I'm, Jasper Ward, Simon Lewis, Daphne Psaledakis, Alistair Bell Organizations: Wednesday, NATO, State Department, Finland's Locations: Humeyra Pamuk WASHINGTON, United States, Ankara, Hungary, Washington, Sweden, Finland, Turkey, U.S, NATO, Turkey's, Jasper

☆ Biden Urges Congress to Quickly Approve F-16 Sale to Turkey
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-24 | by ( Edward Wong | More About Edward Wong | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

President Biden sent a letter to four senior members of Congress on Wednesday urging them to quickly approve a $20 billion sale of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey, following the vote one day earlier by Turkey’s Parliament to allow Sweden to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, according to three U.S. officials. The White House sent the letter to the top Democratic and Republican lawmakers on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the House Foreign Affairs Committee, which have oversight of arms transfers by the State Department to other nations. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey, a member of NATO, has linked his country’s approval of Sweden’s accession to the security organization to the F-16 sales, which had been pending. Both Sweden and Finland had asked to join NATO after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and the vast majority of the alliance’s members soon agreed. Turkey approved Finland’s bid but, along with Hungary, has withheld approval for Sweden.

Persons: Biden, Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Organizations: Atlantic Treaty Organization, White House, Democratic, Republican, Senate Foreign Relations, House Foreign Affairs Committee, State Department, NATO Locations: Turkey, Sweden, Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey, Finland, Ukraine, Hungary

Here is a look at Sweden's complicated path toward NATO membership. Sweden has stayed out of military alliances for more than 200 years and long ruled out seeking NATO membership. But the Russian aggression caused a dramatic shift in both countries, with polls showing a surge in support for NATO membership. That leaves Hungary as the last hurdle for Sweden's NATO bid. Not surprisingly, Moscow reacted negatively to Sweden and Finland's decision to abandon nonalignment and seek NATO membership, and warned of unspecified countermeasures.

Persons: —, hasn’t, Nonalignment, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Erdogan, Viktor Orbán, Ulf Kristersson, ” Organizations: STOCKHOLM, NATO —, Nordic, NATO, Kurdistan Workers ’ Party, Kremlin, Swedish, ALLIANCE, Finns, RUSSIA, nonalignment Locations: NATO, Hungary, Sweden, Ukraine, Finland, Russia, Baltic, U.S, Turkey, Turkish, Swedish, Kurdistan, Stockholm, Budapest, SWEDEN, St, Petersburg, Kaliningrad, Moscow, Northern Europe

☆ Turkey’s parliament approves Sweden’s NATO membership, lifting key a hurdle
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-23 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Turkish legislators on Tuesday endorsed Sweden's membership in NATO, lifting a major hurdle on the previously nonaligned country's entry into the military alliance. The legislators ratified Sweden's accession protocol by 287 votes to 55, with four abstentions. Hungary then becomes the only NATO ally not to have ratified Sweden's accession. Turkey's main opposition party also supported Sweden's membership in the alliance but a center-right party and the country's pro-Kurdish party declared they would oppose it. U.S. President Joe Biden's administration never formally tied the sale of the F-16s to Turkey's ratification of Sweden's NATO membership.

Persons: Tayyip Erdogan, Ulf Kristersson, Jens Stoltenberg, Sweden's, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Burak Akcapar, Erdogan, Koray Aydin, Joe Biden's, John Kirby, Viktor Orbán Organizations: Swedish, NATO, Official Gazette, Ankara, Kurdistan Workers ' Party, Good Party, U.S . Congress, Administration, Turkey, National Security, Nordic Locations: Vilnius, Hungary, Turkey, Ankara, Stockholm, Kurdistan, Sweden, Turkey's, Canada, Washington, NATO, Finland, Ukraine, Budapest

CNN —The Turkish parliament voted Tuesday to approve Sweden’s NATO membership bid. Of the 346 members of parliament who voted, 287 were in favor of Sweden’s accession and 55 voted to reject it. However, on Tuesday, Hungary’s Prime Minister Victor Orban said he had invited his Swedish counterpart, Ulf Kristersson, to visit Hungary to negotiate the terms of Sweden’s accession. Sweden and Finland applied for NATO membership in May 2022 following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine earlier that year. Erdogan initially objected to Sweden’s membership bid, accusing Swedish officials of being too lenient on military groups, including the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

Persons: Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Victor Orban, Ulf Kristersson, Erdogan, Ben Cardin Organizations: CNN, Turkish, NATO, Foreign Affairs Commission, Hungary’s, Kurdistan Workers ’ Party, Foreign Locations: Turkish, Hungary, Sweden, Finland, Ukraine, Turkey, United States

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán sent a letter to his Swedish counterpart, Ulf Kristersson, inviting him to Budapest to discuss Sweden's accession into the NATO military alliance, Orbán wrote Tuesday in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. The invitation comes as Hungary and Turkey remain the only NATO members not to have ratified Sweden's bid to join the alliance. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan lifted his opposition to Sweden's membership last year in response to efforts by Stockholm to tackle supporters of Kurdish militants and other groups in Sweden that Ankara views as security threats. Erdogan has also openly linked Sweden’s NATO membership to Ankara’s efforts to purchase U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets, and has called on Canada and other NATO allies to lift arms embargoes on Turkey. Sweden and Finland abandoned their decades-long neutrality and sought membership in NATO amid heightened security concerns following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Persons: Viktor Orbán, Ulf Kristersson, Orbán, Vladimir Putin, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Erdogan Organizations: NATO, Twitter, Sweden's, Nordic, Fidesz Locations: BUDAPEST, Hungary, Hungarian, Budapest, Turkey, Ankara, Ukraine, Orbán, Turkish, Stockholm, Sweden, Canada, Finland

☆ Explainer-What Turkey Gained in Delaying Sweden's NATO Bid
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-23 | by ( Jan. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +4 min

Turkey ratified Finland's bid in April 2023 but, along with NATO member Hungary, has kept Sweden waiting. While Erdogan sent Sweden's NATO bid to Turkey's parliament for consideration last October, he openly linked the F-16s with its ultimate ratification. WHAT IS THE CURRENT STATE OF SWEDEN'S BID? Though Turkey was seen as the main hurdle, Hungary has also not ratified Sweden's bid. Hungary pledged not to be the last to ratify the bid, but its parliament is in recess until around mid-February.

Persons: Huseyin Hayatsever, Jonathan Spicer ANKARA, Tayyip Erdogan, Erdogan, Gunnar Strommer, Jens Stoltenberg, Thomas Goffus, Viktor Orban, Timothy Heritage Organizations: NATO, Ankara, Kurdistan Workers ' Party, European Union, Canada, U.S . Congress, Eurofighter Locations: Sweden, Finland, Ukraine, Turkey, Hungary, Stockholm, Helsinki, Washington, SWEDEN, FINLAND, Madrid, Kurdistan, Ankara, United States, Netherlands, SWEDEN'S

☆ Turkish Parliament to Debate Sweden's NATO Bid on Tuesday -Sources
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-22 | by ( Jan. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

By Huseyin HayatseverANKARA (Reuters) - The Turkish parliament's general assembly is set to debate Sweden's NATO membership bid on Tuesday, three sources from parliament said. But NATO member Turkey raised objections over what it said was the two countries' protection of groups that Ankara deems terrorists. Erdogan sent Sweden's bid to parliament in October, but has also linked its ratification with U.S. approval of sales of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey. After talks with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan earlier this month, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he expected Turkey to ratify Sweden's NATO membership bid "in coming weeks." The parliament's foreign affairs commission approved the bid last month in the first step of the ratification process.

Persons: Huseyin Hayatsever, Tayyip Erdogan, Erdogan, Sweden's, Hakan Fidan, Antony Blinken, Christina Fincher Organizations: Turkish, NATO, Finland's, Kurdistan Workers ' Party, European Union, White House, U.S, Congress, Erdogan's AK Party, CHP Locations: Huseyin Hayatsever ANKARA, Sweden, Finland, Ukraine, Turkey, Ankara, Hungary, United States, Stockholm, Canada, Netherlands

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