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☆ Turkey's devastating earthquake comes at a critical time for the country's future
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Natasha Turak | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

One major emerging markets guru, Mark Mobius of Mobius Capital Partners LLP, remains bullish despite the earthquake disaster and economic problems. "When it comes to investing in Turkey, we still believe it's a viable place to invest," Mobius said. Mobius did note the glaring issue of Turkey's earthquake preparation, which may soon come to haunt Erdogan's election chances. NATO and Turkey's powerful role on the global stageInternationally, Turkey's future affects the war in Ukraine, given Erdogan's role as a mediator between Ukraine and Russia. Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to meet Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday.

☆ Shunned by the US, Turkey is preparing to launch its first aircraft carrier — but it will come with a twist
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Benjamin Brimelow | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Turkey will instead operate the Anadolu with drones, using them to project power across the region. The US kicked Turkey out of the F-35 program in 2019, leaving Ankara without fighter jets for its new carrier. Strictly speaking, Anadolu is not a dedicated aircraft carrier but an amphibious assault ship — specifically a landing helicopter dock, or LHD. Turkey was a Level III partner in the US-led F-35 program, with Turkish companies making about 900 parts for the aircraft. Turkish carrier dronesTCG Anadolu in Istanbul in September 2022.

☆ Turkey's President Erdogan says Western missions will 'pay' for closures
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-05 | by ( Azra Ceylan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

ISTANBUL, Feb 5 (Reuters) - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said Western missions would "pay" for issuing security warnings and temporarily closing consulates in Turkey last week, while police said there was no serious threat to foreigners after detaining 15 Islamic State suspects on Sunday. Ankara summoned the ambassadors of nine countries on Thursday to criticise their decisions to temporarily shut diplomatic missions and issue security alerts. Turkish officials said the following day that Western nations, including the United States and Germany, had not shared information to back up their claims of a security threat. Erdogan said that the Western states were "playing for (more) time" and that the "necessary decisions" would be taken during Monday's cabinet meeting, without elaborating. While the suspects' ties to the jihadist group were confirmed, no concrete threats toward foreigners were found, the statement said.

☆ Sweden to tighten terrorism law amid tensions with Turkey over NATO bid
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Sweden's Minister of Justice Gunnar Strommer attends a press conference at the first informal ministerial meeting during the Swedish EU Presidency, Stockholm, Sweden, January 26, 2023. Sweden committed to ramping up cooperation with Turkey in fighting terrorism as part of an agreement reached in June aimed at overcoming Ankara's objections to Sweden and Finland becoming members of NATO. Turkey suspended talks last month, saying Sweden was not doing enough, after protests in Stockholm including that by Paludan. "Our position on Finland is positive, but it is not positive on Sweden," Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday. Sweden and Finland applied last year to join NATO after Russia invaded Ukraine, but faced unexpected objections from Turkey and have since sought to win its support.

☆ Turkey's push into Iraq risks deeper conflict
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Amina Ismail | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +9 min

REUTERS/Amina IsmailSARARO, Iraq, Jan 31 (Reuters) - Looming over the deserted village of Sararo in northern Iraq, three Turkish military outposts break the skyline, part of an incursion that forced the residents to flee last year after days of shelling. Turkey's advances across the increasingly depopulated border of Iraqi Kurdistan attract little global attention compared to its incursions into Syria or the battle against Islamic State, but the escalation risks further destabilising a region where foreign powers have intervened with impunity, analysts say. EMPTY VILLAGESA Kurdish official, who declined to be named, also said Turkey now had about 80 outposts in Iraq. NEW TARGETSBeyond the humanitarian impact, Turkey's incursion risks widening the conflict by giving carte blanche to regional rival Iran to step up intelligence operations inside Iraq and take its own military action, Kurdish officials say. According to a Washington Institute report, attacks on Turkish military facilities in Iraq increased from an average of 1.5 strikes per month at the start of 2022 to seven in April.

☆ Russia's war in Ukraine backfired by uniting NATO, even as cracks emerged over nearly a year of fighting
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( Jake Epstein | John Haltiwanger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

When Putin invaded Ukraine, he miscalculated the response from Western countries. NATO has been largely united in its response to Russia's war, consistently providing Kyiv with military aid. Russian President Vladimir Putin has effectively succeeded in remaking the Western bloc, Araud said, adding that "the Western alliance is back." After the Soviet Union collapsed, both Finland and Sweden became NATO partner countries but stopped short of pursuing full membership. Even under the intense pressure of war, the alliance is "holding the way that they have in the past," he said.

[1/2] Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan addresses lawmakers of his AK Party during a meeting in parliament in Ankara, Turkey, January 18, 2023. The main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) also condemned the incidents in Sweden and said they would serve Erdogan's re-election campaign. But Erdogan said this week that Sweden could no longer expect Turkey's support for its NATO bid, and Ankara cancelled a planned trilateral meeting. Washington, Stockholm and Helsinki had hoped Ankara would ratify the NATO bids before Turkey's election. While Erdogan's government backs the Nordics' NATO bid with conditions, his political opponents had been more supportive - before the Stockholm incidents.

☆ Right-wing Quran burning in Sweden enrages Turkey and throws a new wrench in Nordics’ NATO bid
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( Natasha Turak | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Rasmus Paludan holds a burning Koran outside of the Turkish embassy on January 21, 2023 in Stockholm, Sweden. Jonas Gratzer | Getty Images News | Getty ImagesOn Saturday, far-right demonstrators burned a Quran and chanted anti-Muslim slogans in front of Turkey's embassy in Stockholm, Sweden. Several media outlets and independent journalist gather to see Rasmus Paludan stage a Koran burning outside the Turkish embassy on January 21, 2023 in Stockholm, Sweden. Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson reportedly denounced the protest as an act of "sabotage" against the country's NATO membership bid. Nonetheless, he expressed confidence that Turkey would approve his country's NATO bid.

☆ Protests in Stockholm, including Koran-burning, draw condemnation from Turkey
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Permitting this anti-Islam act, which targets Muslims and insults our sacred values, under the guise of freedom of expression is completely unacceptable," the Turkish Foreign Ministry said. The Turkish ministry urged Sweden to take necessary actions against the perpetrators and invited all countries to take concrete steps against Islamophobia. Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom said that Islamophobic provocations were appalling. "Saudi Arabia calls for spreading the values of dialogue, tolerance, and coexistence, and rejects hatred and extremism," the Saudi Foreign Ministry said in a statement. "We will continue our opposition to the Swedish NATO application," Thomas Pettersson, spokesperson for Alliance Against NATO and one of organizers of the demonstration, told Reuters.

☆ Turkey urges Biden administration to be 'decisive' over F-16 deal as Congress objects
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Humeyra Pamuk | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Recently, Ankara's refusal to ratify the NATO membership of Sweden and Finland has become more central to Congress' opposition. "HOSTAGE"Ties between the United States and Turkey have been strained since Turkey acquired Russian missile defense systems in 2019. For its part, Turkey demands Washington does not support the Syrian Kurdish armed groups that it sees as terrorists. But a senior administration official said Washington was unlikely to follow through with the sale unless Menendez reverses his opposition. The U.S. side did not give a date on when they would send the formal notification for the F-16s to Congress, Cavusoglu added.

☆ Explainer: What's at stake in Turkey's upcoming elections
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

WHAT'S AT STAKE IN THIS ELECTION FOR TURKEY... Opposition parties have pledged to restore central bank independence, bring back parliamentary government and introduce a new constitution enshrining the rule of law. Meanwhile Turkey's top court is hearing a case to shut down the third-largest parliamentary party, the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), and has frozen some of its accounts. Once campaigning starts, opposition parties may find it harder to get their message heard. Though the election deadline is mid-June, Erdogan's party has said they may be brought forward.

[1/4] Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and Central Bank Governor Sahap Kavcioglu are pictured during a signing ceremony in Ankara, Turkey, June 8, 2022. But his drastic transformation of the economy and financial markets means such a change would bring its own uncertainties. The election will also determine what role regional military power and NATO member Turkey plays in conflicts in Ukraine, where Erdogan has helped broker talks, and in neighbour Syria. In the short-term it seems to have worked however, halting a years-long rise in Turks converting lira into dollars. Last week, Turkey had no problem borrowing $2.75 billion from international capital markets.

☆ Turkey's foreign minister to discuss F-16s and NATO during U.S. visit
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Humeyra Pamuk | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

For its part, Turkey demands Washington not support the Syrian Kurdish militia that it sees as terrorists. Turkey now hopes to buy F-16 jets from the United States, a sale that some top members of Congress oppose despite support from the Biden administration. But recently, Ankara's refusal to ratify NATO membership of Sweden and Finland is emerging as a more central reason in their opposition. The two Nordic states applied for NATO membership last year following Russia's invasion of Ukraine but their bids need approval from all 30 NATO member states. He added he hoped the F-16 deal would not become "hostage" to the NATO memberships of Sweden and Finland.

[1/4] A supporter of Turkey's main pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) holds a mask of their jailed former leader and presidential candidate Selahattin Demirtas during a rally in Ankara, Turkey, June 19, 2018. Turkey's constitutional court opened the case against the HDP in 2021, drawing strong criticism from Ankara's Western allies. "Even if Erdogan puts pressure on voters, even if he tries to use tricks, he cannot avoid defeat," Demirtas said. 'WE ARE THE PEOPLE'Ahead of the elections, Demirtas' Twitter account has issued daily political messages to its more than 2 million followers. The party currently plans to propose its own presidential candidate, but Demirtas did not rule out backing a joint opposition candidate against Erdogan.

☆ Erdogan aide says time running out to ratify Sweden, Finland NATO bids
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] A Turkish flag flies next to NATO logo at the Alliance headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, November 26, 2019. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir/File PhotoANKARA, Jan 14 (Reuters) - Turkey is running out of time to ratify NATO membership bids by Sweden and Finland before it holds elections expected in May, a Turkish presidential spokesman said on Saturday. President Tayyip Erdogan's spokesman, Ibrahim Kalin, said Turkish ratification of the countries' bids depended on how quickly Stockholm fulfils counter-terrorism promises made as part of a deal with Ankara, warning that could take months. Along with Finland, Sweden signed an agreement with Turkey last year aimed at overcoming Ankara's objections to their NATO bids, which were made in May last year and require the approval of all 30 NATO member states. "We have a time issue if they want to join NATO before the NATO summit in June," Kalin added, referring to the Turkish presidential and parliamentary elections, expected in May.

Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Friday that Sweden "cannot escape its responsibilities" by only condemning the incident. Turkish state-owned Anadolu news agency said an investigation into the incident was opened after Erdogan's lawyer filed a legal petition. "It is aimed, I would say, as a sabotage against the Swedish NATO application," he said. Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom said relations with Turkey were important and condemned the incident as shameless. On Sunday, Kristersson said Sweden was confident Turkey would approve its NATO bid but it would not meet all the conditions Ankara has set.

☆ Sweden rejects four extradition requests from Turkey - report
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The extradition requests were made in 2019 and 2020, before Sweden and Finland signed a three-way agreement with Turkey aimed at overcoming Ankara's objections to the two Nordic countries joining the NATO military alliance. Sweden's High Court decided last summer the four could not be extradited, TT said, leaving the government no choice but to follow its decision. Turkey called a separate decision by the High Court in December to block the extradition of Turkish journalist Bulent Kenes a "very negative" development. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan had singled out Kenes as a person Ankara wanted extradited from Sweden as a condition for Ankara's approval for Stockholm to join NATO. Finland and Sweden both asked to join NATO in May 2022 in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, but their bids require the approval of all 30 NATO member states, including Turkey.

☆ Sweden says Turkey asking too much over NATO application
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] Sweden's Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson speaks during the annual Society and Defence Conference in Salen, Sweden, January 8, 2023. TT News Agency/Henrik Montgomery via REUTERSSTOCKHOLM, Jan 8 (Reuters) - Sweden is confident that Turkey will approve its application to join the NATO military alliance, but will not meet all the conditions Ankara has set for its support, Sweden's prime minister said on Sunday. "Turkey both confirms that we have done what we said we would do, but they also say that they want things that we cannot or do not want to give them," Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson told a defence think-tank conference in Sweden. Finland and Sweden signed a three-way agreement with Turkey in 2022 aimed at overcoming Ankara's objections to their membership of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. "From time to time, Turkey mentions individuals that they want to see extradited from Sweden.

☆ Turkey's current account deficit at $4.1 bln in November; $48 billion in 2022
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

ANKARA, Jan 6 (Reuters) - Turkey is expected to record a current account deficit of $4.1 billion in November, a Reuters poll showed on Friday, while the deficit was seen at $48 billion in 2022, after soaring energy prices derailed Ankara's plans to shore up the shortfall. In a Reuters poll, the median estimate of 11 economists for the current account deficit (TRCURA=ECI) in November was $4.1 billion, with forecasts ranging from $1.4 billion to $4.75 billion. The median forecast for the deficit in 2022 stood at $48 billion, down slightly from a previous poll, with estimates ranging between $43 billion and $49 billion. Global energy prices have made that goal all but unattainable in 2022 though authorities say a surplus will be achieved when energy prices normalise. Turkey's central bank is scheduled to announce the November current account data at 0700 GMT on Jan 11.

[1/6] Commercial vessels, including oil tankers, wait at an anchorage in the Black Sea off Kilyos near Istanbul, Turkey, December 9, 2022. A total of 28 oil tankers are in a queue seeking to leave the Bosporus and Dardanelles straits, the Tribeca shipping agency said on Friday. Turkey's maritime authority said it would continue to keep out of its waters oil tankers that lacked appropriate insurance letters. A shipping source said four of the tankers waiting to cross the Dardanelles were scheduled to go on Saturday with tug escorts. Millions of barrels of oil per day move south from Russian ports through Turkey's Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits into the Mediterranean.

☆ Twenty oil tankers wait to cross Istanbul's Bosphorus Strait -shipping agency
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

ISTANBUL, Dec 9 (Reuters) - One more tanker took to 20 on Friday the number of vessels waiting in the Black Sea to pass through Istanbul's Bosphorus Strait on the way to the Mediterranean, the Tribeca shipping agency said, amid talks to disperse the build-up. On Thursday, dismissing pressure from abroad over the lengthening queue, Turkey's maritime authority said it would continue to keep out of its waters oil tankers that lacked the appropriate insurance letters, and it needed time for checks. Eight tankers were also waiting for passage through the Dardanelles strait into the Mediterranean, down from nine a day earlier, Tribeca said, making a total of 28 tankers waiting for southbound passage. It requires vessels to provide proof of insurance covering the duration of their transit through the Bosphorus strait, or when calling at Turkish ports. Reporting by Daren Butler and Can Sezer; Editing by Himani Sarkar and Clarence FernandezOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

"Ayan has established business contracts to sell Iranian oil worth hundreds of millions of dollars to buyers," in China, the United Arab Emirates and Europe, the statement says, adding that he then funneled the proceeds back to the Quds Force. The Treasury action will freeze any U.S. assets of those designated and generally bar Americans from dealing with them. Washington maintains sweeping sanctions on Iran and has looked for ways to increase pressure as efforts to resurrect a 2015 nuclear deal with Tehran have stalled. The 2015 agreement limited Iran's uranium enrichment activity to make it harder for Tehran to develop nuclear arms in return for lifting international sanctions. Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk Editing by Don Durfee and Howard GollerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

WASHINGTON, Dec 8 (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday said he is convinced the United States will be able to call Sweden and Finland NATO allies soon and said Turkey's concerns about the two nations joining the alliance are being addressed. And it's not going to turn into one," Blinken said, adding that Finland and Sweden have had a productive process working with Turkey to address concerns and concrete steps have been taken. NATO makes its decisions by consensus, meaning that the two Nordic nations require the approval of all 30 alliance member states. Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto said Finland hoped to finalize the process of NATO membership soon. Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billström said the NATO accession process was "progressing well."

☆ Sweden extradites man with alleged terrorism links to Turkey, media report
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

ANKARA, Dec 3 (Reuters) - Sweden on Friday extradited a Kurdish man with alleged links to terrorism to Turkey as Ankara keeps up pressure on the Nordic country to meet its demands in return for NATO membership, Turkish state news agency Anadolu reported on Saturday. Mahmut Tat had sought asylum in Sweden in 2015 after being sentenced in Turkey for six years and 10 months for alleged links to the Kurdish militant group the PKK. Turkish state television TRT said Tat was sent to an Istanbul prison on Saturday. Turkey said on Wednesday that Sweden and Finland had made progress towards NATO membership but that they still needed to do more to satisfy Ankara's demands on tackling terrorism. Others wanted by Ankara are people with alleged links to Fethullah Gulen - a Turkish cleric who lives in the United States and is accused of orchestrating 2016 failed coup attempt against Erdogan.

BEIRUT/ANKARA, Dec 2 (Reuters) - Syria is resisting Russian efforts to broker a summit with Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan, three sources said on Friday, after more than a decade of bitter enmity since the outbreak of Syria's civil war. Assad says it is Turkey which has backed terrorism by supporting an array of fighters including Islamist factions and launching repeated military incursions inside northern Syria. Ankara is readying another possible operation, after blaming Syrian Kurdish fighters for a bombing in Istanbul. However, three sources with knowledge of Syria's position on possible talks said Assad had rejected a proposal to meet Erdogan with Russia's President Vladimir Putin. "It would be the beginning of a major change in Syria and would have very positive effects on Turkey.

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