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☆ Sweden, Finland and Turkey hold NATO talks, agree to more meetings
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

STOCKHOLM/ISTANBUL, March 9 (Reuters) - Turkey has acknowledged that Sweden and Finland have taken concrete steps to meet Ankara's concerns over their bids to join NATO and the three will hold further meetings, Sweden's chief negotiator in the accession process said on Thursday. Sweden and Finland applied last year to join NATO, but faced unexpected objections from Turkey which says the two countries harbour members of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), considered a terrorist group by Ankara and its Western allies. "We see that Turkey recognized that both Sweden and Finland have taken concrete steps in this agreement, which is a good sign," chief negotiator Oscar Stenstrom told a news conference at NATO headquarters after trilateral talks resumed. President Tayyip Erdogan's spokesman, Ibrahim Kalin, said steps taken by Sweden and Finland to address Ankara's security concerns were positive, but not enough for Turkey's ratification of their NATO bid. In January, Turkey suspended talks set up as part of a trilateral deal agreed in Madrid last year aimed at smoothing Finland and Sweden's accession process.

☆ Pentagon chief makes unannounced trip to Iraq as 20-year anniversary of invasion nears
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-07 | by ( Idrees Ali | Thomson Reuters | National Security Correspondent Focusing On The Pentagon In Washington D.C. Reports On U.S. Military Activity | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Austin, the most senior official in President Joe Biden’s administration to visit Iraq, was the last commanding general of U.S. forces there after the invasion. “I'm here to reaffirm the U.S.-Iraq strategic partnership as we move toward a more secure, stable, and sovereign Iraq,” Austin said. The United States is broadly interested in a strategic partnership with the government of Iraq," the senior U.S. defense official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told reporters. The United States and Iran came close to full-blown conflict in 2020 after Iran's Revolutionary Guards' top commander Qassem Soleimani was killed in a drone strike. "I think that Iraqi leaders share our interest in Iraq not becoming a playground for conflict between the United States and Iran," the defense official added.

☆ Turkey's pro-Kurdish party calls for opposition unity after split
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

ISTANBUL, March 4 (Reuters) - A leader of Turkey's pro-Kurdish party called on the opposition to unite on Saturday, a day after a separate six-party alliance aiming to defeat President Tayyip Erdogan splintered over who should run for president in May elections. "We call on all social and political opposition to unite around the goals of democracy, justice and freedom in order to raise hope," co-leader Mithat Sancar said after an extraordinary meeting of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) senior ranks. The third-biggest party with 12% support nationally, the HDP is not part of the alliance. But in 2019 its mainly Kurdish supporters helped the alliance win upset mayoral elections in Istanbul, Ankara and other cities. For years, HDP has faced a government crackdown and possible ban over alleged ties to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militant group, which it denies.

After serving as mayor of Istanbul, he stepped onto the national stage as head of the AK Party, which triumphed in 2002 national elections. Western allies initially saw Erdogan's Turkey as a vibrant mix of Islam and democracy which could be a model for Middle East states struggling to shake off autocracy and stagnation. Faced with a struggling economy, a weak currency and a countdown to this year's election, Erdogan sought rapprochement with rivals across the region. Now he must convince voters he is the leader to rebuild Turkey from the rubble after this month's earthquake. That will be, in all likelihood, to the detriment of the ruling AK Party and President Erdogan," said Sinan Ulgen, director of the Istanbul-based Centre for Economic and Foreign Policy Studies.

☆ Sweden and Finland's NATO membership is a 'matter of time' amid Turkey negotiations, Swedish foreign minister says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Jenni Reid | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Sweden and Finland are firmly on course to become NATO members this year, Sweden's foreign minister said Wednesday, amid strained negotiations with Turkey over their admittance. Turkey's opposition to Sweden and Finland's NATO membership centers around what, it says, is their harboring of militants from the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). Hungary is the other ratification holdout, though local media reported Tuesday that its Parliament could ratify NATO membership for Finland and Sweden early next month. That included preparing to deliver new legislation to the Swedish Parliament in March, he said. He also said that Swedish membership at the NATO summit in July was the goal.

[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.

☆ Blinken to talk aid, Nordic NATO bid in visit to quake-hit Turkey
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-19 | by ( Humeyra Pamuk | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/2] United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrives for a meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan at the Munich Security Conference in Munich, February. Since the earthquake, the United States has sent a search and rescue team to Turkey, medical supplies, concrete-breaking machinery, and additional funding of $85 million in humanitarian aid that also covers Syria. While the United States has praised Turkey for some of its actions during Russia's invasion of Ukraine, it remains worried over its close relationship with Moscow, experts say. "There will be no transfer of F-16s if Erdogan continues to deny admission to Finland and Sweden ... Ibrahim Kalin, Erdogan's chief foreign policy advisor, said last month he hoped the F-16 deal would not become "hostage" to the NATO memberships of Sweden and Finland.

☆ 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.

Before Sudani formed his government he struck a deal with the KDP, which dominates the administration in Erbil, capital of the semi-autonomous region in northern Iraq. Under the Iraqi constitution, the Kurdish region is entitled to a portion of the national budget. A spokesman for the KRG, Jotiar Adil, said the "politically motivated" court was trying to spoil the deal between Erbil and Baghdad. A source with knowledge of the meetings said Erbil and Baghdad remained far apart on the hydrocarbon law. Additional reporting by Ali sultan in Sulaimaniya; Editing by Michael Georgy and Hugh LawsonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ NATO boss: more important Sweden, Finland join soon than together
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Andrew Gray | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Western officials have said they would prefer both countries to join NATO together, partly because it would be easier to integrate them at the same time into military structures. "The main question is not whether Finland and Sweden are ratified together. The main question is that they are both ratified as full members as soon as possible," he told reporters. "I'm confident that both will be full members and I'm working hard to get both ratified as soon as possible." Stoltenberg said Sweden and Finland had already come much closer to NATO in recent months and noted that all alliance members had approved the invitations to join.

☆ Finland to discuss NATO ratification that may leave Sweden behind
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( Anne Kauranen | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"Our position on Finland is positive, but it is not positive on Sweden," President Tayyip Erdogan said last week. A 53% majority of Finns polled on Feb. 2 for daily Ilta-Sanomat said they did not want Finland to wait for Sweden. For that to happen, Turkey and Hungary need to ratify the Finnish membership first and NATO to officially invite Finland as a member. Finland's Chancellor of Justice Tuomas Poysti told Ilta-Sanomat the process would leave Finland some room to wait for Sweden if need be, but not endlessly. Officially, Finland has reaffirmed time and time again that it wants to join NATO with Sweden.

☆ Azeri BTC crude loadings suspended at a major oil export hub in Turkey after earthquakes
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Ruxandra Iordache | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Crude oil loadings from Turkey's Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan terminal in the Mediterranean have been suspended following a twin set of earthquakes that devastated Turkey and Syria on Monday, leaving over 9,000 dead. The BTC terminal loads Azeri BTC Blend crude, which is transported to the Ceyhan port through the BTC pipeline. A force majeure notice seen by CNBC — which removes contractual liability from exporters or producers for circumstances outside of their control — was issued on Tuesday evening. The BTC pipeline was not impacted by the earthquakes, the Botas International Company that operates its Turkish section said on Monday. The BTC crude oil loadings schedule that is typically published on the 8th of every month will be delayed, two trade sources said.

Brent crude futures were up $2.70, or 3.3%, to $83.69 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose $3.03, or 4.1%, to $77.14 per barrel. The U.S. dollar index fell after the data, raising oil prices. The BTC terminal, which exports Azeri crude oil to international markets, will be closed through Wednesday. Iraqi crude oil loadings from storage in Ceyhan were ready for resumption on Tuesday, but bad weather was preventing vessels from berthing, a trade source said. Iraq's crude oil pipeline to Turkey's Ceyhan port was still halted, the Kurdistan Regional Government's energy ministry said.

The U.S. dollar index fell after the data, raising oil prices. Forecasted stronger demand in China also lifted crude prices on Tuesday. The BTC terminal, which exports Azeri crude oil to international markets, will be closed on Feb. 6-8. Iraqi crude oil loadings from storage in Ceyhan were ready for resumption on Tuesday, but bad weather was preventing vessels from berthing, a trade source with direct knowledge said. Iraq's crude oil pipeline to Turkey's Ceyhan port was still halted, the Kurdistan Regional Government's energy ministry said.

☆ Turkey’s Ceyhan oil port disrupted by weather as earthquake damage assessed
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( Ruxandra Iordache | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Operations were interrupted at the Ceyhan oil port — a critical hub for the discharge of crude oil and oil products, along with the loading of Azeri crude and a stream of Iraqi crude oil — on Monday, following two earthquakes that devastated Turkey and Syria, leaving over 5,000 dead. It also exports volumes of two crude oil streams — the Azeri crude oil delivered through the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) consortium's pipeline, and the Iraqi Kirkuk blend crude oil transferred through the separate Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline. Loadings of the two crude oil terminals are undertaken from two different points within Ceyhan port, with BTC crude oil leaving the BTC terminal, while the Kirkuk blend sails from the Botas terminal. An oil trade source familiar with KRG operations told CNBC that the pipeline could likely begin flows later Tuesday. An oil tanker ship is awaiting to berth to load Kirkuk blend crude.

☆ 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.

☆ Iran blames Israel for Isfahan drone attack, vows revenge -ISNA
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Eyewitness footage shows what is said to be the moment of an explosion at a military industry factory in Isfahan, Iran, January 29, 2023, in this still image obtained from a video. "This action undertaken by the Zionist regime (Israel) goes against international law." Iran has accused Israel in the past of planning attacks using agents inside Iranian territory. Several nuclear sites are located in Isfahan province, including Natanz, the centrepiece of Iran’s uranium enrichment programme, which Iran accuses Israel of sabotaging in 2021. There have been a number of explosions and fires around Iranian military, nuclear and industrial sites in recent years.

☆ U.S. Congress says F-16 sale to Turkey depends on NATO approval
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Humeyra Pamuk | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON, Feb 2 (Reuters) - The U.S. Congress cannot support the $20 billion sale of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey until Ankara ratifies the NATO memberships of Sweden and Finland, a bipartisan group of senators said on Thursday. "Once the NATO accession protocols are ratified by Türkiye, Congress can consider the sale of F-16 fighter jets. A failure to do so, however, would call into question this pending sale," the senators wrote. It was the first time Congress explicitly and directly linked the F-16 sale to Turkey with the NATO accession bids of the two Nordic countries. Turkey requested in October 2021 to buy 40 Lockheed Martin Corp (LMT.N) F-16 fighters and nearly 80 modernization kits for its existing warplanes.

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'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.

☆ 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.

☆ Court rejects Kurdish party bid to delay closure ruling till after Turkey elections
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] 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. The case against the HDP, Turkey's third-biggest party, comes ahead of elections that pose the biggest test for President Tayyip Erdogan's 20 years in power. Polls show he and his ruling AK Party could lose, especially if the HDP cooperates with an opposition alliance. Earlier this month, the court froze the HDP's bank accounts holding Treasury aid during the course of the trial. But it remains unclear when the court will deliver its final ruling on the party closure case.

☆ Explainer: Why is Turkey blocking Swedish and Finnish NATO membership?
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

WHY DOES TURKEY OBJECT TO SWEDISH AND FINNISH MEMBERSHIP? The PKK is designated a terrorist group in Turkey, Sweden, the United States and Europe. Sweden and Finland want to proceed together, but with Turkey's ire directed mainly at Sweden, Finland could eventually lose patience with the process. COULD NATO EXPEL TURKEY, ALLOWING SWEDEN AND FINLAND TO JOIN? But Sweden, Finland and NATO want to avoid a long drawn-out process.

☆ 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.

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