Author: Daily Sabah

The Turkish Football Federation (TFF) has called for an investigation by UEFA’s Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Committee following an incident during Beşiktaş’s UEFA Europa League match against Maccabi Tel Aviv. The controversy stems from Maccabi’s Gavriel Kanichowsky, who celebrated his goal against Beşiktaş with a military salute in front of an Israeli flag. In their fifth match of the group stage, Beşiktaş suffered a 3-1 loss to Maccabi Tel Aviv on neutral ground in Hungary. Kanichowsky’s goal celebration, which involved a military salute, quickly sparked criticism. The TFF argued that the salute carried political implications, sending a clear message with…

Türkiye’s National Defense Ministry said Thursday that military units took all measures for stability in the region amid a new round of conflict in neighboring Syria. Türkiye is among the regional actors that will be directly influenced by the conflict. Syria’s northeast is home to a stronghold of the YPG, the Syria wing of the PKK terrorist group, which has killed thousands in Türkiye since the 1980s. Türkiye also hosts the largest Syrian refugee community composed of those who fled the country more than a decade ago. Ankara recently sought to normalize ties with the Assad regime after a lengthy…

Authorities have captured 147 suspects linked to the PKK terrorist group in nationwide operations, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced Thursday. Operation “Gürz-28” targeted PKK suspects in 30 Turkish cities, including Istanbul, Antalya and Diyarbakır, Yerlikaya said. The suspects are charged with operating within a terrorist organization, providing funds to a terrorist organization and spreading terrorist propaganda on social media platforms, according to the minister. The raids, conducted jointly by gendarmerie forces and anti-terrorist police, also seized unlicensed weapons, hunting rifles, narcotic drugs, organizational documents and other digital materials. “We are rooting out the terrorist group that has ambushed and targeted…

Ömer Çelik, deputy chair and spokesperson of Türkiye’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party), told reporters on Wednesday that Ankara had no role in recent developments in Syria where anti-regime forces captured a key city and are advancing toward another one. Çelik said at a news conference in the capital, Ankara, that Türkiye did not desire an escalation of violence in its southern neighbor. “Developments in Syria stem from its own internal dynamics,” he highlighted. He was responding to allegations that Türkiye was unfairly accused by some circles on this issue. “Allegations that Türkiye incited the latest developments are…

Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Wednesday held bilateral talks with his counterparts from Ukraine and Greece on the margins of a NATO meeting in Brussels. Fidan and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha discussed bilateral ties, as well as regional issues. With Greek Foreign Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis, Fidan discussed recently thawed Turkish-Greek relations before posing for a family photo. Foreign ministers of 32 NATO countries met in Brussels to discuss efforts to provide ammunition and air defenses for Ukraine as it battles Russia. The allies also discussed ways to convince President-elect Donald Trump that it is in his interest to keep…

Ninety years ago, on Dec. 5, 1934, Türkiye decreed that women would have the right to vote and hold political office, some 11 years after the republic was founded. Turkish women lawmakers are set to mark the 90th anniversary of a constitutional amendment that paved the way for women to exercise voting rights and to be elected into political offices, from municipal councils to Parliament. Speaking to Anadolu Agency (AA), Parliament Deputy Speaker Gülizar Biçer Karaca expressed gratitude to modern Türkiye’s founder Mustafa Kemal Atatürk for paving the way to women’s suffrage while urging political parties to increase women’s representation…

Turkish counterterrorism operations have destroyed 709 hideouts, bunkers and depots used by the PKK terrorist group so far in 2024, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced Wednesday. Raids dubbed “Gürz” have destroyed the PKK’s winter kits and explosives stashed in rural regions across southeastern provinces since Jan. 1, according to the minister. “Air-backed Gürz operations, conducted by gendarmerie forces, intelligence officers, commandos and security rangers, will continue regularly until all terrorists are eliminated,” Yerlikaya said on X. With no shelter in urban locations, the PKK takes advantage of mountainous territories in Türkiye’s southeast, where its members spend winter in remote caves.…

The “Political Dialogue” meeting between Türkiye and Greece took place in a positive atmosphere, as the two sides pledged to further enhance cooperation, a joint statement issued after the meeting said Tuesday. The statement, published by the Foreign Ministry, said that the two sides, represented by Deputy Foreign Minister and Director for EU Affairs Ambassador Mehmet Kemal Bozay and Greek Deputy Foreign Minister Alexandra Papadopoulou, discussed bilateral relations and recent developments and expectations ahead of the 6th High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council meeting scheduled for January or February. The meeting took place in a positive atmosphere and the two sides reiterated…

Amid ongoing tensions in northern Syria, the chairperson of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), a close ally of the Turkish government, Devlet Bahçeli, has called for revitalizing diplomatic relations between Ankara and Damascus. Speaking in the capital, Ankara, on Tuesday, Bahçeli said, “We must revive the diplomatic and dialogue processes between Türkiye and Syria without any disruptive influence from third parties. There is no other alternative.” The MHP leader’s statement came not only amid the escalating crisis in the region but also during the normalization process that the Turkish and Syrian governments have attempted to initiate after a long hiatus…

Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Tuesday appointed 19 new ambassadors that will represent Türkiye’s foreign policy goals in various countries and organizations around the globe. The Foreign Ministry’s Bilateral Affairs of Eastern Africa division chief Elif Çomoğlu Ülgen was named ambassador to Rome, while Bilateral Affairs of Central Asia and Organization of Turkic States (OTS) division head Gökhan Turan was assigned to Berlin. Turkish Maarif Foundation President Birol Akgün will take over the Turkish mission in Baku, while Ambassador Lütfullah Gökaş will be steering the Turkish Embassy in Abu Dhabi, and Chief Presidential Advisor Yakup Caymazoğlu will be posted in…