Author: Daily Sabah
In his first comments since the fall of the Assad regime in Syria, Turkish foreign minister Hakan Fidan said Syrian people would reshape their country’s future. Fidan, who was in Qatar’s Doha for an event and talks with Russian and Iranian diplomats on Syria over the weekend, said regional actors and others should be calm and cautious and the region should not be driven into more instability. The top diplomat highlighted the need for a smooth transition in his country’s southern neighbor and said they were open to work with people of Syria to ensure it. He added that “new…
As the news of the fall of the Assad regime broke on Sunday, Turkish National Defense Minister Yaşar Güler held a phone call with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. The Turkish ministry said in a social media post that two defense chiefs discussed the latest developments in Syria and security issues, along with bilateral and regional defense. Türkiye and the United States are at odds over the U.S. stand on the YPG in Syria. The YPG is the Syria wing of the PKK, which is recognized as a terrorist group both by Türkiye and the United States. Yet, Washington staunchly…
Top diplomats of Aegean rivals Türkiye and Greece are laying the groundwork for a pivotal summit between their leaders, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. The leaders are expected to meet in Ankara in late January or early February as part of the High-Level Cooperation Council (HLCC), a key mechanism for advancing bilateral dialogue and cooperation. Neighbors Greece and Türkiye, both NATO allies but historic foes, have long been at odds over issues, including where their continental shelves start and end, energy resources, migration, flights over the Aegean Sea and the ethnically partitioned island of Cyprus. Foreign…
Japan’s Crown Prince Fumihito and Crown Princess Kiko visited the Istanbul landmark, the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque, on Thursday. Turkish Minister of Culture and Tourism Mehmet Nuri Ersoy accompanied the royal couple during their visit. Minister Ersoy and the Japanese royals greeted people as they left the mosque amid tight security. Japan has its own Hagia Sophia mosque, which was built in Nagoya by a Turkish association based in Germany. The couple arrived in Türkiye earlier this week for a days-long visit to mark the centenary of Turkish-Japanese relations. The crown prince on Wednesday met President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in…
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…
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…
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…