Author: Daily Sabah

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Thursday that rebuilding, recovery of a terror-free Syria was their sincere expectation as he addressed a summit of D-8 countries’ leaders in Cairo, Egypt. “We should stand with people of Syria in this difficult process,” the president added. DETAILS TO FOLLOW…

Bayern Munich will aim to take a giant leap toward securing the Bundesliga title when they host RB Leipzig at Allianz Arena on Friday, as Vincent Kompany’s side seeks to bounce back from their first league defeat of the season. Despite leading the league with 33 points from 14 matches, Bayern were beaten 2-1 by Mainz 05 on Dec. 14, ending their unbeaten run. The loss was a wake-up call for Kompany’s team, which registered just one shot on target, a far cry from their usual 7.8 attempts per game. “We weren’t at our best,” said the Belgian coach. “We’ll…

Fenerbahçe head into Friday’s Turkish Süper Lig clash against Eyüpspor at Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Stadium determined to avoid their first back-to-back away defeats of the season. A loss here could deal a major blow to their title ambitions, with the gap to league leaders Galatasaray already stretched to six points. Eyüpspor, meanwhile, is looking to defend their position in the top four, currently sitting in fourth place with 26 points, just one point ahead of fifth-placed Göztepe. However, their recent form has been inconsistent, having suffered a 2-0 defeat to Kasımpaşa last Friday. Despite the setback, they remain strong at…

Devlet Bahçeli, chair of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), the main ally of the government, held talks with visiting commanders of the Syrian National Army (SNA) in the capital of Ankara. The party’s social media account on Wednesday shared photos of Bahçeli with Seyf Ebubekir Polat, who heads a special forces branch of the Second Corps of SNA, Muhammet Casim, who commands Süleyman Şah Division of the army and Tarık Sülo Cevizci, president of Federation of Syrian Turkmen Associations. The party said it was the delegation’s second visit, where they “exchanged views with Mr. Bahçeli on the situation in the…

The Foreign Ministry welcomed the European Union’s reinstatement of High-Level Economic Dialogue meetings with Türkiye and the bloc’s recognition of the efforts to de-escalate tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean and more, while rejecting some of the assessments made at a recent meeting. In a statement, the ministry said the EU General Affairs Council meeting’s conclusions on Türkiye’s status as an EU candidate and key role represented a realistic approach. “In particular, we welcome the reinstatement of the High-Level Economic Dialogue meetings and the resumption of the activities of the European Investment Bank in Türkiye,” the ministry said. It continued by…

The armed forces of Türkiye and Azerbaijan hold joint exercises at least 10 times a year as part of their security alliance and this is a key factor for stability in the Caucasus region, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said Wednesday. Speaking to Russian state news agency RIA Novosti, Aliyev praised Türkiye’s role in the modernization of the Azerbaijani army, as well as its achievement of “high standards.” Ankara and Baku have militarily cooperated since the 1990s, when Azerbaijan became independent from the Soviet Union. Azerbaijani army switched to the Turkish army’s model of operations in 2020 before the Second Karabakh…

Addressing an event in the capital Ankara on Wednesday, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Türkiye cannot be leashed and “escape its fate.” “We will be in a much better place in the future. Türkiye is not just a place confined in an area of 782,000 square kilometers,” Erdoğan told a ceremony to award the country’s top scientists and prospective researchers. “History has a mission designated for us and we have to act in line with this. Some people cannot grasp it. They cannot grasp what we are doing in Libya or Somalia, they are not unaware of our mission. Those…

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan held a phone call with French counterpart Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday. The Presidency’s Directorate of Communications said the two leaders discussed developments in Syria, bilateral ties, and regional and global issues. “President Erdoğan highlighted the importance of preserving Syria’s territorial integrity and sovereignty and expressed pleasure for France’s decision to reopen its embassy in Syria,” a statement by the directorate said. Erdoğan also told Macron that work was underway for the return of Syrian refugees to their country and stressed ensuring cooperation in the international community for forming sustainable circumstances for returning refugees, and recovery and…

Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced on Wednesday that 41 suspects linked to the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) were captured in “Operation Clamp.” Operations were conducted in nine provinces, from the capital, Ankara and Istanbul, to Ordu in the north. Yerlikaya said in a social media post that their fight against the group following the death of its ringleader had no complacency. “We will continue our fight until this treacherous network that attempted to carry out a coup on national will is eliminated,” Yerlikaya wrote. The captured suspects were members of a secret network of FETÖ within the military, authorities said.…

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan told Austrian Prime Minister Karl Nehammer that international support was essential to reconstruct Syria and encourage the voluntary return of refugees to the country, as the two leaders spoke over the phone on Tuesday, the Presidential Communications Directorate said. “President Erdoğan also noted that the international community’s support is essential for the reconstruction of Syria and the restoration of the infrastructure that has collapsed due to the civil war and that everyone needs to contribute to the return and reconstruction efforts,” the directorate said. The president reiterated the idea that it was also crucial to wipe…