Author: Daily Sabah
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Thursday welcomed Ukhnaa Khurelsukh, the first Mongolian head of state to visit the country in 21 years. The president’s four-day visit began with a ceremony at the Presidential Complex in the capital, Ankara. The two leaders are expected to discuss expanding bilateral ties and exchanging views on international and regional issues. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Mongolian counterpart Ukhnaa Khurelsukh shake hands as they meet in Ankara, Jan. 16, 2025. (AA Photo) Earlier on Thursday, Ankara hosted a business meeting where the two countries’ representatives signed a deal to establish a joint chamber of commerce…
The liberation of Syria will benefit Türkiye and Syria alike, according to the country’s new foreign minister, Asaad al-Shaibani. “Türkiye suffered certain troubles, we know, but what has happened in Syria and Syria’s liberation will benefit both people,” al-Shaibani told Turkish state broadcaster TRT Haber on Thursday. Al-Shaibani led the first high-level Syrian delegation to Türkiye on Wednesday following the ouster of Bashar Assad in a lightning anti-regime offensive last month. Türkiye backed the Syrian opposition against Assad when the civil war broke out in 2011. Intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalın and Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan were the first high-ranking officials…
Two families who lost many members to a notorious massacre by PKK terrorists in southeastern Türkiye decades ago announced their support for a new initiative that aims to put a definitive end to the campaign of violence. The Aykut and Boz families recently met President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, in the wake of a “terror-free initiative” launched by Devlet Bahçeli, an ally of Erdoğan and chair of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP). Erdoğan has termed the initiative as a historic window of opportunity. The initiative involves a call to the PKK to lay down arms. Bahçeli said earlier that the terrorist…
Türkiye welcomed the Gaza cease-fire agreement, expressing hope that it would pave the way for further peace and stability in the region. In a statement he posted on X, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan welcomed the deal, saying Türkiye hopes the agreement will pave the way for permanent peace in the region. “As Türkiye, we have never left our Palestinian brothers and sisters alone in their fight against oppression and oppressors, not even for a moment,” the president said, as he vowed to continue to stand by the people of Gaza, mobilizing all resources to help heal the blockaded Palestinian enclave’s…
Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan highlighted the importance of Syria’s unity and complete elimination of all terrorist groups from the country, as he met with his Syrian counterpart in the capital Ankara on Wednesday. “It is time for all ethnic and religious groups in Syria to come together in unity,” Fidan told a joint news conference with Asaad Hassan al-Shaibani. Fidan said Türkiye offered to provide operational support to Syria regarding its fight against Daesh terrorists. He welcomed the stance of the new Syrian administration on the issue of terrorists, saying that the Assad regime hosted terrorist groups posing a threat…
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Syria’s new Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shaibani discussed steps to be taken to protect the country’s territorial integrity, as they met at the Presidential Complex in the capital Ankara on Wednesday. Erdoğan told the Syrian top diplomat that the Assad regime had left destruction behind while saying that Türkiye would support efforts to reconstruct the country and provide humanitarian necessities to the Syrian people. He continued by highlighting the necessity to lift sanctions on Syria in order to rebuild the wartorn country. The president also reiterated that terrorist groups have no place in the country’s…
A corruption investigation into public tenders that netted a mayor also uncovered links of the prime suspect to companies run by Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IBB). A report by Sabah newspaper says companies owned by the suspect, identified as Aziz Ihsan Aktaş, were awarded tenders worth hundreds of millions of Turkish liras between 2019 and 2024. Aktaş was among 40 suspects detained in operations as part of the investigation earlier this week. Six other suspects remain at large. The businessman is the second high-profile figure in the case after Rıza Akpolat, mayor of Istanbul’s upscale Beşiktaş district. Legal proceedings are underway…
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has received Libyan Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah at the Presidential Complex in the capital, Ankara, diplomatic sources said Wednesday. The two leaders held a closed-door meeting and were accompanied by Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalın, sources said. Türkiye and Libya have seen closer ties in recent years, especially after the signing of security and maritime boundary pacts in November 2019, along with Türkiye’s aid to help the internationally recognized Libyan government push back putschist Gen. Khalifa Haftar’s forces. Türkiye’s national flag carrier earlier this week resumed flights from Istanbul to Libya’s northeastern…
All countries should “take their hands off” Syria, Türkiye is capable of crushing all terrorist organizations with our Syrian brothers, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Wednesday. Speaking to lawmakers from his ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) in Ankara, Erdoğan also called on PKK’s Syrian offshoot, the YPG, to lay down its weapons and warned the group would “not be able to escape the inevitable end.” “Türkiye is the insurance of Kurds’ safety in Syria,” Erdoğan said.
The death toll from bootleg alcohol consumption in Istanbul has climbed to 11 in the past 24 hours, according to officials. A total of 38 people, including 26 foreign nationals, have been hospitalized after consuming fake alcohol, authorities reported Tuesday. Istanbul Governor Davut Gül announced that licenses for 63 establishments selling counterfeit alcohol have been revoked, and the businesses have been shut down. “All individuals who cause deaths by selling fake or illegal alcohol are being identified and brought to justice. Please be careful – fatalities are rising,” Gül wrote on social media. In his post, Gül highlighted a directive…