Turkey

Syria, Such a Troublesome Neighbor

Since its independence, Lebanon has served as a mirror reflecting the events unfolding in its much larger neighboring country. Damascus has long cast a covetous eye on Lebanon, disturbed by its freedoms and economic achievements. Despite all the challenges, Lebanon has managed to preserve a semblance of political democracy, even in its darkest ...

PKK Declares Ceasefire with Turkey After 40 Years of Armed Struggle

Outlawed Kurdish militants on Saturday declared a ceasefire with Turkey following a landmark call by jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan asking the group to disband and end more than four decades of armed struggle. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who backed the peace process initiated by a close nationalist ally, warned Turkey would pursue anti-PKK ...

PKK Declares Ceasefire with Turkey after 40 Years of Armed Struggle

Outlawed Kurdish militants on Saturday declared a ceasefire with Turkey following a landmark call by jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan asking the group to disband and end more than four decades of armed struggle. It was the first reaction from the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) after Ocalan this week called for the dissolution of the group ...

Ocalan Calls for PKK to Drop Weapons, be Dissolved

Jailed PKK founder Abdullah Ocalan on Thursday called for his Kurdish militant group to lay down its weapons and dissolve itself in a landmark declaration read out in Istanbul. "All groups must lay down their arms and PKK must dissolve itself," he said in a declaration drawn up in his cell on Imrali prison island where he has been held in ...

Russia, US Diplomats Meet in Istanbul for Embassy Talks

Russian and US officials met in Istanbul on Thursday for talks on resolving embassy issues as the two countries aimed to restore ties, Russian news agencies reported. The talks are being held at the US consul general's residence and come after this month's first high-level meeting between the two nuclear powers since the start of Russia's Ukraine ...

Turkey's Pro-Kurd Party Teases 'Historic' news from PKK Leader

Turkey's leading pro-Kurd party said it was expecting a "historic declaration" Thursday from the jailed leader of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), Abdullah Ocalan, amid efforts to end a decades-long conflict with Ankara. The pro-Kurdish DEM party will send a delegation Thursday to meet Ocalan at his prison on an island off Istanbul, it said in ...

Syria: 12 SDF Members Killed in Airstrikes Attributed to Turkey

Kurdish-led forces that control large areas of northern and northeastern Syria said 12 people were killed Wednesday in air strikes it blamed on Turkey. "Turkish occupation warplanes and UCAVs (drones) targeted a military position belonging to our forces" as well as civilian homes and a vehicle in the Al-Shaddadi area, the Syrian Democratic Forces ...

Turkey Says Ukraine-Russia Talks Should Involve 'Both Sides'

Turkey's foreign minister on Monday said Ankara backed a US initiative to end the Ukraine-Russia conflict but stressed that talks should involve both warring sides. Moscow and Washington have begun a direct dialogue in recent weeks, against a backdrop of rapprochement between new US President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin. "We ...

Russia's top diplomat arrives in Turkey

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov arrived in Turkey late Sunday, Moscow's state news agency TASS reported, a day ahead of talks with his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan. Turkish diplomatic sources had said that Lavrov would visit Turkey Monday, the third anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. TASS released footage Sunday of Lavrov ...

Russia's Top Diplomat to Visit Turkey Monday

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will visit Turkey on Monday, which marks the third anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Turkish diplomatic sources said Sunday. Lavrov will hold talks in Ankara with his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan, the source said, adding that the men will discuss the war in Ukraine, among other ...

France says EU working toward 'rapid' easing of Syria sanctions

France's Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said Thursday that the European Union was working toward swiftly easing Syria sanctions as Paris hosted a conference on the transition in the war-torn country after president Bashar al-Assad's fall. Islamist-led rebels toppled Assad in December after a lightning offensive. The new authorities, headed by ...