Turkey

16 September 2019; AFP: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will host his Russian and Iranian counterparts on Monday for their latest summit on Syria, with attention focused on Damascus's push on the last rebel-held bastion of Idlib.

Presidents Vladimir Putin and Hassan Rouhani will join Erdogan in the Turkish capital Ankara for their fifth summit on the conflict since 2017.

ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey’s defence ministry said on Sunday that the delivery of a second battery of Russian S-400 missile defence systems has been completed as of Sunday, and added that the systems would become active in April 2020.

Ankara and Washington have been at loggerheads over Turkey’s purchase of the S-400 systems, which the United States says are not compatible with NATO defenses and poses a threat to Lockheed Martin’s F-35 ‘stealth’ fighter jets.

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said he will discuss buying U.S. Patriot missiles with President Donald Trump this month, saying his personal bond with the U.S. leader could overcome a crisis caused by Ankara buying Russian air defense systems.

Turkey’s purchase of the Russian S-400 missile system in July raised the prospect of U.S. sanctions, and the State Department has said an offer to sell Raytheon Co’s Patriot missile defense system to Ankara has expired.

ANKARA (Reuters) - The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) will hold an extraordinary meeting on Sunday to discuss Israel’s announcement of its intention to annex areas of the West Bank, the Turkish foreign ministry said on Saturday.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday he would annex the Jordan Valley, a large swathe of the occupied West Bank that Israel captured in 1967 and which Palestinians want as part of a future state.

14 Sep 2019; MEMO: Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said he will discuss buying US Patriot missiles with President Donald Trump this month, saying his personal bond with the US leader could overcome a crisis caused by Ankara buying Russian air defence systems, reports Reuters.

Turkey’s purchase of the Russian S-400 missile system in July raised the prospect of US sanctions, and the State Department has said an offer to sell Raytheon Co’s Patriot missile defence system to Ankara has expired.

ANKARA, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan held a phone conversation on Wednesday with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, state run Anadolu Agency reported.

Erdogan and Merkel discussed migration, developments in Syria and Libya as well as bilateral relations, the Turkish Presidential Communication Office said in a statement.

Turkey has threatened the EU that it would open its gate for refugees to enter Europe, if the EU does not take actions to support Turkey in its refugee issue.

ANKARA, Sept 11 (NNN-ANADOLU) – Turkish newspaper, Daily Sabah, on Tuesday revealed the audio recordings of the final words of Saudi Arabian journalist, Jamal Khashoggi, who was murdered last Oct, in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

The audios were obtained by Turkey’s National Intelligence Organisation, right after the murder, and were shared with relevant Turkish authorities who carried out an investigation into the incident.

8 Sep 2019; MEMO: Turkey’s Trade Minister Ruhsar Pekcan and US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross on Saturday addressed steps to achieve a bilateral trade volume target of $100 billion during their meeting in the capital Ankara, reported Anadolu Agency.

“We examined means of achieving $100 billion trade volume between the two countries,” Pekcan said on Twitter.

8 Sep 2019; MEMO: The US travel advisory issued for Turkey “does not reflect the reality” for the assessments regarding country’s eastern and southeastern provinces, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Saturday.

However, the ministry statement noted that the travel advisory contains “generally positive evaluations” as a result of the solid security conditions in Turkey.

8 Sep 2019; MEMO: Armed Turkish military vehicles crossed into Syria on Sunday and headed southwest with US counterparts to begin planned joint patrols to establish a “safe zone” along a border region mainly controlled by Kurdish forces.

According to the report by Reuters, vehicles with Turkish flags joined those in Syria with US flags some 15 kilometers (nine miles) east of the Turkish border town of Akcakale, near Syria’s Tel Abyad. Two military helicopters were seen overhead.