Turkey

01 Apr 2023; MEMO: The 6 February earthquakes in southern Turkiye damaged 20 per cent of the country's agricultural production, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) said on Friday, Anadolu News Agency reports.

"Initial assessments on the impact in Turkiye indicate severe damage to agriculture, including crops, livestock, fisheries and aquaculture, as well as rural infrastructure in affected areas," a statement said.

31 Mar 2023; MEMO: Turkiye's parliament yesterday voted to approve Finland's bid to join NATO.

The Nordic country received Ankara's official blessing for its request to join the military alliance, with 276 votes in favour.

Yesterday's vote means that all 30 current member states of NATO have now ratified Finland's accession, a requirement for it to join the alliance.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg welcomed the vote.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, on Wednesday, announced that Turkiye would be cutting electricity and natural gas prices while also pledging an increase in the minimum wage, local media says.

According to the report, electricity prices will be lowered by 15 per cent, and gas prices for industrial users will be reduced by 20 per cent in April, Erdogan told the lawmakers from his ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) in Parliament.

ANKARA, March 30 (Reuters) - Turkey's parliament approved a bill on Thursday to allow Finland to join NATO, clearing the way for the country to become part of the Western defence alliance as war rages in Ukraine.

The Turkish parliament was the last among the 30 members of the alliance to ratify Finland's membership after Hungary's legislature approved a similar bill earlier this week.

30 Mar 2023; MEMO: A thousand members joined the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) in Turkiye after the left the nationalist Good Party (IYI), led by Meral Aksener. en masse.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan welcomed them yesterday during a meeting of AKP's parliamentary bloc, which was held in the Turkish parliament.

30 Mar 2023; MEMO: Turkiye's President, Tayyip Erdogan, said on Wednesday his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, may visit Turkiye on 27 April for the inauguration of the country's first nuclear power reactor built by Russia's state nuclear energy company, Rosatom, Reuters reports.

30 Mar 2023; MEMO: The separatist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) militant organisation has announced that it will keep its ceasefire with Turkiye in place until after the upcoming Turkish elections on 14 May.­

ANKARA, March 29 (Xinhua) -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said late Wednesday that his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin may travel to Türkiye on April 27 to attend the inauguration ceremony of the Akkuyu nuclear power plant.

Erdogan told news channel ATV-A Haber in an interview that Putin may either travel to Mersin in person or attend the ceremony via teleconference.

Ankara denounced the desecration of the Quran and the Turkish flag in Denmark, the second such instance in the country this year.

The incident, late Friday, was a hate crime, the Foreign Ministry said, stressing that Turkiye will never accept such "vile actions being allowed under the guise of freedom of expression".

24 Mar 2023; MEMO: The Turkish parliament's Foreign Affairs Commission yesterday approved a bill that ratifies Finland's bid to join NATO.

Deputy Foreign Minister Burak Akcapar briefed parliamentarians on the proposed bill.