Turkey

17 Apr 2021; MEMO: Turkey's Presidential Spokesperson Ibrahim Kalin on Friday condemned the latest Israeli attack on the Gaza Strip, Anadolu Agency reported.

"We strongly condemn Israel's airstrike on Gaza during the holy month of Ramadan," Kalin posted on Twitter.

16 Apr 2021; MEMO: Turkey criticised a court ruling on the closure of Quran courses in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), saying the decision "is the product of an ideological and dogmatic mind", Anadolu Agency reports.

According to the news wire, Turkey's communications director Fahrettin Altun said: "To interpret secularism in such a shallow and wrong way is a step towards abolishing fundamental rights and freedoms."

16 Apr 2021; MEMO: Turkey's Central Bank has outlawed the use of cryptocurrencies as a payment method for the purchase of goods and services, joining the list of countries to have directly banned them as cryptocurrencies gain significance in the global market.

ANKARA, April 15 (Xinhua) -- Turkey believes that its issues with Greece can be resolved through constructive dialogue between the two neighbors and allies, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Thursday.

Fait accompli and provocative rhetoric should be avoided in relations between Turkey and Greece, Cavusoglu said at a joint press conference with his Greek counterpart Nikos Dendias.

The visit of the Greek minister to Turkey's capital Ankara came after months of tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean last year between the two neighbors.

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey’s central bank is banning the use of cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin in payments for goods and services, according to a decision published in the country’s Official Gazette on Friday.

The decision comes as many in Turkey have turned to cryptocurrencies to shield their savings from rising inflation and the Turkish currency’s slump.

In a statement explaining its reasons, the bank said transactions carried out through the use of cryptocurrencies presented “irrevocable” risks.

13 Apr 2021; MEMO: Trade volumes between Turkey and Qatar in the next period will exceed the $5 billion target set out, the head of the Independent Industrialists and Businessmen's Association (MUSIAD) Abdurrahman Kaan said yesterday.

According to the Anadolu Agency, Qatari businesspeople and Turkish companies operating in the region are very happy with the market between the two countries, Kaan said.

13 Apr 2021; MEMO: Turkey and Libya have struck a number of agreements advancing bilateral relations yesterday, and have reaffirmed the maritime border deal they agreed upon in 2019.

ISTANBUL, April 13 (Xinhua) -- Turkish prosecutors on Tuesday issued detention warrants for 84 suspects over their alleged links to a network accused of orchestrating a coup attempt in 2016.

Police launched simultaneous operations in 49 provinces to arrest the suspects, upon the order of the Chief Public Prosecutor's Office in Izmir, the state-run Anadolu agency reported.

Those targeted in the operations were reportedly soldiers on active duty, expelled military personnel, and on-duty police officers.

12 Apr 2021; MEMO: Turkey has frozen a lucrative deal to buy €70 million ($83 million) of helicopters from Italy after the Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi called Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan a "dictator" last Thursday, according to reports by Italian newspapers yesterday.

13 Apr 2021; MEMO:Turkey has successfully tested its first hybrid engine that will be used in its planned lunar mission, the country's Minister of Technology and Industry said on Sunday. According to Anadolu, the country is planning to send the unmanned spacecraft to land on the moon in 2023 as part of the country's National Space Programme.