Turkey

ANKARA (Reuters) - President Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday he would hold talks over issues between Turkey and the European Union and developments in the eastern Mediterranean with the bloc’s chiefs in a video call later in the day, ahead of next week’s EU summit where leaders will discuss ties with Ankara.

Reuters reported on Thursday that the EU froze plans to blacklist more senior executives at Turkey’s state-owned Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO), in the clearest sign that Ankara’s diplomatic offensive this year is bearing fruit after months of tensions with the bloc.

ANKARA, March 18 (Xinhua) -- Turkey rebuffed on Thursday the international criticism over stripping a lawmaker of Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) and seeking to shut down the pro-Kurdish party.

The Turkish foreign ministry urged the international community not to "intervene" in the Turkish judiciary, according to a statement.

The ministry said that all should respect the ongoing judicial process after the United States and the European Union condemned Turkey for its move.

18 Mar 2021; MEMO: The UK Ambassador to Ankara Dominick Chilcott has announced that his country looks forward to signing a comprehensive agreement with Turkey to ensure a bright future for bilateral trade relations and joint investments between the two countries.

17 Mar 2021; MEMO: Saudi Arabia is seeking to buy armed unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) from Turkey, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told a press briefing yesterday. Erdogan made the remarks after voicing his displeasure at Riyadh's decision to carry out joint military exercises with Greece, Turkey's long-standing rival.

16 Mar 2021; MEMO: Turkey plans to welcome British holidaymakers this summer without requiring evidence of vaccination, Minister of Tourism Mehmet Ersoy said on Monday. "Turkey is looking forward to welcoming British tourists with open arms," said the minister.

According to CNN Turk, the Turkish authorities will also re-evaluate whether visitors must produce evidence of a negative Covid-19 test taken within 72 hours of their departure after April 15.

With the EU summit 2021 nine days away, Turkey's presidential spokesman on Tuesday expressed "hope" for the leadership of EU officials in addressing the migration issue at the summit, Anadolu Agency reported.

16 Mar 2021; MEMO: A number of Turkish officials have said that Saudi Arabia's decision to close Turkish language schools in several cities across the kingdom last year was a "purely political" move, local media reported.

A spokesman for the Turkish Ministry of Education, Ahmet Emre Bilgili, said: "Despite all efforts made, the Saudi authorities closed all Turkish language schools in the cities of Makkah and Madinah," adding that other schools have encountered many difficulties.

16 Mar 2021; MEMO: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called to put an end to the human tragedy in Syria.

15 Mar 2021; MEMO: Turkish forces have established a new military base north of the city of Raqqa, eastern Syria, local sources reported.

The sources said yesterday that the new base is equipped with an early-warning air defence system to counter the threat posed by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV).

The base is located near the international road known as the M4 highway.

Turkey has recently established four military bases in Syria.

15 Mar 2021; MEMO: The Iraqi Minister of Water Resources, Mahdi Rashid Al-Hamdani, said yesterday that Turkey has approved a memorandum of understanding (MoU) that forces Ankara to release a fair share of Tigris and Euphrates waters to Iraq.

The Iraqi minister said in a statement that the Turkish special envoy has confirmed that there are agreements on the horizon and memoranda of understanding will be signed in the near future following parliament's approval.