Turkey

06 Mar 2021; MEMO: Turkey has "completely rejected" on Friday the decisions adopted by the Arab League foreign ministers' meeting held on Wednesday, accusing Turkey of meddling in internal affairs of Arab countries, Anadolu Agency reported.

In a statement, the Turkish Foreign Ministry affirmed that the decisions targeting Turkey were "unrequited" among the people of "friendly and brotherly" Arab countries.

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - A military helicopter crashed in southeast Turkey on Thursday, killing 10 army personnel including a lieutenant general and injuring three, the defence ministry said.

The helicopter took off from the Bingol province at 1055 GMT, the ministry said in a statement, adding that search operations were launched after it lost contact at 1125 GMT.

It described the crash as an accident, but did not elaborate. The injured soldiers were being taken to hospital, the ministry added.

05 Mar 2021; MEMO: Nine Turkish military personnel were killed in a helicopter crash in the southeast of the country, the Ministry of Defence said.

A further four people were injured in the crash in the town of Tatvan, in the predominantly Kurdish-populated Bitlis province.

The helicopter took off from the Bingol province at 10:55 GMT, it said in a statement, adding that search operations were launched after it lost contact at 11:25 GMT.

04 Mar 2021; MEMO: Turkey has signalled it could reach a deal with Egypt on the boundary between their maritime zones in the Mediterranean if relations between the two countries warm.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has said that the two countries could sign a maritime agreement, "depending on the trajectory of relations."

A recent Egyptian map with the country's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) marked out is close to Turkey's proposition, reports TRT World.

ANKARA, March 3. /TASS/: Ankara considers buying the second regiment of S-400 anti-aircraft missile systems from Russia, despite the US pressure, Head of Turkey’s Defense Industries Ismail Demir said on Wednesday.

"Our work on the second [regiment] of S-400 systems continues," he said in an interview with the Turkish NTV television channel.

ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey is not necessarily aiming to return to the U.S. F-35 fighter jet programme from which it was removed over its purchase of Russian defence systems, the Turkish defence industry chief said on Wednesday.

He said the primary goal was for Turkey to get compensated for its losses.

Ankara had ordered more than 100 F-35s and has been making parts for it but was removed from the programme in 2019 after it acquired Russian S-400 missile defence systems, which Washington says threaten the jets.

ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey and Egypt could negotiate a maritime demarcation agreement in the eastern Mediterranean if their ties, which have been strained, allow for such a move, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Wednesday.

Last month, Egypt announced the start of a bid round for oil and natural gas exploration and exploitation in 24 blocks including some in the Mediterranean.

ISTANBUL, March 3 (Xinhua) -- Turkish police on Wednesday detained 10 foreigners in Istanbul for their suspected ties to the Islamic State, local media reported.

Simultaneous operations were carried out at 16 addresses to capture those allegedly involved in conducting activities in the city on behalf of the group, the state-run Anadolu agency reported.

The suspects, whose nationalities were not immediately clear, have been in conflict areas in Iraq and Syria for quite some time, the agency said.

02 Mar 2021; MEMO: Turkish restaurants reopened and many children returned to school on Tuesday after the government announced steps to ease COVID-19 restrictions even as cases edged higher, raising concerns among the top medical association, reports Reuters.

ANKARA (Reuters) - President Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday that Turkey would strengthen the right to a fair trial as well as freedoms of expression and organisation in the country as part of what his government has called a Human Rights Action Plan.

The plan, promised in recent months as part of a series of legal and economic reforms, would also improve the judiciary system, Erdogan said at the presidential palace in Ankara.