Turkey

ANKARA, Dec 29 (NNN-ANADOLU) – Turkish security forces killed 20 members of the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), in northern Syria, as they were preparing to carry out an attack on Turkey’s operation zone, Turkey’s Defence Ministry, said.

“Our commandos continue to neutralise PKK/YPG terrorists that are trying to infiltrate the Operation Peace Spring area. Another 20 PKK/YPG terrorists, who attempted to infiltrate from the south, to attack the region, were neutralised by the successful intervention of our commandos,” the ministry tweeted.

28 Dec 2020; MEMO: Britain and Turkey are set to sign a free trade deal on Tuesday, the UK trade ministry said on Sunday, the first since Prime Minister Boris Johnson secured a new trade agreement with the European Union, Reuters reports.

The two nations will sign a deal that replicates the existing trading terms between Ankara and London, but British trade minister Liz Truss said that she was hopeful a bespoke deal between the countries could be struck soon.

28 Dec 2020; MEMO: Turkey on Saturday urged Greece to act in a common sense and responsible manner, responding to a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) recently issued by Greece for a vast area in the Aegean and the Eastern Mediterranean, reports Anadolu Agency.

"We see that Greece continues her provocative and escalatory steps in the region," Hami Aksoy, the Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesperson, said in a statement.

27 Dec 2020; MEMO: Turkey will bring in structural reforms to break the "triangle of evil" of interest rates, inflation and exchange rates, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday, adding Ankara was determined to form a system based on production and employment, reports Reuters.

ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey’s parliament passed a law on Sunday that would ramp up oversight of foundations and associations and, according to rights groups including Amnesty International, risks limiting the freedoms of civil society organisations.

The law allows the interior minister to replace members of organisations who are being investigated for terrorism charges, while the interior ministry can also apply to courts to halt the groups’ activities under the new law. International organisations will also be included under the law and penalised accordingly.

ANKARA (Reuters) -Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar warned on Sunday that the forces of Khalifa Haftar and their supporters based in eastern Libya would be viewed as “legitimate targets” if they attempted to attack Turkish forces in the region.

Turkey is the main foreign backer of Libya’s internationally recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) based in Tripoli, which for years has been fighting Haftar’s Libyan National Army (LNA). The LNA is backed by Russia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt.

ISTANBUL (AP) — An earthquake with a 5.3 magnitude shook Elazig province in eastern Turkey on Sunday.

Turkey’s Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu tweeted there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage.

The quake struck at 09:37 a.m. (0637 GMT), Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Directorate said. It was felt in several neighboring provinces.

Turkey is crisscrossed by major fault lines and earthquakes are frequent.

In January, a 6.8 magnitude earthquake struck Elazig, killing 41 people in that province and neighboring Malatya.

21 Dec 2020; MEMO: The Istanbul-Tehran-Islamabad (ITI) train is expected to resume operations next year after the key requirements for the revival of the service have been completed, according to Adil Karaismailoglu, Turkey's minister of transport and infrastructure, local media reported.

ANKARA, Dec. 25 (Xinhua) -- Turkey's decision to appoint a new ambassador to Israel is in line with its ambition of normalizing relations with the Jewish state and represents a bid that would generate geostrategic benefits for both nations, Turkish experts said.

On Dec. 9, along with a series of other ambassador appointments, Ankara announced that Ufuk Ulutas, chairman of the Center for Strategic Research at the Turkish Foreign Ministry, had been selected for the critical post.

ANKARA (Reuters) -President Tayyip Erdogan said that Turkey would like to have better ties with Israel, but criticised Israeli policy toward Palestinians as “unacceptable” and a “red line” for Ankara, adding that intelligence talks resumed between the two sides.

The two countries have had a bitter falling out in recent years, despite strong commercial ties, expelling ambassadors in 2018. Ankara has repeatedly condemned Israel’s occupation in the West Bank and its treatment of Palestinians.