Turkey

14 Dec 2020; AA: With a 30-year lifetime, Turkey's fifth-generation satellite, the Turksat 5A, will have the country's orbital rights secured, an executive at Airbus told Anadolu Agency.

Jean-Marc Nasr, Head of Space Systems within Airbus, said: "Turksat 5A will secure the orbital rights of Turkey."

Citing a production contract for the Turksat 5A between Turksat and Airbus Defense and Space, Nasr said efforts to produce the satellite had started immediately after the deal was signed on Nov. 9, 2017.

14 Dec 2020; MEMO:  The Iranian Embassy in Ankara announced on Sunday that the "misunderstanding" with Turkey over the poem recited by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during his visit to the Azerbaijani capital, Baku, has been resolved.

The embassy explained that Foreign Minister Muhammad Javad Zarif and his Turkish counterpart, Mevlut Cavusoglu, spoke on the phone to discuss the issue.

13 Dec 2020; AA:  The phase two trials of the Turkish-made COVID-19 vaccine will begin on Dec. 25, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca announced on late Saturday.

"In parallel with the world, 16 different vaccine studies are carried out in our country. One of them has completed the pre-clinical period and started human trials. Phase two study will begin on Dec. 25," he told the lawmakers during the 2021 budget debate in parliament.

Koca said that the vaccine's production for phase two started on Wednesday.

13 Dec 2020; MEMO:  Turkish Parliament Speaker Mustafa Sentop on Saturday condemned Iranian authorities over unfair accusations against the Turkish president for reading a poem during a ceremony in Azerbaijan, Anadolu Agency reports.

"The unseemly attitude of some Iranian officials against our president, who always bravely defended the law against the embargo and isolation imposed on Iran, can never be accepted," Sentop, posted on Twitter.

12 Dec 2020; MEMO: The EU missed an opportunity of cooperation in the region by ignoring the rights of Turkish Cypriots and Turkey, said the presidency of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), Anadolu Agency reports.

ANKARA, December 11. /TASS/: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has stated that his Russian colleague Vladimir Putin expressed support for the idea of Baku to establish a regional security platform that may involve Russia, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Iran, Georgia and Armenia. The Turkish president made this statement to reporters onboard his plane as he was returning from Azerbaijan.

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - President Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday U.S. sanctions over Turkey’s purchase of Russian S-400 missiles would be disrespectful of a NATO ally, after sources said Washington was poised to take the step likely to worsen bilateral relations.

Turkey’s lira tumbled nearly 2% after Reuters, citing sources, reported U.S. sanctions are set to be announced as soon as Friday and target Turkey’s Defence Industries Directorate.

11 Dec 2020; MEMO:  The Turkish Coast Guard on Thursday rescued at least 17 asylum seekers off the northwestern Canakkale province after they were pushed back to Turkish territorial waters by Greece, a security source said, Anadolu Agency reported.

ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey rejects the European Union’s “biased and illegal” approach at its summit this week and calls on the bloc to act as an honest broker in an ongoing dispute in the eastern Mediterranean, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said on Friday.

EU leaders agreed on Thursday to prepare limited sanctions on Turkish individuals over an energy exploration dispute with Greece and Cyprus, postponing any harsher steps until March as countries sparred over how to handle Ankara.

10 Dec 2020; MEMO:  Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said yesterday that his country is not concerned by any economic sanctions the European Union might impose against Ankara, Anadolu reported.

"Officially, since 1963, the EU has already been implementing sanctions on us constantly. The EU has never been honest and never stood behind its promises. But we've always been patient," Erdogan told reporters ahead of his visit to Azerbaijan.