Turkey

ANKARA, May 29 (NNN-Xinhua) — Turkish government resumed high-speed train services between four provinces as part of its normalization plan after the novel coronavirus outbreak.

“We are taking another important step in the normalization process. The high-speed train will run 16 times a day, between Ankara and Istanbul, Ankara and Eskisehir, Ankara and Konya, and Konya and Istanbul,” Turkey’s Transport and Infrastructure Minister Adil Karaismailoglu told reporters at a ceremony for the resumption of the service.

26 May 2020; MEMO: Turkey believes that the US and Europe no longer trust Khalifa Haftar in Libya, Presidential Spokesperson İbrahim Kalın has disclosed in a television interview.

He added that the steps his country has taken in the troubled North African state have changed the balance of power and prevented the ongoing conflict from turning into a civil war.

26 May 2020; MEMO: Turkey’s president on Sunday reiterated his country’s support for Palestine as the Muslim world celebrates Eid al-Fitr, the holiday marking the end of the holy month of Ramadan.

“We will not allow the Palestinian lands to be offered to anyone else,” Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in a video message on Twitter addressed to US Muslims.

ISTANBUL, May 23 (Xinhua) -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and U.S. President Donald Trump discussed regional issues "particularly the situations in Syria and Libya" on a phone conversation, local media reported on Saturday.

Erdogan and Trump agreed to maintain the close political and military cooperation between the two countries to promote peace and stability in the region, the state-run Anadolu agency said.

They further reaffirmed the importance of cooperation and solidarity in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Anadolu.

24 May 2020; MEMO: Germans and Russians want to come back to visit Turkey, in part thanks to its skillful handling of the coronavirus pandemic, now on the wane, Turkey’s foreign minister said Saturday, Anadolu Agency reports.

Appearing on television in Antalya, Turkey’s popular Mediterranean resort, Mevlut Cavusoglu said the country is working towards restarting tourism.

ANKARA, May 20 (Xinhua) -- Turkish and Russian troops conducted their 12th joint patrol along a key highway in Idlib, northwestern Syria, the Turkish defense ministry said on Wednesday.

"Within the framework of TUR-RF Agreement/Protocol, the 12th TUR-RF Combined Land Patrol on M-4 Highway in Idlib was conducted with the participation of land and air elements," the ministry tweeted.

ANKARA, May 20. /TASS/: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu conducted negotiations over the phone, a source in the Turkish Foreign Ministry told TASS Wednesday.

"Our Minister conducted talks with head of the Russian Foreign Ministry Sergey Lavrov. During the phone call, they discussed regional issues, tourism and coronavirus prevention," the source said.

Turkey today called on the international community to condemn Israel’s plan to annex the West Bank.

Presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said the occupation and annexation are crimes, calling on the world to take a stand.

“We reject Israel’s plan to annex the West Bank and call for the world to take a stand against it. Occupation and annexation is a crime,” Ibrahim Kalin said on Twitter.

Kalin said Turkey is ready to cooperate with authorities who are willing to take action against the occupation and annexation of Palestinian land.

19 May 2020; MEMO: Hatice Cengiz, fiancée of the late Saudi journalist and writer, Jamal Khashoggi, called for the English Premier League not to allow the completion of the sale of

ISTANBUL, May 19 (NNN-Xinhua) — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced a four-day lockdown on May 23-26 in the entire country to curb the spread of COVID-19.

The curfew will comprehend all the 81 provinces, Erdogan said, after attending a cabinet meeting via videoconference from Istanbul.

The lockdown would cover the Eid al-Fitr, a Muslim feast marking the end of the holy month of Ramadan.

The travel restrictions for 15 cities, including Istanbul, were extended for another 15 days, the president also noted.