Turkey

10 Nov 2022; MEMO: Citing recent events in the Black Sea grain trade, the Head of the International Association of Operative Millers – Eurasia, said there is reason to believe Turkiye can be a safe grain transit hub or even storage point, Anadolu News Agency reports.

ANKARA, November 10. /TASS/: Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky’s readiness for negotiations with Russia is indicative of a split in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, according to Baris Doster, a columnist for Turkey’s opposition Cumhuriyet newspaper.

10 Nov 2022; MEMO: Turkiye has rejected Israel's request that it deport Hamas leaders living in the country, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Tuesday.

Responding to a question from MPs, Cavusoglu said Turkiye does not view Hamas as a terror group and refused to expel the movement's members.

"We did not satisfy any [Israeli] request on Hamas, because we do not perceive Hamas as a terror group," Cavusoglu said.

ISTANBUL, Nov. 9 (Xinhua) -- An overnight house fire in Türkiye's northwestern city of Bursa left at least nine people dead, including eight children, the city governorate announced on Wednesday.

Responding to an emergency call made at midnight, firefighters quickly extinguished the fire, only to find the dead bodies of a family caught by the blaze in their sleep.

According to the governorate, the deceased belonged to the same Syrian family of six siblings, their mother and two cousins. The children were no more than 11 years old.

09 Nov 2022; MEMO: Turkish President, Tayyip Erdogan, said on Tuesday that Ankara conveyed its expectation to see concrete steps from Sweden to fulfil anti-terrorism obligations under a deal, clearing bids by the Nordic country and neighbouring Finland to join NATO, Reuters reports.

ANKARA, Nov. 8 (Xinhua) -- Türkiye said on Tuesday it has been coordinating efforts to remove obstacles to the export of Russian grain and fertilizer.

The deal that paved the way for the resumption of Ukrainian grain to world markets also envisaged shipment of Russian grain and fertilizer, the semi-official Anadolu Agency quoted Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu as saying.

"Export of Russian fertilizer is part of the agreement. Russians have some concerns that these demands are not met. Now diplomacy is working to remove these concerns," Cavusoglu said.

IZMIR/ISTANBUL, Türkiye, Nov. 8 (Xinhua) -- Turkish companies view the on-going 5th China International Import Expo (CIIE) as a premium platform to seek business opportunities and further tap into the vast consumer market of China and beyond.

The expo has become a major platform for global businesses including Turkish companies to explore market opportunities and expand business in China, Mehmet Ali Isik, chairman of the Aegean Dried Fruits and Products Exporters Association, told Xinhua in a recent interview.

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — A bus slammed into two trucks and caught fire on Monday, killing at least seven people and injuring 18 others, officials said.

The crash occurred on a highway near the town of Tutak, in Agri province in eastern Turkey that borders Iran and Armenia. The cause of the crash was under investigation, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported.

Television footage showed thick black smoke billowing from the scene.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced the deaths while addressing a ceremony for the inauguration of projects for rural areas.

06 Nov 2022; MEMO: Sweden has reaffirmed its decision to distance itself from Kurdish militant groups in its bid to join NATO, as it attempts to secure Turkiye's approval to join the military alliance.

Earlier this year, Sweden and Finland applied to join NATO as a result of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the potential threat it would pose to them. While that bid was approved by 28 of the alliance's 30 member states, Turkiye and Hungary refused to approve it.

ANKARA, November 4. /TASS/: Turkey will focus its efforts on the extension of the Ukraine grain deal, which expires on November 19, the Turkish presidential office cited President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as saying at a meeting with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Friday.

"It was noted during the talks that following the top-level diplomatic efforts with Russia and Ukraine, the functioning of the grain corridor was resumed and it was decided to focus efforts on the extension of the grain deal in the near future," it said.