Turkey

ANKARA, Aug 5 (Reuters) - A top aide to Turkey's president said on Friday the international community cannot end the war in Ukraine by ignoring Moscow, as Tayyip Erdogan headed to Russia to meet his counterpart Vladimir Putin.

The meeting, less than three weeks since they held talks in Tehran, comes after Turkey helped broker a deal to resume Ukraine's Black Sea grain exports which were blocked by Russia's invasion. 

ISTANBUL (AP) — Three more ships carrying thousands of tons of corn have left Ukrainian ports, officials said Friday, in the latest sign that a negotiated deal to export grain trapped since Russia invaded Ukraine nearly six months ago is slowly materializing. But major hurdles lie ahead to get food to the countries that need it most.

ISTANBUL (AP) — The first grain ship to leave Ukraine and cross the Black Sea under a wartime deal passed inspection Wednesday in Istanbul and headed on to Lebanon. Ukraine said 17 other vessels were “loaded and waiting permission to leave,” but there was no word yet on when they could depart.

A joint civilian inspection team spent three hours checking the cargo and crew of the Sierra Leone-flagged ship Razoni, which left Odesa on Monday carrying Ukrainian corn, a U.N. statement said.

03 August 2022; MEMO: Turkish Defence Minister, Hulusi Akar, said the only goal that his country wishes to achieve from carrying out military operations outside its borders, including in Syria, is to combat terrorist organisations.

He pointed out that the Turkish forces have neutralised 2,226 terrorists since the beginning of this year in the context of combating terrorist organisations.

01 August 2022; MEMO: Turkiye's Defence Minister has expressed his suspicions that Greece is "up to something" in its recent moves and aggressive rhetoric against Turkiye, calling them "abnormal" as Athens continues to militarily posture against Ankara.

ANKARA, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- Turkish Defense Minister on Monday said his country would "be glad" to help the shipments of foodstuff and fertilizers waiting at Russian ports in the Black Sea.

"There are also food and various chemicals in Russia's ports. The transfer of these is a separate issue apart from our work on Ukrainian grains. But if we can make a contribution, we would be pleased to do so as well," Hulusi Akar told the semi-official Anadolu Agency.

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — The first ship carrying Ukrainian grain set off from the port of Odesa on Monday under a deal brokered by the United Nations and Turkey that is expected to release large stores of Ukrainian crops to foreign markets and ease a growing food crisis.

The Sierra Leone-flagged cargo ship Razoni left Odesa carrying over 26,000 tons of corn destined for Lebanon.

ISTANBUL, July 31 (Reuters) - The possibility of the first grain-exporting ship leaving Ukraine's ports on Monday is high, a spokesperson for President Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday.

"If all (details) are completed by tomorrow, it seems like there is a high possibility that the first ship will leave the port tomorrow...We will see ships leaving the ports the next day at the latest," Kalin said.

31 July 2022; MEMO: Russia is transferring $20 billion to Turkiye for the building of a major nuclear power plant, as the two countries continue to expand energy cooperation and advance Turkiye's growing energy needs.

According to a Bloomberg report on Friday, senior Turkish officials with knowledge of the matter said that the Russian state-owned company Rosatom sent around $5 billion last week to the Turkish company Akkuyu Nuclear JSC, which is building the plant in the city of Mersin in southern Turkiye.

ISTANBUL, July 29 (Reuters) - A week into Moscow’s war in Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin made a gesture of solidarity with his soldiers at the front: injured men could claim compensation of three million roubles, equivalent to about $50,000 or the amount an average Russian worker would earn in four years.

“It’s our duty to support the families of our fallen and injured war comrades,” said Putin when he announced it in early March.