Turkey

17 March 2022; MEMO: The UK Export Finance Agency has signed a €2.1bn loan guarantee deal to support the development of a major electric rail project in Turkey.

The agreement has been announced at today's "UK-Turkiye Green Finance Conference".

This agreement aims to build trading relationship between Turkiye and the UK, decarbonise travel and help Turkey to meet its zero emission target.

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Despite three weeks of Russian bombardment, Ukraine has kept up a stiff defense of its cities by using Turkish-made drones to carry out pop-up attacks on the invaders with a lethal effectiveness that has surprised Western military experts.

The Bayraktar TB2 unmanned aerial vehicles, which carry lightweight, laser-guided bombs, normally excel in low-tech conflicts, and Turkey has sold them to more than a dozen countries, including Azerbaijan, Libya, Morocco and Ethiopia.

14 March 2022; MEMO: Turkiye denied the claims that an ancient inscription found in East Jerusalem and brought to Istanbul during the Ottoman period will be delivered to Israel, according to the diplomatic sources on Sunday, and Anadolu News Agency reports.

The Times of Israel news website, on Friday, reported that Turkiye had agreed to return the 2,700-year-old Siloam inscription to Israel as a gesture during Israeli President Isaac Herzog's visit to Ankara, the first in years.

14 March 2022; MEMO: Turkey helped the United Nations to evacuate personnel belonging to several international organisations as well as foreign citizens, Turkish newspaper, Daily Sabah, reports.

According to the report, Ankara evacuated personnel with the cooperation of the United Nations as well as foreign citizens.

UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, also praised Turkey's efforts in a phone call with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the report says.

ANKARA, March 14 (Reuters) - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan will discuss the war in Ukraine with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz at talks in Ankara on Monday, his office said, as both countries press on with efforts to secure a ceasefire 19 days into Russia's invasion.

NATO member Turkey shares a maritime border with Ukraine and Russia in the Black Sea and has good ties with both. It has said the invasion is unacceptable and voiced support for Ukraine, but has also opposed sanctions on Moscow, while offering to mediate.

13 March 2022; MEMO: Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis agreed in talks on Sunday to improve ties, despite the long-running disagreements between the two NATO members, Ankara said, Reuters reports.

Both countries have key roles to play in the changing security situation in Europe after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and their increased cooperation would have benefits for the region, the Turkish presidency said in a statement.

ANKARA, March 13. /TASS/: Turkey will not join the sanctions some Western countries have imposed on Russia over the special operation in Ukraine, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told a diplomatic forum in Antalya on Sunday.

"We believe that the sanctions will not resolve the problem," he said when asked about Turkey’s stance regarding sanctions against Russia. "Take the airspace. In accordance with the Montreux Convention we have no power to close it. This is a legal obligation."

ANKARA, March 13 (Reuters) - Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Sunday that talks with the Taliban on operating the Kabul airport were still underway, a day after he met acting Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi in southern Turkey. 

Turkey has said it would be open to operating Kabul's Hamid Karzai international airport along with Qatar, following the takeover of Afghanistan by the hardline Islamist Taliban in August, but only if its security demands are met.

ANKARA, March 13 (Reuters) - Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Sunday he hoped progress could be made on evacuating Turks stuck in a mosque in the southern Ukrainian port city of Mariupol, adding he had sought help from his Russian counterpart on the issue.

Ukraine has accused Russia of failing to observe ceasefires to allow people to leave Mariupol, a southern city where a blockade has left hundreds of thousands trapped. Russia blames Ukraine for the failure to evacuate people.

ISTANBUL (AP) — Greece’s prime minister kicked off his visit to Istanbul Sunday by attending a service for Orthodox Christians at the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is in Turkey to hold talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in a rare meeting between the neighbors who have been at odds over maritime and energy issues, the status of Aegean islands and migration.