Contents tagged with turkey

  • EU Commissioner: Ukraine, Georgia and perhaps Turkey will get a visa-free regime this year

    The Commissioner for European Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations, Johannes Hahn, said that Ukraine has fulfilled all obligations required for visa-free entry into the European Union (EU).

    During an interview with Radio Liberty, Hahn noted that the implementation of legislation is an essential prerequisite for Ukraine in developing its relationship with the EU.

    “I am well aware of the challenges faced by Ukraine. Armed conflict continues, there are 1.5 million people displaced …

  • Lavrov accuses Turkey of escalating the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh

    Russia criticized Turkish authorities for their “absolutely unacceptable” comments during the violence in Nagorno-Karabakh between the separatists supported by Armenia and the Azerbaijani forces.“These were calls not for peace but for war,” the Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov stated on April 2nd after negotiations with his Armenian colleague, Edward Nalbandian, in Yerevan.The four-day outbreak of violence resulted in ceasefire agreements but sporadic firing is still on-going. …

  • Die Welt: The EU wants to limit visa-free regimes with Turkey and Ukraine

    The EU wants to adopt a special agreement on visa-free travel to Turkey, which could be cancelled in case Ankara fails to comply with agreements on refugees. Such rules might be applied to the agreements with Ukraine, Welt am Sonntag wrote.

    Scheduled for late July, the visa-free regime between the EU and Turkey will probably not have an unlimited nature. In the case of Ankara, unlike the current practice, the EU plans to conclude a special agreement on visa liberalization. This was requested …

  • Erdoğan calls on leaders of Islamic countries to show solidarity with Ukraine and the Crimean Tatars

    While speaking at the 13th Session of the Islamic Summit Conference in Istanbul, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan called on the Organization of Islamic Cooperation to show solidarity with Ukraine and the Crimean Tatar people.

    This was reported by the press service of the Presidential Commissioner for Affairs of the Crimean Tatar people, Mustafa Dzhemilev, on Facebook on Thursday, April 14.

    "The address by the President of Turkey, the country that chairs the summit, has ended. President …

  • Four tons of Turkish tomatoes destroyed in Crimea

    The Russian Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance, Rosselkhoznadzor, reported that four tons of Turkish tomatoes were destroyed in the Crimea, according to the agency’s press service, RBC reported. The banned products were being smuggled into the Crimea using the Kerch Strait ferry.

    "An attempt to import four tons of tomatoes of Turkish origin to Crimea was prevented on the Kerch Strait ferry.  Products forbidden for import have been confiscated and buried in the …

  • Erdoğan: Russia is a party to the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh

    The President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, believes that Russia is involved in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. “Russia said that Turkey is a party to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Indeed, Russia is a party to the conflict,” Erdoğan stated. Reuters quotes Erdogan as saying that Russia was involved in the conflict in Georgia, in Ukraine and now the conflict in Syria as well.

    Earlier, the Foreign Minister of Russia, Sergey Lavrov, stated that Russia doesn’t find Turkey responsible for the …

  • Two Turkish warships arrived in Odessa

    Yesterday, two Turkish warships, the TCG "Salihreis" and the TCG "Bartin", arrived in Odessa as part of the program of international cooperation between Ukraine and Turkey. According to the Ukrainian Naval Forces, the Turkish ships will stay in the port of Odessa for two days."The two-day business visit of the Turkish ships is part of the developed plan of the international cooperation of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine and the Armed Forces in 2016,” the Ukrainian Naval Forces stated.The …

  • Turkey detains suspected killer of downed Russian pilot

    The suspected killer of Russian pilot Oleg Peshkov, who ejected after his plane was shot down by the Turkish Air Forces on November 24th, 2015, has been detained. According to Russian media, Alparslan Çelik allegedly killed the pilot as he descending by parachute after he ejected.

    Hürriyet Daily News reports that on Wednesday, in one of the restaurants of Izmir, fourteen people were detained including Alparslan Çelik. According to Hürriyet, the detainees are all friends who fought together …

  • Turkish Ambassador in Ukraine: Russia inspires Ankara to work closely with Kiev

    The Ambassador of Turkey to Ukraine, Yönet Tezel, stated that cooperation between Kiev and Ankara is becoming closer because of Russian aggression in Ukraine. “Russia inspires us to cooperate more. In this context, Crimea and Crimean Tatars, who are very dear to us, are important. We hope that the issue on Crimea will not disappear from the agenda on the international level,” Tezel said at the international forum, “Hybrid decisions of security in the Black Sea region”, that took place in Odessa, …

  • Peskov: Russia is not ready to initiate reconciliation with Turkey

    Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russia is not willing to initiate any type of reconciliation with Turkey, Rosbalt reported.

    Relations between Moscow and Ankara have deteriorated significantly following the downing of a Russian Su-24 frontline bomber by a Turkish F-16 fighter over the Syrian-Turkish border in November of last year.

    Ankara claims that the Su-24 violated Turkish airspace. Russia, in turn, insists that the aircraft stayed on the Syrian side of the border.

    During an …