News Scan Dec 3rd 2015 – NATO agrees additional measures for Turkey
NATO agrees additional measures for Turkey
NATO Foreign Ministers have announced steps to launch new hybrid strategy and assurance measures for Turkey. NATO General Secretary Jens Stoltenberg announced the additional measures were to be finalized in the upcoming weeks, while the NATO underlined their awareness of Turkey’s position on the front line of regional instability to the south, at the NATO Foreign Ministers meeting held in Brussels, on late Dec 1. / DHA
Obama tells Erdoğan ‘to close Syrian border’
U.S. President Barack Obama said he had spoken to his Turkish counterpart in Paris on the sidelines of a climate change conference about the need to close the border between Turkey and Syria, while Secretary of State John Kerry has said Erdoğan is “completely committed and ready to proceed” to help guarantee that the remaining portion of the border is closed. / DHA
Russia’s Lavrov leans toward a meeting with Turkish FM
Moscow will not refuse to meet Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu on the sidelines of the OSCE Ministerial Council in Belgrade next week, over the downing of Russian jet in Syria by Turkey due to violation against its border. Lavrov added Çavuşoğlu has been “insisting” on holding talks in Belgrade and said “we will hear what Mr. Çavuşoğlu has to say”, after his meeting with Cypriot Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides in Nicosia. / DHA
Erdoğan says Russia’s claims over oil trade with ISIL are slanderous
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said that no one has the right to “slander” Turkey after Russia’s defense ministry claimed on Wednesday it had proof that Erdoğan and his family were benefiting from the illegal smuggling of oil from Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL)-held territory in Syria and Iraq. / TODAYSZAMAN
NATO plans to bolster Turkey’s air defense at Syrian border
Meeting in Brussels, NATO foreign ministers have agreed that the situation on Turkey’s border with Syria and Iraq is “highly unstable” and committed to bolster Turkey’s air defense, amid efforts to defuse tensions between Turkey and Russia after Ankara shot down a Russian jet last week due to an airspace violation. / TODAYS ZAMAN
Turkish gov’t ‘not worried’ about Russian trade sanctions, seeks alternative markets
Turkish officials have said they are not overly worried about Russian trade sanctions against Turkish goods, adding they are in search of alternative markets as the loss of the Russian market is not in intolerable amounts. / HURRIYETDAILYNEWS
CPJ joins call for Turkey to release arrested Cumhuriyet editors
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), a New York-based group advocating the rights of journalists worldwide, has joined a petition drawn up for the release of Can Dündar, editor-in-chief of the Turkish pro-opposition daily Cumhuriyet, and Erdem Gül, the paper’s Ankara bureau chief. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and the Turkish Journalists’ Association (TGC) submitted a petition to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for the release of the two editors as well as other journalists imprisoned for their critical stance against Erdoğan and the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government. TODAYS ZAMAN
Turkish Airlines firms up order for 20 additional A321neo aircraft
Turkish Airlines, Turkey’s flagship airline, has firmed up a commitment to purchase 20 additional A321neo aircraft, Airbus said in a press release Dec. 1. The airline already has 72 A321neos on order and is again renewing its confidence in the A321neo as the aircraft of choice to boost its expansion, according to the press release. “As one of the world’s fastest growing airlines, our ambitious growth strategy needs to be fully supported by only the most efficient, reliable and profitable aircraft,” said Temel Kotil, the CEO of Turkish Airlines. “This order for 20 more A321neos will help us achieve our expansion plans in a profitable and sustainable manner.” HURRIYETDAILYNEWS
