Iran blasts Turkey, Saudi, Qatar over ally Syria A top military aide to supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei today accused Ankara, Riyadh and Doha of serving US and Israeli interests in Syria, in a veiled warning to Turkey of worsening ties. "The Americans, Israelis, and some European and Persian Gulf nations, in particular Qatar and Saudi Arabia, have delegated to Turkey the task of achieving their goal t ...

Syrian President Bashar Assad delivers a speech. AP photoSyrian President Bashar al-Assad evaluated the Turkish government's policy towards his country as "the dreams of some people who think they are very smart," in an interview with Russian state broadcaster Russia 24. Al-Assad said no good would come to Turkey from the policy the country was currently following. "We have no contact with the Turkish gover ...

Turkey’s Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu has said that when he described Turkey as playing a pioneering role in the Middle East, he did not mean it in a “hegemonic sense.” “We are the owners of this region with all the other nations, we own the problems of the region, this does not mean it is our property, it means solving the problems of the region shoulder to shoulder with the other nations,” Davutoğlu s ...

Main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) deputy chair Faruk Loğoğlu has slammed Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu for saying Turkey has a pioneering role in the new Middle East, calling this view a “dangerous fantasy.” “I am only smiling at this. I interpret this as a fantasy. I wouldn’t have a word to say if it was a safe fantasy, but it is a dangerous fantasy. The Turkish foreign minister, w ...

Turkey warned Syria today not to repeat border violations, implying that it could use force to protect its border and call on NATO to respond to a potential Syrian attack. “We have strong armed forces. We will carefully continue to take steps to this end. But Syria must be aware of the fact that in the event of a repetition of these border violations, Turkey’s stance will not be the same,” Prime Minister Re ...

Turkey's prime minister said on Thursday that his visit to Qatar would contribute to bilateral relations with that country. Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that he believed his visit to Qatar would also contribute to political change and transformation process in the region. "Turkey and Qatar are exerting concerted efforts to contribute to regional and global peace, security and stability in parallel to i ...

As Ankara pushes Moscow to press on Damascus to adhere to the tenuous cease-fire, Khartoum solicits Turkey’s help on its recently erupt crisis. Turkey’s Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu has asked Russia to put more pressure on Syria to implement the cease-fire that was to have gone into effect April 12 in accordance with a plan by U.N.-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan. Davutoğlu met with Russian Foreign Ministe ...

Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu returned from China to Ankara yesterday, hours before UN-brokered ceasefire is expected to take effect. Davutoglu was firstly briefed by Deputy Prime Minister Besir Atalay on the contacts held by UN-Arab League Envoy to Syria Kofi Annan in Turkey's southeastern province of Hatay. Afterwards, Davutoglu conducted a coordination meeting on Syria which was held at Turkish Foreig ...

Qualifying the recent fire by Assad’s troops on Syrian refugees trying to cross into Turkey as a "Clear violation of the border", Prime Minister Erdoğan responded to the question of whether a buffer zone will be established by stating, “We don’t want to consider it and Syria should not force us to.” Prime Minister Tayyip Erdoğan spoke on the recent firing at refugees along the Syrian border, by stating, "Th ...

Ankara increased diplomatic pressure on U.N. Security Council members, urging for further action against Syria as the crisis becomes a “border security issue” for Turkey. Syrian forces fired shots across the Turkish border into a refugee camp April 9, wounding six people in the first case of Syrian bullets crossing into Turkish territory since the crisis began. Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu skipped the S ...

Turkey steps up its rhetoric against the Syran regime as the clashes spill over Turkey’s border for the first time ahead of today’s truce deadline. Ankara warns of dire consequences for any repeat of such violence.. The Turkish Foreign Ministry yesterday delivered a stern warning to the top Syrian diplomat in Ankara, pressing for an immediate halt to shooting at the border. A senior official also said U.N.- ...

Turkey's prime minister says the country will wait "patiently" to see if Syria abides by a cease-fire deadline, but may take certain "steps" if the violence does not stop after that. Recep Tayyip Erdogan did not specify today what measures Turkey would take, but Ankara has in the past floated the idea of creating a buffer zone inside Syria if refugee flows become overwhelming. Officials say nearly 700 Syria ...

Friends' Group: SNC a legitimate representative of Syrian people A communique was issued today by a meeting of mainly Arab and Western governments in Istanbul giving full support to U.N.-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan's peace mission while stressing that it cannot be open-ended. The communique also recognized the legitimacy of steps taken by the Syrian people to defend themselves, Reuters reported. Conference ...

Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan met Iran's leaders on Wednesday amid signs Tehran might soften its stance on Syria after steadfastly supporting its closest Arab ally over more than a year of violent unrest. Erdogan arrived in Tehran before dawn, accompanied by a large delegation of ministers and officials, for discussions on Syria, Iran's nuclear programme and closer economic ties. While Turkey has re ...

No longer the supposed darling of the Arab world, Turkey finds itself on the outside looking in as the Arab League meets to discuss Syria without it due to the body’s unease over ‘non-Arab’ interference in the crisis The Arab League has shunned Turkey and Iran for its meeting today in Baghdad over Syria with the seeming intention of distancing itself from Ankara-led aggressive policies against Damascus that ...

Turkey closed its embassy in Damascus on Monday because of deteriorating security conditions in Syria, a Turkish diplomatic source said. " Activities at the Turkish embassy have been suspended from this morning," the source said on condition of anonymity, adding that all diplomatic personnel have left the Syrian capital. Ankara has become increasingly strident in its criticism of its one-time ally over a br ...

Concerns over Iran and Syria dominated a private meeting earlier today between Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and U.S. President Barack Obama in Seoul, daily Hürriyet reported. Obama said Ankara and Washington would continue to work together on the crisis in Syria. "It was a very fruitful meeting," the Turkish prime minister told reporters. "We had a chance to evaluate the situation in Syria. I ...

Options will be considered if diplomacy fails in Syria: Turkish FM The international community will keep urging Damascus to allow in humanitarian aid into its violence-hit areas, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu said today in Tunis, but added that if the country’s human tragedy continued, "other options" would be considered. "We’ll increase diplomatic efforts. But, if those efforts do not produce results, [ ...

The Turkish government may have won Western plaudits for its outspoken criticism of the Syrian regime but it stands accused in some quarters back home of losing influence over its neighbor as a result. ANKARA- Once regarded as a friend and ally of Syrian President Bashar Assad, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has not only called on him to quit but charged that his administration "mercilessly mur ...

Turkey and the US agree that urgent action needed to prevent a humanitarian crisis in Syria, says Turkish FM, as Clinton pledges to increase fundings for Syrians and intensify pressure against al-Assad regime Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu said Feb. 13 that Turkey and the United States had agreed there should be new humanitarian initiative to reach out to the Syrian people, as a real humanitarian ...

President Barack Obama spoke by telephone Friday with Turkey's Prime Minister Recip Erdogan about the situation in Syria and Iran's nuclear program, the White House said. "They agreed that the US and Turkey should continue to support the legitimate demands for democracy for the Syrian people and condemned the brutal action of the Assad regime," it said in a statement. "The two leaders discussed Iran's nucle ...

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu said on Friday that Turkey had no desire to interfere in Syria's internal affairs, but that it could not stand by if security in the region was put at risk. Ankara reiterates it has no desire to interfere in Syria's internal affairs, but adds it cannot stand by if the security of the region is at risk. Turkey will suspend its 2008 free trade agreement with Syria, off ...

Ankara announces its sanctions on the Syrian regime, including a travel ban on 20 businessmen and a freeze on state assets, along with financial and military bans. Turkey has implemented a raft of sanctions against Syria due to its ongoing anti-opposition crackdown, including measures to freeze state assets, suspend ties with Syria’s central bank and ban all military sales. “The basic principle regarding th ...