Latest Ankara News
Turkey summons Swedish envoy over contacts with Syrian Kurds
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey summoned Sweden's ambassador on Tuesday to protest Swedish government officials’ contacts with Syrian Kurdish groups that Ankara classifies as terror organizations, a Turkish Foreign Ministry official said. During the meeting with...
Greek, Turkish FMs meet to mend ties, trade barbs instead
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — A meeting aimed to improve fraught ties between NATO allies Greece and Turkey quickly descended into a tense exchange of accusations between the two neighbors' foreign ministers on Thursday. Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias traveled to Ankara...
Former Turkish prime minister Yildirim Akbulut dies aged 85
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Yildirim Akbulut, who served as Turkey's prime minister during the First Gulf War and also oversaw an influx of ethnic Turkish refugees from Bulgaria, died Wednesday aged 85, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported. Akbulut died at Ankara University...
Turkey's Erdogan blasts Draghi for calling him a 'dictator'
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday accused Italian Premier Mario Draghi of “tactlessness” and “rudeness,” for referring to him as a “dictator.” Addressing a group of youths, the Turkish president, who has won several...
Turkey, Libya recommit to contested maritime borders deal
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — The head of Libya's new interim government and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday affirmed their commitment to a controversial 2019 maritime agreement that has angered Greece and Cyprus. Speaking following a meeting in Ankara with...
Turkey demands apology after Draghi calls Erdogan a dictator
ROME (AP) — Turkey demanded an apology Friday from Italy's premier for having called President Recep Tayyip Erdogan a “dictator,” a comment that added fuel to a dispute over a perceived seating snub involving a top European Union official. The comment also deepened...
Turkey rejects claims of sexist snub towards von der Leyen
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey on Thursday strongly rejected accusations that it snubbed Ursula von der Leyen — one of the European Union’s most powerful executives — because of her gender after a protocol gaffe during a meeting at the Turkish presidential palace ignited a public...
Snub in EU-Turkey meeting highlights gender equality issue
BRUSSELS (AP) — Gender equality issues took center stage Wednesday in Brussels a day after Ursula von der Leyen, one the EU's most powerful executives, was treated like a second-rank official during a visit to Ankara. Von der Leyen — the European Commission president...
Turkey sentences dozens to life terms over 2016 failed coup
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — A Turkish court sentenced dozens of people, including former soldiers attached to the presidential guard regiment, to life imprisonment on Wednesday over their involvement in the 2016 failed coup attempt against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government, the...
Turkey summons China's ambassador over Twitter posts
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey summoned China’s ambassador after the embassy suggested on Twitter that it could take action against two Turkish politicians who criticized Beijing’s treatment of its Muslim Uyghur community. A Foreign Ministry official said the...
