Region

Turkey and the Levant

Stories under this heading cover Turkey as well as the Levant – a large area in the Eastern Mediterranean region of Western Asia, consisting of Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Israel and Palestine.

Saudi Arabia and Syria discuss resuming consular services

Saudi Arabia and Syria are in talks to resume consular services between the two countries, the Saudi outlet Al-Ekhbariya TV said on Thursday (23 March).

Citing a Saudi Foreign Ministry official, the TV channel said, "within the framework of the Kingdom’s keenness to facilitate the provision of necessary consular services between the two nations, discussions are underway with officials in Syria to resume consular services."

The statement from the Saudi Foreign Ministry followed reports in international media earlier on Thursday.

patrickn97 Fri, 03/24/2023 - 10:51 Organization of Turkic States convenes in Ankara to discuss disaster preparation and humanitarian relief
Today on Thursday (16 March), the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) will meet in the Turkish capital of Ankara to discuss regional disaster preparation, joint humanitarian relief, and the interoperability of Turkic State disaster responses. The meeting comes some six weeks after a devasting earthquake in Turkey and Syria that has killed over 50,000 people. Established in 2009 as the Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking States, the OTS is an intergovernmental organisation that has as its "overarching aim" the promotion of "comprehensive cooperation among Turkic States". It has five member states - Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkey and Uzbekistan - as well as three observer states, namely Turkmenistan, Hungary and the internationally unrecognised Turkish Republic of Northern Cyrpus. The precise theme of Thursday's extraordinary summit is "Disaster-Emergency Management and Humanitarian Assistance". Among those attending the summit are President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov, and Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev.
patrickn97 Thu, 03/16/2023 - 09:43

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Biden and Erdogan discuss South Caucasus

Biden and Erdogan discuss South Caucasus

The presidents of the United States and Turkey met in Rome on Sunday (31 October), on the margins of the G20 summit which took place in the Italian capital over the weekend. The two countries are important allies in NATO, but differences have marred relations in recent years, particularly as Turkey has pursued a more assertive foreign policy.
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Fears Lebanon is sliding back to civil war after street violence in Beirut on Thursday

Fears Lebanon is sliding back to civil war after street violence in Beirut on Thursday

Lebanon has a history of decades of sectarian strife between Christians and Muslims, and groups within them. Foreign interference since the 1950's has made Lebanon a battle field for Middle East states and groups to fight proxy wars. The latest incidents raise concerns of a further deterioration of what is already for many Lebanese people a very dire situation.
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Putin and Erdogan met in Sochi to consolidate Russia-Turkey relations

Putin and Erdogan met in Sochi to consolidate Russia-Turkey relations

Russian president Vladimir Putin hosted Turkish president Recip Tayip Erdogan in the Russian Black Sea city of Sochi on Wednesday (29 September) with both sides keen to consolidate Turkish-Russian relations despite a number of serious differences, especially on Syria. This face-to-face meeting was the first for the two presidents in the past year-and-a-half. Their previous meeting was in March 2020, at the Kremlin.
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Lebanon's cabinet gets Parliamentary approval

Lebanon's cabinet gets Parliamentary approval

After a long session that lasted eight hours on Monday (20 September), the Lebanese parliament gave a vote of confidence to the new Lebanese cabinet led by prime minister Najib Mikati. The session, in which 100 out of 128 members attended, was long and tiring for many yet nothing dramatic disturbed the proceedings. 
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Turkey and EU discuss climate change at "excellent" first high level dialogue

Turkey and EU discuss climate change at "excellent" first high level dialogue

The European Union and Turkey on Thursday (16 September), held their first high level dialogue on climate change. The delegations were led by the European Commission’s executive vice president for the European Green Deal, Frans Timmermans, and Turkish minister of environment and urbanization,  Murut Kurum. They discussed the necessary steps to fight the devastating effects of climate change and to significantly cut emissions by 2050.
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Lebanon finally has a government!

Lebanon finally has a government!

After more than a year of political mistrust and local instability, Lebanon finally has a government with Najib Mikati, a billionaire telecommunications tycoon, as the prime minister. The cabinet was announced by the Lebanese presidency on Twitter after the Friday prayer local time in Beirut. He added that Mikati agreed to make the government official by signing a decree in the presence of the parliament speaker, Nabih Berri at the Baabda presidential palace. 
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More signs of a thaw in Armenian-Turkish relations

More signs of a thaw in Armenian-Turkish relations

At a government meeting in Yerevan on Wednesday, 8 September, Armenian  Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan touched upon the issue of normalising relations with Turkey. He referred to comments made recently by Turkish president Recip Tayip Erdogan and said that his government was ready for discussions with the Turkish side.
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Opinion
Opinion: Armenia and Turkey again try to normalise relations, and this time it may work

Opinion: Armenia and Turkey again try to normalise relations, and this time it may work

"It is likely that Armenia and Turkey are close to making an official announcement about the launch of a new normalisation process. It may result in establishing diplomatic relations, and in Turkey deciding to open its border with Armenia", says Benyamin Poghosyan in this op-ed.