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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 Erdogan congratulates new Israeli president in first high-level contact between the two countries in years

Erdogan congratulates new Israeli president in first high-level contact between the two countries in years

The Turkish president, Recip Tayip Erdogan, on Monday (July 12)  spoke on the phone with his Israeli counterpart Isaac Herzog and discussed relations between the two countries as well as regional issues. This was the first high-level contact between Turkey and Israel in years. Relations between the two countries have been strained as a result of Israeli policy towards the Palestinians and Israel's perception of Turkish support for radical Palestinian groups.
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Egypt, Jordan and Iraq hold summit in Baghdad

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The Egypt-Jordan-Iraq summit comes within the framework of the tripartite co-operation mechanism between the three countries, which held its first round in Cairo in March 2019. Whilst not mentioned in official statements, the trilateral relationship established between Egypt, Iraq and Jordan is seen partly as an attempt to neutralise Iran’s influence across the region.