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Turkey may part ways with EU, says Erdogan, implying end of membership bid

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Saturday that Turkey may part ways with the European Union, implying that the country is thinking about ending its bid to join the 27-nation bloc. "The EU is making efforts to sever ties with Turkey," he told reporters before departing for the 78th UN General Assembly in New York. "We will evaluate the situation, and if needed we will part ways with the EU." He was responding to a question about a recent report adopted by the European Parliament, which stated "the accession process cannot resume under the current circumstances, and calls on EU to explore a parallel and realistic framework' for EU-Trkiye relations." Turkey applied to join the European Union in 1999, and accession talks began in 2005. Accession negotiations were frozen in 2018 because of "democratic backsliding," according to the European Parliament. Erdogan's statement on Saturday came more than a week after Turkey's foreign minister affirmed his country's resolve to join the EU

Turkiye may part ways with EU, could end membership bid, says Erdogan

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Saturday that Turkiye may part ways with the European Union, implying that the country is thinking about ending its bid to join the 27-nation bloc. The EU is making efforts to sever ties with Turkiye, he told reporters before departing for the 78th UN General Assembly in New York. We will evaluate the situation, and if needed we will part ways with the EU. He was responding to a question about a recent report adopted by the European Parliament, which stated the accession process cannot resume under the current circumstances, and calls on EU to explore a parallel and realistic framework' for EU-Trkiye relations. Turkiye applied to join the European Union in 1999, and accession talks began in 2005. Accession negotiations were frozen in 2018 because of democratic backsliding, according to the European Parliament. Erdogan's statement on Saturday came more than a week after Turkiye's foreign minister affirmed his country's resolve to join the EU and

Rescue teams frustrated that Morocco did not accept more international help

The text-message alert came in the middle of the night: A massive earthquake had hit Morocco. French volunteers scrambled to pull together a nine-person search-and-rescue team, listening devices and other gear to look for people buried under rubble. The only thing the French aid workers didn't have was a green light from Morocco to hop on a flight, which could have landed them in the North African country's disaster zone little more than 24 hours after the September 8 quake that killed more than 2,900 people and injured at least 5,530 others in flattened villages and townhouses. The green light never came, said Arnaud Fraisse, the team's coordinator and founder of aid group Rescuers Without Borders. All of our team members who train regularly year-round for this type of thing are miserable that they couldn't leave and put their skills to use. Aid groups in Europe are frustrated that Morocco did not throw open its doors to outside assistance as Turkey did for a devastating quake in .

Turkey will be proud if India becomes permanent member of UNSC: Erdogan

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday said Turkey would be "proud" if a country like India becomes a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). At the same time, Erdogan said all non-P5 members should have an opportunity to become members of the Security Council by rotation. He was responding to question at a media briefing In a reference to the P5 or five permanent members of the Security Council -- China, France, Russia, the UK and the US, Erdogan said the "world is bigger and larger than five". "We would be proud if a country like India became a permanent member of the UN Security Council. As you know, the world is bigger and larger than five," he said. "What we mean is that it's not only about the US, the UK, France, China and Russia. We don't want to have just these five countries in the Security Council," he said.

If we get requests like that, we consider them: UN official on 'Bharat' row

The United Nations considers requests from countries to change their names as and when the world body receives them, a top UN official has said, amid a row over President Droupadi Murmu's G20 dinner invites referring to her as 'President of Bharat' instead of 'President of India'. Deputy Spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres Farhan Haq on Wednesday cited the example of Turkey changing its name to Turkiye last year. Well, in the case of Turkiye, we responded to a formal request delivered to us by the Government. Obviously, if we get requests like that, we consider them as they come, he said in response to a question on reports that India's name could be changed to Bharat. A row erupted in India on Tuesday after invitations for a G20 dinner were sent out by President Murmu, describing her position as 'President of Bharat' instead of the customary 'President of India', with the opposition accusing the Narendra Modi government of planning to drop India and stay with jus

Vladimir Putin to meet Turkish counterpart Erdogan on September 4

Their talks come a week before Turkey and the United Nations seek to revive a Ukraine grain export deal that aided ease a global food crisis

Turkey's Erdogan slams peacekeepers for blocking road project in Cyprus

Turkey's president on Monday criticized U.N. peacekeepers for blocking the construction of a road in ethnically divided Cyprus, calling the action unacceptable and accusing the peacekeeping force of bias against Turkish Cypriots. Speaking after a Cabinet meeting, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey would not allow any unlawful behavior toward ethnic Turks on Cyprus, where his country maintains more than 35,000 troops in the Mediterranean island nation 's breakaway northern third. Angry Turkish Cypriots last week punched and kicked a group of international peacekeepers that blocked crews working on a road that would encroach on the island's U.N.-controlled buffer zone. The road is designed to connect the village of Arsos, located in the Turkish Cypriot north, with the multi-ethnic village of Pyla, which is located inside the buffer zone and abuts the Greek Cypriot south, where the island's internationally recognized government is seated. Preventing the Turkish Cypriots living

6 months after devastating quake, Turkey's preparedness still uncertain

Dust and rubble fill the street as an excavator tears off chunks of concrete from an old apartment building. Bystanders and former residents watch from afar as construction equipment tears down the structure. Among the bystanders is Ibrahim Ozaydin, 30, a former resident. He watches the demolition not with worry, but with relief, as his building was marked by officials as unsafe months ago. Ozaydin and his family were shocked to learn that the municipality deemed his building uninhabitable. We decided to build our own house, he told The Associated Press as he watched his former home being torn down. Instead of living in a poorly built house, let us take our own precautions. The sight of construction vehicles demolishing buildings became engrained in Turkish minds six months ago today, after a devastating 7.8-magnitude earthquake hit Kahramanmaras and 10 other provinces in southern Turkey on the morning of February 6. Over 50,000 people died, and hundreds of thousands were left ..

Prices begin to pinch Turkey again, inflation jumps to nearly 48%

The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey of economists was 46.8 per cent Monthly inflation reached 9.5 per cent.

Prosus to sell part of PayU to Rapyd for $610 mn, retain India business

Prosus-backed PayU to focus on the large payments and fintech in India

Prez Erdogan discusses extension of Black Sea grain deal with Zelenskyy

Russia and Ukraine, both have warned each other against the travelling of ships in the Black Sea, saying that it will be considered as "potential military cargo"

Turkish president doesn't rule out deadlocked Cyprus peace talks restart

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday didn't rule out reviving deadlocked negotiations to resolve Cyprus' nearly 50-year ethnic division, but again rejected any deal that wouldn't offer Turkish Cypriots a state of their own. That position stands against a United Nations-sanctioned framework envisioning a federated island nation. Speaking at celebrations in the breakaway Turkish Cypriot north on the 49th anniversary of a Turkish invasion that split the island along ethnic lines, Erdogan again poured cold water on Greek Cypriot hopes of forming a federation composed of Greek and Turkish speaking zones as has been the aim of talks for decades. Everyone needs to understand now that a federal solution is not possible, Erdogan said. He said that Turkey does not oppose fresh talks, but that negotiations cannot restart without recognising the sovereign equality and equal international status of the Turkish Cypriots. Prompted by a coup in Cyprus aimed at uniting the island wit

Erdogan visits Gulf Arab states, seeks funds for floundering economy

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan travelled to Saudi Arabia on Monday in a three-stop tour of Persian Gulf states to seek trade and investment opportunities for Turkiye's floundering economy. Erdogan arrived in Jeddah accompanied by an entourage of some 200 businesspeople, according to the Foreign Economic Relations Board of Turkiye. He met Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at Al Salam Palace, shaking hands and attending a welcoming ceremony where he expressed his happiness with this visit, the state-run Saudi Press Agency reported early Tuesday. Business forums have been arranged in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates during Erdogan's three-day trip. We are hoping to improve our relations and cooperation in many fields. We will focus on joint investment and commercial initiatives to be realized in the upcoming period, Erdogan told reporters in Istanbul before leaving. The visit comes as Turks are hit with sales and fuel tax hikes that Finance Minister Mehmet Simse

What is the Black Sea grain deal that is at risk of falling apart?

Russia and Ukraine are among the world's top grain exporters, and their conflict sent food prices surging around the world

Turkiye raises fuel taxes by almost 200% on high earthquake costs

The new special consumption taxes on different types of fuel - including gasoline and diesel - were published in the Official Gazette

Lawmakers to take up Sweden's Nato membership ratification in Oct: Erdogan

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Wednesday that Sweden's NATO membership bid would not be ratified by Turkiye's parliament before October, but that he hopes for a swift ratification once lawmakers return from a break. Turkiye on Monday withdrew its objections to Sweden joining the alliance, a step toward the unity that Western leaders have been eager to demonstrate in the face of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The decision by Erdogan was a significant move toward Sweden's membership and came after days of intensive meetings. Erdogan's comments Wednesday were his first public confirmation of his decision to refer Sweden's membership to parliament, where his party and its allies command a majority. He said at a news conference at the NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, that the process would have to wait until after lawmakers return from a summer recess. The new session opens Oct. 1. The parliament is not in session for the upcoming two months but our target is to finalize

Turkey's support for Sweden's Nato entry is tied to goals on security

Turkiye made a surprise pledge to drop its opposition to Sweden joining NATO, paving the way for the Nordic country to become a member of the Western military alliance. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg heralded the agreement Monday after talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson. Stoltenberg said Turkiye had agreed to support Sweden's NATO bid by putting the issue to a vote in Parliament -- in return for deeper cooperation with Sweden on security issues and a pledge from Sweden to revive Turkiye's quest for EU membership. The agreement also says Sweden and Turkiye will step up trade and investment with each other. Hungary, the only other NATO holdout on Sweden, is also expected to drop its opposition. Hungary's foreign minister said Tuesday that his country's ratification of Sweden's NATO membership was now just a technical matter. Erdogan has been uncharacteristically quiet since the agreement was publicized, declining to

Nato summit boosted by deal to advance Sweden's bid to join alliance

NATO's summit will begin Tuesday with fresh momentum after Turkiye withdrew its objections to Sweden joining the alliance, a step toward the unity that Western leaders have been eager to demonstrate in the face of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The decision by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is a significant move toward Sweden's membership and it will alleviate tension in Vilnius, Lithuania's capital. This is a historic day, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said late Monday as he announced the agreement following days of intensive meetings. As part of the deal, Erdogan said he would ask Turkiye's parliament to approve Sweden joining NATO. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban is expected to take a similar step. The outcome is a victory for US President Joe Biden as well, who has touted NATO's expansion as an example of how Russia's invasion of Ukraine has backfired on Moscow. Finland has already become the 31st member of the alliance, and Sweden is on deck to become th

US President Biden welcomes Turkey's agreement to back Sweden's NATO bid

Biden expressed readiness to work with Erdogan and Turkey on enhancing defence and deterrence. He stated that he looked forward to welcoming Sweden as US' 32nd NATO ally