Three Turkish soldiers have been killed and 10 wounded in an attack in Syria, but reports differ about what happened.
Turkey’s military said the soldiers had been targeted in a Syrian government air strike on Thursday, during an offensive by Turkish-backed rebels against so-called Islamic State.
Read the Full Article: Source – BBC News
Time For Truth: (BBC News) – IS conflict: Turkish soldiers killed in Syria attack
President Tayyip Erdogan was quoted on Sunday as saying that Turkey did not need to join the European Union “at all costs” and could instead become part of a security bloc dominated by China, Russia and Central Asian nations.
NATO member Turkey’s prospects of joining the EU look more remote than ever after 11 years of negotiations. European leaders have been critical of its record on democratic freedoms, while Ankara has grown increasingly exasperated by what it sees as Western condescension.
Read the Full Article: Source – Reuters
Time For Truth: (Reuters) – Fed up with EU, Erdogan says Turkey could join Shanghai bloc
Thousands have protested in Istanbul in Turkey against a bill that would let off men who assaulted underage girls if they marry their victims.
The government insists the legislation is aimed at dealing with the widespread custom of child marriage, but critics say that it will legitimise child rape.
Read the Full Article: Source – BBC News
Time For Truth: (BBC News) – Turkey: Thousands protest against proposed child sex law
In the past few weeks, a conflict between Ankara and Baghdad over Turkey’s role in the liberation of Mosul has precipitated an alarming burst of Turkish irredentism. On two separate occasions, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan criticized the Treaty of Lausanne, which created the borders of modern Turkey, for leaving the country too small. He spoke of the country’s interest in the fate of Turkish minorities living beyond these borders, as well as its historic claims to the Iraqi city of Mosul, near which Turkey has a small military base. And, alongside news of Turkish jets bombing Kurdish forces in Syria and engaging in mock dogfights with Greek planes over the Aegean Sea, Turkey’s pro-government media have shown a newfound interest in a series of imprecise, even crudely drawn, maps of Turkey with new and improved borders.
Read the Full Article: Source – Foreign Policy
Time For Truth: (Foreign Policy) – Turkey’s New Maps Are Reclaiming the Ottoman Empire
Turkey and Russia signed an agreement on Monday for the construction of a major undersea gas pipeline and vowed to seek common ground on the war in Syria, accelerating a normalization in ties nearly a year after Turkey shot down a Russian warplane.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan hosted Russia’s Vladimir Putin at an Ottoman-era villa in Istanbul for talks which touched on energy deals, trade and tourism ties, defense and the conflict in Syria, where the two leaders back opposing sides.
Read the Full Article: Source – Reuters
Time For Truth: (Reuters) – Russia and Turkey sign gas deal, seek common ground on Syria as ties warm