Turkey

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu urged the EU on Monday (March 15th) to end visa requirements for Turkish citizens. The request came during a meeting with EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fuele, who was visiting Ankara for the first time since being elected to the post. The EU lifted visa requirements …

Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili arrived in İstanbul for a short visit on Monday. İstanbul Deputy Governor Ahmet Aydın greeted Saakashvili at İstanbul Atatürk Airport. According to the report, Saakashvili is expected to meet with a group of businessmen before leaving Turkey.

Turkish President Abdullah Gul expressed conviction on Saturday that Turkey will overcome the crisis caused by an investigation into a suspected army plot to topple the government. The statement made to Hurriyet came a day after an Istanbul court charged two generals in the case. Dubbed the “Sledgehammer”, the plot …

Greek CypriotPresident Demetris Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat met on Wednesday (February 24th) to continue intensified talks on reunifying the divided island, focusing this time on the economy. Alexander Downer, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’ special adviser for Cyprus, says they will meet again on Friday.

UN Special Envoy to Cyprus Alexander Downer said on Tuesday that talks to resolve the long-standing dispute between the Greek and Turkish communities on the island will be delayed by the April 18th vote to elect a new Turkish Cypriot leader. The two main candidates to become “president” of the …

Turkey and Serbia are ready to work together on the establishing of stability and peace in the Balkans, Turkish FM Ahmet Davutoglou says. His statement came after a meeting in Ankara on Saturday with his Serbian counterpart Vuk Jeremić. The free trade agreement between Serbia and Turkey, which will considerably …

Armenian Prime Minister Serzh Sargsyan on Friday (February 12th) submitted to parliament two protocols aimed to normalise ties with Turkey. The documents, signed in October last year, will be discussed by lawmakers for ratification. However, Sargsyan said that Armenia’s parliament will first wait for Turkey to ratify them before doing …

Regional governors along the Georgia-Turkey border discussed cooperation in Akhaltsikhe this week. Georgian Governor Lasha Chkadua met with neighboring Turkish border region Ardahan Governor Mustafa Tekmen and the governor of the Georgian Samtskhe Dzhvakheti region.

EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fule will visit Macedonia on February 19th, Macedonia’s foreign ministry said on Thursday. Commissioner Fule will meet with Macedonia’s Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski, Deputy Prime Minister in charge of EU integration Vasko Naumovski, and Foreign Minister Antonio Milososki. The newly-appointed EU enlargement chief took up his …

The Turkish and Georgian parliament speakers met in Ankara, Turkey on Wednesday. Turkey’s Parliament Speaker Mehmet Ali Sahin and Georgia’s Parliament Speaker David Bakradze had a tete-a-tete meeting at the Turkish parliament, and then chaired the meeting between two delegations.