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Tag: Recep Tayyip Erdoğan

  • Israel and Turkey on collision course after Ankara severs ties

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    Turkey fully suspends trade and closes airspace to Israel, a wartime-level rupture that analysts warn could fuel dangerous escalation.

    Turkey’s full suspension of economic and trade relations with Israel, coupled with the closure of its airspace, marks an unprecedented escalation that could have far-reaching consequences, Dr. Hay Eytan Cohen-Yanarocak of Tel Aviv University warned in an interview with Maariv.

    “A country will completely cut its economic and trade relations with another and closes its airspace to its planes, only during wartime,” Cohen Yanarocak said. “This move is unprecedented, removes mutual dependency, and could lead to strategic escalation.”

    The rupture followed Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan’s announcement earlier this week. According to Cohen-Yanarocak, the deterioration had been building for months. “It didn’t surprise me. I’ve been waiting a long time for these gradual steps,” he said, pointing to earlier maritime sanctions. “The moment Israel declared its intention to expand the military operation in Gaza, they made the decision that very same day to impose maritime sanctions.”

    Israeli forces exposing surveillance devices that had reportedly been sold to Damascus by Turkey gave Ankara the trigger it needed. “You could say it was expected to happen, but they were waiting for a specific incident in order to play this card,” he noted.

    Turkish Airlines Boeing 737-800 plane TC-JVV taxies to take-off in Riga International Airport (credit: REUTERS)

    Danger to the economy, tourism

    While immediate disruptions are logistical, flights to Russia, Georgia, and Azerbaijan will now take longer, and Turkish airlines will be barred from Israeli airspace, the real danger is strategic.

    “All the mutual dependency between the two countries disappears, and once there is no dependency, it becomes very dangerous because there is nothing to lose,” Cohen Yanarocak warned. “If there’s economy, if there’s tourism, if there are relations—then there’s something to lose, and so each side may ultimately think twice.”

    Without tourism, trade, or even shared flight corridors, he cautioned, “the natural restraint vanishes,” paving the way for “more dramatic and undesirable escalations.”

    The break also reflects President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s wider ambitions. “Erdogan wants to restore past glory, to once again make Turkey the strongest Muslim state,” Cohen Yanarocak explained. “And when there is some Muslim entity, such as Gaza, that is in serious trouble, the Turkish leader sees himself as the leader of all Sunni Muslims.”

    Still, Erdogan is moving cautiously. “He’s not doing it overnight, but rather taking gradual steps,” the analyst said, stressing that this “matches his overall vision.”

    The chances of mending ties soon are slim. “As long as we don’t see an end to the war, I don’t think it’s possible to put the genie back in the bottle,” Cohen Yanarocak said. “On paper, it can be done, but there’s a political price.”

    With Turkey “reaping major political capital from the war in Gaza,” he added, reversing course will be increasingly difficult. What began as a temporary protest, he concluded, has now become “a structural change in relations, with consequences that will extend far beyond the end of the current war.”

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  • Trading Day: Nvidia beats but shares retreat

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    By Jamie McGeever

    ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) -TRADING DAY

    Making sense of the forces driving global markets

    By Jamie McGeever, Markets Columnist

    The S&P 500 hit a record high on Wednesday, as Wall Street rose broadly on expectations the Federal Reserve will lower interest rates next month and on investor confidence that tech giant Nvidia‘s results would deliver another resounding ‘beat’.

    More on that below. In my column today, I look at examples of where the overt politicization of monetary policy has had severe economic and market consequences. And contrary to perceived wisdom, these have not just been in emerging markets.

    If you have more time to read, here are a few articles I recommend to help you make sense of what happened in markets today.

    1. Fed’s credibility is an asset whose decline could becostly 2. The fight for the Fed reaches its decisive moment 3. India hit by U.S. doubling of tariffs, plans to cushionblow 4. Tariff-bolstered U.S. credit rating is still tarnished:Mike Dolan 5. Investors worry Trump‘s Intel deal kicks off era of U.S.industrial policy

    Today’s Key Market Moves

    * STOCKS: S&P 500 hits new high. China’s benchmark indexesslump 1.5% or more. Europe flat, Britain’s FTSE 100 falls for asecond day from Monday’s record high. * SHARES/SECTORS: Nvidia shares fall as much as 5% inextended trade after earnings, despite beating on Q2 revenue andforecasting strong Q3 revenue on robust AI chip demand. * FX: Dollar index gives back gains, ends flat. In G10space, dollar falls most vs Canadian dollar and Norwegian krone. * BONDS: French 30-year yield highest since 2011. U.S.2-year yield falls to 3.62%, lowest since May. 5-year auctiongoes reasonably well. * COMMODITIES: Oil rebounds 1% plus from Tuesday’sselloff. Brent crude futures have now swung 1% or more in nineof the last 10 trading sessions.

    Today’s Talking Points:

    * Wings of a dove

    Investors remain confident that the Fed will cut interest rates next month as the controversy around President Donald Trump’s attempts to fire Fed Governor Lisa Cook persists. Traders are putting a near-90% probability on a move next month, and the 2-year Treasury yield fell to its lowest since May.

    New York Fed President John Williams said rates are probably headed lower, but officials need to see more economic data before deciding if a cut next month is appropriate.

    * Stock rotation

    The S&P 500 clocked a new high on Wednesday, led by the energy and healthcare sectors. As August draws to a close, the rotation into small cap and value stocks from tech and growth stocks shows no sign of reversing.

    The Russell 2000 index has lagged all year but on Wednesday notched a new 2025 high, again outperforming Wall Street’s big three indices. Will this continue next month? Much will depend on the impact of Nvidia’s Q2 results, and expectations of what the Fed will do on September 17.

    * China takes stock

    Chinese stocks have been on a tear, roaring to decade highs earlier this week. But the AI-driven rally sputtered on Wednesday, and the Shanghai Composite slid nearly 2% for its biggest fall since the tariff turmoil of early April.

    It may just be natural profit-taking as month-end looms. But maybe the rally is stretched – Hong Kong’s tech index is up 10% in August and up 60% from the April low, and China’s economy is still not out of its funk: China’s economic surprises index last week fell to its lowest level this year.

    Danger ahead! Five examples of risky central bank politicization

    There is legitimate debate about the actual independence of modern-day central banks, but almost everyone agrees that overt politicization of monetary policy – as we appear to be seeing in the United States – is dangerous. Why is that?

    Central banks are essentially arms of government, and many worked in close conjunction with national Treasuries in response to the Global Financial Crisis and pandemic, so absolute independence is a bit of a myth.

    But what U.S. President Donald Trump is currently doing goes well beyond that. By threatening to fire Chair Jerome Powell, actively trying to sack Governor Lisa Cook, and attempting to fill the Board of Governors with appointees sympathetic to his calls for lower interest rates, he is shattering the Fed’s veneer of operational independence.

    Examples of the naked politicization of monetary policy down the years show that it can, to put it mildly, deliver sub-optimal results – loss of credibility, currency weakness, spiking inflation, rising debt, elevated risk premia, and, potentially, much higher borrowing costs.

    These are certainly far from guaranteed outcomes in the U.S., but they show where excessive political interference in monetary policy can lead.

    TURKEY

    “Erdoganomics”, the unorthodox economic theories and policies of Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has been President of Turkey since 2014, are a prime example of politicized monetary policy. Erdogan, an avowed “enemy” of interest rates, is on record as saying high interest rates cause inflation and that the way to reduce inflation is therefore to lower borrowing costs.

    He fired or replaced five central bank governors between 2019 and 2024, some for hiking interest rates or refusing to cut them.

    With inflation and interest rates hovering around 20% in late 2021, the central bank succumbed to Erdogan’s pressure and slashed borrowing costs. The result? The currency collapsed and inflation soared above 85%.

    ARGENTINA

    Few central banks in the modern era have so clearly been de facto arms of government as Argentina’s Banco Central de la Republica Argentina. Successive governments have leaned heavily on the BCRA to print money to fund their spending, with predictable results. The country has been in and out of economic crises, and battling high or even hyper-inflation for decades.

    The tenure of a BCRA president tends to be short: there have been 13 BCRA heads this century. And there were seven in the first seven years of Carlos Menem’s Presidency between 1989 and 1996. President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner also notoriously fired BCRA chief Martin Redrado in 2010 because he opposed her plan to use $6.6 billion in FX reserves to pay down debt.

    INDIA

    Pressure on the Reserve Bank of India has intensified under the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In December 2018 RBI Governor Urjit Patel resigned abruptly after just over two years in the job following months of government pressure to ease lending conditions and allow the government more access to reserves to boost spending ahead of national elections.

    In the months before Patel’s departure, Modi also removed RBI board members and appointed his supporters in their place, unnerving investors. This helped push the rupee to a then-record low against the dollar that October, and annual inflation more than trebled over the following year to nearly 8%.

    JAPAN

    The situation here is a bit different – given that Japanese leaders have often been actively seeking a weaker currency and higher inflation – but the cozy relationship between the government and the Bank of Japan has still arguably had a negative impact on the country’s long-term economic health.

    The Japanese government and central bank have worked almost as one while completing several FX interventions over the years. The ties deepened with the roll out of “Abenomics” in 2012, the economic reforms introduced by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, that included the ‘three arrows’ of fiscal policy, monetary policy, and structural reform.

    At the heart of Abenomics was unprecedentedly loose monetary policy, even by BOJ standards. The central bank expanded its balance sheet massively – it’s still around six times larger than the Fed’s as a share of GDP – and deployed negative interest rates for years.

    Did it work? Many critics argue not, as growth remained sluggish, inequality rose, and Japan is now hamstrung by the world’s largest public debt load.

    UNITED STATES

    Last is, perhaps surprisingly, the U.S. itself. In the early 1970s, President Richard Nixon pressured then-Fed Chair Arthur Burns to keep monetary policy loose ahead of the 1972 election even though inflationary pressures were building.

    Nixon also reportedly told Burns in 1969, just after he nominated him, that previous Fed chair Bill Martin was always six months “too late” doing anything. “I’m counting on you, Arthur, to keep us out of a recession,” adding: “I know there’s the myth of the autonomous Fed…”

    Burns served as Fed chair for eight years through 1978, during which time inflation exploded and didn’t fully come down until the early 1980s. Many observers consider him to be one of the least successful chairs in the Fed’s history.

    It barely needs saying that the U.S. is unlike any other country. Its economy and capital markets dwarf all others, the dollar is the world’s reserve currency, and its rates and bond markets are the benchmarks for global borrowing costs.

    That means that the magnitude of any market or economic impact from Trump’s political interference could very well be smaller than the ructions of the past. But America’s global heft also means that the worldwide impact of these moves could be much greater.

    What could move markets tomorrow?

    * South Korea interest rate decision * Philippines interest rate decision * Bank of Japan board member Junko Nakagawa speaks * China earnings, including ICBC half-yearly results * Euro zone sentiment indicators (August) * Canada current account (Q2) * U.S. GDP (Q2, second estimate) * U.S. weekly jobless claims * U.S. Treasury auctions $44 bln of 7-year notes * Reaction to Nvidia Q2 results released late Wednesday * U.S. earnings including Dollar General, Best Buy, HP

    Want to receive Trading Day in your inbox every weekday morning? Sign up for my newsletter here.

    Opinions expressed are those of the author. They do not reflect the views of Reuters News, which, under the Trust Principles, is committed to integrity, independence, and freedom from bias.

    (By Jamie McGeever; Editing by Nia Williams)

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  • Kurdish militants claim responsibility for deadly attack on Turkish defense firm

    Kurdish militants claim responsibility for deadly attack on Turkish defense firm

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    BAGHDAD (AP) — A banned Kurdish militant group on Friday claimed responsibility for an attack on the headquarters of a key defense company in Ankara that killed at least five people.

    A statement from the military wing of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, PKK, said Wednesday’s attack on the premises of the aerospace and defense company TUSAS was carried out by two members of its so-called “Immortal Battalion” in response to Turkish “massacres” and other actions in Kurdish regions.

    A man and a woman stormed TUSAS’ premises on the outskirts of Ankara, setting off explosives and opening fire. Four TUSAS employees were killed there. The assailants arrived on the scene in a taxi that they had commandeered by killing its driver. More than 20 people were injured in the attack.

    The woman assailant took her own life by detonating an explosive device after being injured in an exchange of fire at the entrance of the complex, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said. The male attacker hurled hand grenades at approaching security forces, then also detonated himself in the restroom of a nearby building “realizing there was no way out,” the minister said.

    Turkey blamed the attack on the PKK and immediately launched a series of aerial strikes on locations and facilities suspected to be used by the militant group in northern Iraq or by its affiliates in northern Syria.

    The attack on TUSAS came at a time of growing signs of a possible new attempt at dialogue to end the more than four-decade-old conflict between the PKK and Turkey’s military.

    Earlier this week, the leader of Turkey’s far-right nationalist party that’s allied with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan raised the possibility that Abdullah Ocalan, the PKK’s imprisoned leader, could be granted parole if he renounces violence and disbands his organization.

    Ocalan, who is serving a life sentence on a prison island off Istanbul, said in a message conveyed by his nephew on Thursday that he was ready to work for peace.

    The PKK’s military wing, the People’s Defense Center, said, however, that the attack was not related to the latest “political agenda,” insisting it was planned long before.

    It said TUSAS was chosen as a target because weapons produced there “killed thousands of civilians, including children and women, in Kurdistan.”

    TUSAS designs, manufactures and assembles civilian and military aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles and other defense industry and space systems. Its defense systems have been credited as key to Turkey gaining an upper hand in its fight against Kurdish militants.

    On Friday, an Iraqi security official said Turkish warplanes intensified their airstrikes on sites belonging to the PKK and other loyal forces in northern Iraq’s Sinjar district. The intensive bombing targeted tunnels, headquarters and military points of the PKK and the Sinjar Protection Units inside the Sinjar Mountain area.

    A local official and a security official said the bombings killed five Yazidis. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations.

    The Turkish defense ministry said 34 alleged PKK targets including caves, shelters, depots and other facilities were hit in an aerial operation overnight. Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency said drones operated by the national intelligence agency have struck 120 suspected sites since Wednesday’s attack.

    The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces said Thursday that the Turkish warplanes and drones struck bakeries, a power station, oil facilities and local police checkpoints. At least 12 civilians were killed and 25 others were wounded.

    The People’s Defense Center statement claimed there were no casualties among PKK fighters in the airstrikes.

    Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told a group of journalists on his return from a trip to Russia late Thursday that the two TUSAS assailants had infiltrated from Syria, but did not provide details.

    Addressing a defense industry fair in Istanbul on Friday, he said Turkey was determined to stamp out the militant group.

    “Although our pain is great because of our martyrs, our determination to fight against the scoundrels is much greater,” Erdogan said. “We will continue to crush those who think they can make us step back with such treachery.”

    On Friday, Turkish police detained 176 suspected PKK members in operations across Turkey, the Interior Ministry said.

    Police also detained a man who hurled rocks at the entrance of the headquarters of Turkey’s pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party, DEM, Anadolu reported. DEM party spokeswoman Aysegul Dogan said on the media platform X that the entrance door and windows were broken in the attack.

    The PKK has been fighting for autonomy in southeastern Turkey in a conflict that has killed tens of thousands of people since the 1980s. It is considered a terrorist group by Turkey and its Western allies.

    __

    Associated Press writer Suzan Fraser contributed from Ankara, Turkey.

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  • As Instagram remains blocked in Turkey, Erdogan accuses social media companies of ‘digital fascism’

    As Instagram remains blocked in Turkey, Erdogan accuses social media companies of ‘digital fascism’

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    ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused social media platforms of “digital fascism” on Monday for allegedly censoring photographs of Palestinian “martyrs.”

    The Turkish leader’s comments came as Turkish officials were engaged in discussions with representatives of the social media platform, Instagram, to reinstate access to millions of its users in Turkey.

    The Information and Communication Technologies Authority barred access to Instagram on Aug.2 without providing a reason. Government officials said the ban was imposed because Instagram failed to abide by Turkish regulations.

    Several media reports said however, that the action was in response to Instagram removing posts by Turkish users that expressed condolences over the killing of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh. It was the latest instance of a clampdown on websites in the country which has a track record of censoring social media and other online platforms.

    “They cannot even tolerate photographs of Palestinian martyrs and immediately ban them,” Erdogan said at a human rights event. “We are confronted with a digital fascism that is disguised as freedom.”

    Unlike its Western allies, Turkey does not consider Hamas a terror organization. A strong critic of Israel’s military actions in Gaza, Erdogan has described the group as a liberation movement.

    Erdogan went on to state that social media websites were allegedly allowing all kinds of propaganda by groups considered terrorists in Turkey.

    “We have tried to establish a line of dialogue through our relevant institutions. However, we have not yet been able to achieve the desired cooperation,” Erdogan said.

    The transportation and infrastructure minister, Abdulkadir Uraloglu, said Turkish authorities had met with representatives of the Meta-owned company last week and held a fresh round of talks on Monday without reaching a resolution.

    “We didn’t get the exact result we wanted,” Uraloglu said. “We don’t think there will be any progress today.”

    Instagram has more than 57 million users in Turkey, a nation of 85 million people, according to We Are Social Media, a digital marketing news company based in New York.

    The Electronic Commerce Operators’ Association estimates that Instagram and other social media platforms per day generate about 930 million Turkish lira ($27 million) worth of e-commerce.

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  • Kurdish People Fast Facts | CNN

    Kurdish People Fast Facts | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    Here’s a look at Kurdish people. Kurds do not have an official homeland or country. Most reside within countries in the Middle East including northern Iraq, eastern Turkey, western Iran and small portions of northern Syria and Armenia.

    Area: Roughly 74,000 sq mi

    Population: approximately 25-30 million (some Kurds reside outside of Kurdistan)

    Religion: Most are Sunni Muslims; some practice Sufism, a type of mystic Islam

    Kurds have never achieved nation-state status, making Kurdistan a non-governmental region and one of the largest stateless nations in the world.

    Portions of the region are recognized by two countries: Iran, where the province of Kordestan lies; and northern Iraq, site of the autonomous region known as Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) or Iraqi Kurdistan.

    Kurds were mostly nomadic until the end of World War I and the breakup of the Ottoman Empire.

    Kurds make up about 10% of the population in Syria, 19% of the population of Turkey, 15-20% of the population of Iraq and are one of the largest ethnic minorities in Iran.

    The Peshmerga is a more than 100,000-strong national military force which protects Iraqi Kurdistan, and includes female fighters.

    October 30, 1918 – (TURKEY) The Armistice of Mudros marks the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in World War I.

    November 3, 1918 – (IRAQ) With the discovery of oil in the Kurdish province of Mosul, British forces occupy the region.

    August 10, 1920 – (TURKEY) The Treaty of Sèvres outlines the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire, with Turkey renouncing rights over certain areas in Asia and North Africa. It calls for the recognition of new independent states, including an autonomous Kurdistan. It is never ratified.

    July 24, 1923 – (TURKEY) The Allies and the former Ottoman Empire sign and ratify the Treaty of Lausanne, which recognizes Turkey as an independent nation. In the final treaty marking the conclusion of World War I, the Allies drop demands for an autonomous Turkish Kurdistan. The Kurdish region is eventually divided among several countries.

    1923 – (IRAQ) Former Kurdish Governor Sheikh Mahmud Barzinji stages an uprising against British rule, declaring a Kurdish kingdom in Sulaimaniya in northern Iraq.

    1924 – (IRAQ) British Forces retake Sulaimaniya.

    1943-1945 – (IRAQ/IRAN) Mustafa Barzani leads an uprising, gaining control of areas of Erbil and Badinan. When the uprising is defeated, Barzani and his forces retreat to Kurdish areas in Iran and align with nationalist fighters under the leadership of Qazi Muhammad.

    January 1946 – (IRAN) The Kurdish Republic of Mahābād is established as a Kurdish state, with backing from the Soviet Union. The short-lived country encompasses the city of Mahābād in Iran, which is largely Kurdish and near the Iraq border. However, Soviets withdraw the same year and the Republic of Mahābād collapses.

    August 16, 1946 – (IRAQ) The Kurdish Democratic Party of Iraq (KDP) is established.

    1957 – (SYRIA) 250 Kurdish children die in an arson attack on a cinema. It is blamed on Arab nationalists.

    1958 – (SYRIA) The government formally bans all Kurdish-language publications.

    1958 – (IRAQ) After Iraq’s 1958 revolution, a new constitution is established, which declares Arabs and Kurds as “partners in this homeland.”

    1961 – (IRAQ) KDP begins a rebellion in northern Iraq. Within two weeks, the Iraqi government dissolves the Kurdish Democratic Party.

    March 1970 – (IRAQ) A peace agreement between Iraqi government and Kurds grants the Kurds autonomy. Kurdish is recognized as an official language, and an amendment to the constitution states: “the Iraqi people is made up of two nationalities: the Arab nationality and the Kurdish nationality.”

    March 6, 1975 – (ALGERIA) Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi of Iran sign a treaty. Iraq gives up claims to the Shatt-al-Arab waterway, while Iran agrees to end its support of the independence seeking Kurds.

    June 1975 – (IRAQ) Former KDP Leader Jalal Talabani, establishes the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK). The following year, PUK takes up an armed campaign against the Iraqi government.

    1978 – (IRAQ) KDP and PUK forces clash, leaving many dead.

    1978 – (TURKEY) Abdullah Öcalan forms the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), a Kurdish separatist group.

    Late 1970s – (IRAQ) The Baath Party, under Hussein’s leadership, uproots Kurds from areas with Kurdish majorities, and settles southern-Iraqi Arabs into those regions. Into the 1980s, Kurds are forcibly removed from the Iranian border as Kurds are suspected of aiding Iranian forces during the Iran-Iraq War.

    1979 – (IRAQ) Mustafa Barzani dies in Washington, DC. His son, Massoud Barzani, is elected president of KDP following his death.

    1980 – (IRAQ) The Iran-Iraq War begins. Although the KDP forces work closely with Iran, the PUK does not.

    1983 – (IRAQ) PUK agrees to a ceasefire with Iraq and begins negotiations on Kurdish autonomy.

    August 1984 – (TURKEY) PKK launches a violent separatist campaign in Turkey, starting with killing two soldiers. The conflict eventually spreads to Iran, Iraq and Syria.

    1985 – (IRAQ) The ceasefire between Iraq and PUK breaks down.

    1986 – (IRAQ) After an Iranian-sponsored reconciliation, both KDP and PUK receive support from Tehran.

    1987 – (TURKEY) Turkey imposes a state of emergency in the southeastern region of the country in response to PKK attacks.

    February-August 1988 – (IRAQ) During Operation Anfal (“spoils” in Arabic), created to quell Kurdish resistance, the Iraqi military uses large quantities of chemical weapons on Kurdish civilians. Iraqi forces destroy more than 4,000 villages in Kurdistan. It is believed that some 100,000 Kurds were killed.

    March 16, 1988 – (IRAQ) Iraq uses poison gas against the Kurdish people in Halabja in northern Iraq. Thousands of people are believed to have died in the attack.

    1990-1991 – (IRAQ) The Gulf War begins when Hussein invades Kuwait, seeking its oil reserves. There is a mass exodus of Kurds out of Iraq as more than a million flee into Turkey and Iran.

    February 28, 1991 – (IRAQ) Hussein agrees to a ceasefire, ending the Gulf War.

    March 1991 – (IRAQ) Kurdish uprising begins, and in two weeks, the Kurdish militia gains control of Iraqi Kurdistan, including the oil-rich town of Kirkuk. After allied support to the Kurds is denied, Iraq crushes the uprising. Two million Kurds flee, but are forced to hide out in the mountains as Turkey closes its border.

    April 1991 – (IRAQ) A safe haven is established in Iraqi Kurdistan by the United States, the United Kingdom and France. Iraqi forces are barred from operating within the region, and Kurds begin autonomous rule, with KDP leading the north and PUK leading the south.

    1992 – (IRAQ) In an anti-PKK operation, 20,000 Turkish troops enter Kurdish safe havens in Iraq.

    1994-1998 – (IRAQ) PUK and KDP members engage in armed conflict, known as the Fratricide War, in Iraqi Kurdistan.

    1995 – (IRAQ) Approximately 35,000 Turkish troops launch an offensive against Kurds in northern Iraq.

    1996 – (IRAQ) Iraq launches attacks against Kurdish cities, including Erbil and Kirkuk.

    October 8, 1997 – (TURKEY) The United States lists PKK as a terrorist group.

    1998 – (IRAQ) The conflict between KDP and PUK ends, and a peace agreement is reached. This is brokered by the United States, and the accord is signed in Washington.

    1999 – (TURKEY) PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan is captured in Nairobi, Kenya, by Turkish officials.

    2002 – (TURKEY) Under pressure from the European Union, Turkey legalizes broadcasts and education in the Kurdish language. Turkish forces still combat PKK, including military incursions into northern Iraq.

    May 2002 – (TURKEY) The European Union designates the PKK as a terrorist organization.

    February 1, 2004 – (IRAQ) Two suicide bombs kill more than 50 people in Erbil. The targets are the headquarters of KDP and PUK, and several top Kurdish officials from both parties are killed.

    March 2004 – (SYRIA) Nine people are killed at a football (soccer) arena in Qamishli after clashes with riot police. Kurds demonstrate throughout the city, and unrest spreads to nearby towns in the following days, after security forces open fire at the funerals.

    June 2004 – (TURKEY) State TV broadcasts Kurdish-language programs for the first time.

    April 6-7, 2005 – (IRAQ) Kurdish leader Talabani is selected the country’s president by the transitional national assembly, and is sworn in the next day.

    July 2005 – (TURKEY) Six people die from a bomb planted on a train by a Kurdish guerrilla. Turkish officials blame the PKK.

    2005 – (IRAQ) The 2005 Iraqi constitution upholds Kurdish autonomy, and designates Kurdistan as an autonomous federal region.

    August-September 2006 – (TURKEY) A wave of bomb attacks target a resort area in Turkey, as well as Istanbul. Separatist group Kurdistan Freedom Falcons (TAC) claims responsibility for most of the attacks and threatens it will turn Turkey into “hell.”

    December 2007 – (TURKEY) Turkey launches attacks in Iraqi Kurdistan, targeting PKK outposts.

    2009 – (TURKEY) A policy called the Kurdish Initiative increases Kurdish language rights and reduces military presence in the mostly Kurdish southeast.

    September 2010 – (IRAN) A bomb detonates during a parade in Mahābād, leaving 12 dead and dozens injured. No group claims responsibility for the attack, but authorities blame Kurdish separatists. In 2014, authorities arrest members of Koumaleh, a Kurdish armed group, for the attack.

    April 2011 – (SYRIA) Syria grants citizenship to thousands in the Kurdish region. According to Human Rights Watch, an exceptional census stripped 20% of Kurdish Syrians of their citizenship in 1962.

    October 2011 – (SYRIA) Meshaal Tammo, a Syrian Kurdish activist, is assassinated. Many Kurds blame Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime for the assassination.

    October 19, 2011 – (TURKEY) Kurdish militants kill 24 Turkish troops near the Iraqi border, a PKK base area.

    June 2012 – (TURKEY) Turkish forces strike PKK rebel bases in Iraq after a PKK attack in southern Turkey kills eight Turkish soldiers.

    July 2012 – (SYRIA) Amid the country’s civil war, Syrian security forces retreat from several Kurdish towns in the northeastern part of the country.

    August 2012 – (TURKEY) Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan warns that any attempts by the PKK to launch cross-border attacks from Syria would be met by force; the Turkish Army then performs a large exercise less than a mile from border villages now controlled by the Syrian Kurdish group Democratic Union Party (PYD).

    December 2012 – (TURKEY) Erdogan announces the government has begun peace talks with the PKK.

    January 10, 2013 – (FRANCE) Three Kurdish women are found shot dead in Paris, one of whom was a founding member of the PKK.

    March 21, 2013 – (TURKEY) Imprisoned PKK founder Abdullah Ocalan calls for dialogue: a letter from him is read in the Turkish Parliament, “We for tens of years gave up our lives for this struggle, we paid a price. We have come to a point at which the guns must be silent and ideas must talk.”

    March 25, 2013 – (TURKEY) Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan and Iraqi Kurdistan Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani negotiate a framework deal that includes an outline for a direct pipeline export of oil and gas. The pipeline would have the Kurdish crude oil transported from the Kurdish Regional Government directly into Turkey, allowing the KRG to be a competitive supplier of oil to Turkey.

    June 2014 – (IRAQ) Refugees flee fighting and flood into Iraqi Kurdistan to the north as ISIS militants take over Mosul. Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) closes then reopens, with restrictions, border crossings used by those fleeing ISIS.

    June 23, 2014 – (IRAQ) Iraqi Kurdistan President Barzani says that “Iraq is obviously falling apart, and it’s obvious that the federal or central government has lost control over everything.”

    Early August 2014 – (IRAQ) Reportedly 40,000 Yazidi, a minority group of Kurdish descent, flee to a mountainous region in northwestern Iraq to escape ISIS, after the group storms Sinjar, a town near the Syrian border. Also, 100,000 Christians flee to Erbil, after Kurdish leadership there promises protection in the city.

    August 11, 2014 – (IRAQ) Kurdish fighters in Kurdistan, who are called Peshmerga, work with Iraqi armed forces to deliver aid to Yazidis stranded on Mount Sinjar after fleeing ISIS fighters.

    August 12, 2014 – (IRAQ) Some Yazidi tell CNN that PKK fighters control parts of the mountain, and have offered food and protection from ISIS.

    December 2, 2014 – (IRAQ) The government of Iraq and the government of Iraqi Kurdistan sign an agreement to share oil revenues and military resources. Iraq will now pay the salaries of Peshmerga fighters battling ISIS and act as an intermediary to deliver US weapons to Kurdish forces. The Kurdistan government will deliver more than half a million barrels of oil daily to the Iraqi government. Profits from the sale of the oil will be split between the two governments.

    January 26, 2015 – (SYRIA) After 112 days of fighting, the YPG, Kurdish fighters also known as the People’s Protection Units, take control of the city of Kobani from ISIS.

    March 21, 2015 – (TURKEY) In a letter read to thousands during a celebration in the city of Diyarbakir, imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan urges fighters under his command to lay down their arms, stop waging war against the Turkish state and join a “congress.”

    May 18, 2015 – (TURKEY) In the run-up to parliamentary elections on June 7, an explosion rocks the office of the Kurdish People’s Democratic Party (HDP) in Adana, in southeastern Turkey. Six people are injured.

    June 7, 2015 – (TURKEY) Three-year-old fledgling party Kurdish People’s Democratic Party (HDP) receives more than 13% of the vote, winning 80 seats in the 550-seat parliament.

    June 16, 2015 – (SYRIA) Kurdish forces in the Syrian town, Tal Abyad say they have defeated ISIS fighters and taken back the town on the Turkish border.

    June 23, 2015 – (SYRIA) Kurdish fighters announce that they have taken back the town of Ain Issa, located 30 miles north of the ISIS stronghold, Raqqa, a city proclaimed to be the capital of the caliphate. A military base near Ain Issa, which had been occupied by ISIS since last August, is abandoned by the terrorist group the night before the Kurdish forces seize the town.

    February 17, 2016 – (IRAQ) Turkish airstrikes target some of the PKK’s top figures in northern Iraq’s Haftanin region. Airstrikes come after a terrorist attack in Turkey kills 28, although no Kurdish group has claimed responsibility for those attacks.

    March 13, 2016 – (TURKEY) A car bomb attack kills at least 37 people in Ankara. The Kurdistan Freedom Falcons, or TAK – an offshoot of the Kurdish separatist group PKK – takes responsibility for the attack.

    March 17, 2016 – (SYRIA) Kurds declare that a swath of northeastern Syria is now a separate autonomous region under Kurdish control. The claim stirs up controversy, as Syrian and Turkish officials say it goes against the goal of creating a unified country after years of civil war.

    July 20, 2016 – (TURKEY) Following a failed coup attempt, President Erdogan declares a state of emergency. In the first three months, pro-Kurdish media outlets are shut down, and tens of thousands of civil servants with alleged PKK connections are dismissed or suspended. The purge includes ministers of parliament, military leaders, police, teachers and mayors, including in the Kurdish-majority city of Diyarbakir.

    September 25, 2017 – (IRAQ) Iraqi Kurds vote in favor of declaring independence from Iraq. More than 92% of the roughly 3 million people vote “yes” to independence.

    March 23, 2019 – (SYRIA) Kurdish forces announce they have captured the eastern Syrian pocket of Baghouz, the last populated area under ISIS rule.

    October 9, 2019 – (TURKEY/SYRIA) Turkey launches a military offensive into northeastern Syria, just days after US President Donald Trump’s administration announced that US troops would leave the border area. Erdogan’s “Operation Peace Spring” is an effort to drive away Kurdish forces from the border, and use the area to resettle around two million Syrian refugees. The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) who operate in the region are Kurdish-led, and still hold thousands of ISIS fighters captured in battle.

    October 17, 2019 – (TURKEY/SYRIA) US Vice President Mike Pence announces that he and Erdogan agreed to a ceasefire halting Turkey’s incursion into northern Syria. The Turkish government insists that the agreement is not a ceasefire, but only a “pause” on operations in the region.

    November 15, 2019 – (TURKEY/SYRIA) Turkey’s decision to launch a military operation targeting US-Kurdish partners in northern Syria and the Trump administration’s subsequent retreat allowed ISIS to rebuild itself and boosted its ability to launch attacks abroad, the Pentagon’s Inspector General says in an Operation Inherent Resolve quarterly report.

    March 24, 2020 – (SYRIA) The SDF releases a statement calling for a humanitarian truce in response to a United Nations appeal for a global ceasefire to combat the coronavirus.

    July 30, 2020 – (SYRIA) During a US Senate committee hearing, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo confirms the Trump administration’s support for the Delta Crescent Energy firm’s deal to develop and modernize oil fields in northeast Syria under control of the SDF. The following week, Syria’s foreign ministry calls the deal an attempt to “steal” the oil.

    February 8, 2021 – (SYRIA) Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby is questioned about the Delta Crescent Energy deal during a press conference. He says that the US Department of Defense under the Joe Biden administration is focused on fighting ISIS. It is not aiding a private company.

    January 20-26, 2022 – (SYRIA) ISIS lays siege to a prison in northeast Syria, in an attempt to break out thousands of the group’s members who were detained in 2019. In coordination with US-led coalition airstrikes, SDF regains control of the prison. This is believed to be the biggest coordinated attack by ISIS since the fall of the caliphate three years prior.

    September 16, 2022 – (IRAN) Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish Iranian woman, dies after being detained by “morality police” and taken to a “re-education center,” allegedly for not abiding by the country’s conservative dress code. Public anger over her death combines with a range of grievances against the Islamic Republic’s oppressive regime to fuel months of nationwide demonstrations, which continue despite law makers urging the country’s judiciary to “show no leniency” to protesters.

    November 12, 2022 – (IRAN) The Norway-based Iran Human Rights NGO (IHRNGO) group claims Iranian security forces have killed at least 326 people since nationwide protests erupted two months ago. Authorities have unleashed a deadly crackdown on demonstrators, with reports of forced detentions and physical abuse being used to target the country’s Kurdish minority group.

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  • The Latest | Blinken says Israel hasn’t told US of any specific date for Rafah ground invasion

    The Latest | Blinken says Israel hasn’t told US of any specific date for Rafah ground invasion

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    U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday said Israel has not apprised the U.S. of any specific date for the start of a major offensive into the southern Gaza city of Rafah, but added that American and Israeli officials remained in contact to try to ensure that “any kind of major military operation doesn’t do real harm to civilians.”

    Blinken spoke a day after Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu vowed that a date has been set to invade Rafah. The United States, Israel’s closest ally, says a ground operation into Rafah would be a mistake and has demanded to see a credible plan to protect civilians.

    Rafah is filled with around 1.4 million Palestinians, most of whom are displaced from other parts of the Gaza Strip. Israel’s war against the militant group Hamas has pushed Gaza into a humanitarian crisis, leaving more than 1 million people on the brink of starvation.

    International efforts to broker a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas are taking place in Cairo this week.

    Israel’s bombardment and ground offensives in Gaza over the past six months have killed at least 33,360 Palestinians and wounded 74,993, Gaza’s Health Ministry said Tuesday. The ministry doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants in its tally, but says women and children make up two-thirds of the dead.

    The war began Oct. 7 when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking around 250 people hostage.

    Currently:

    — Austin tells Congress Israel is taking steps to boost aid to Gaza as lawmakers question US support

    — Turkey and Israel announce trade barriers on each other as relations deteriorate over Gaza

    — At U.N. court, Germany rejects allegations that it’s facilitating acts of genocide in Gaza

    — A Moroccan activist was sentenced to 5 years for criticizing the country’s ties to Israel

    — Find more AP coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war

    Here’s the latest:

    AUSTRALIAN FOREIGN MINISTER CRITICIZED FOR SUGGESTING POSSIBLE RECOGNITION OF A PALESTINIAN STATE

    MELBOURNE, Australia — Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong is facing criticism after she raised the prospect of Australia recognizing a Palestinian state.

    Wong said in a speech late Tuesday that recognizing Palestinian statehood could be the only way to end the cycle of violence in the Middle East and build momentum toward a two-state solution amid ongoing conflict between Palestinians and Israel. She said Wednesday she wasn’t changing Australia’s position, but was starting a conversation.

    “We’ve made no such decision. The discussion I want to have is to look at what is happening in the international community where there is the very important debate about how it is we secure long-lasting peace in a region which has known so much conflict,” Wong told Australian Broadcasting Corp.

    Wong said Hamas must free hostages and that the militant group would have no place in a Palestinian state. She also said there needed to be an immediate humanitarian cease-fire so that aid could be delivered to Gaza. And she urged Israel not to invade the southern Gaza city of Rafah because of the risk to civilians.

    Both Australia’s center-left Labor Party government and the conservative opposition parties support a two-party solution in the Middle East.

    But opposition spokesperson on foreign affairs Simon Birmingham called it “downright dangerous to reward (Hamas for its Oct. 7 attack on Israel) with a fast track to recognition of statehood.”

    ISRAELI AIRSTRIKE ON HOME IN CENTRAL GAZA KILLS 11 PEOPLE

    DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — An Israeli airstrike hit a home in central Gaza on Tuesday evening, killing at least 11 people, including seven women and children, hospital officials said.

    After the strike hit in the town of Zawaida, Associated Press footage showed one man carrying the limp body of a little girl and laying her with the bodies of other dead children on the floor at the main hospital in nearby Deir al-Balah. Hospital officials said the dead included five children and two women.

    The strike came as the Israeli military withdrew its forces from the southern city of Khan Younis this week, ending a monthslong ground assault that left large parts of the city in ruins. Still, airstrikes have continued in the past days, including in Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah, where Israel says it plans to launch its next ground assault.

    FAMILIES OF HOSTAGES HELD IN GAZA MEET WITH U.S. VICE PRESIDENT

    WASHINGTON — Several family members of hostages held by Hamas met with U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris at the White House on Tuesday and urged for a deal that would release their loved ones and implement a temporary cease-fire in Gaza.

    “The only hope for peace is through the release of all the hostages now,” said Jonathan Dekel-Chen, the father of American hostage Sagui Dekel-Chen. On a potential hostage agreement, Dekel-Chen stressed that the world is waiting for “Hamas to get to yes.”

    Rachel Goldberg, the mother of American hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin, called the meeting with Harris “very productive.” She expressed gratitude to the White House and lawmakers for their support, but added: “We need results. We need our people home.”

    “You can believe as we do that it is horrible that innocent civilians in Gaza are suffering,” Goldberg said. “And at the same time, you can also know that it is horrible and against international law for hostages to be held against their will.”

    During the meeting, Harris emphasized that she and President Joe Biden “have no higher priority than reuniting the hostages with their loved ones,” according to a White House readout, as she gave an update on the administration’s efforts on a hostage deal.

    U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY TELLS CONGRESS THAT ISRAEL IS TAKING STEPS TO BOOST AID TO GAZA

    WASHINGTON — U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told Congress Tuesday that pressure on Israel to improve humanitarian aid to Gaza appears to be working, but he said more must be done and it remains to be seen if the improvement will continue.

    “It clearly had an effect. We have seen changes in behavior, and we have seen more humanitarian assistance being pushed into Gaza,” Austin said in a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing. “Hopefully that trend will continue.”

    Austin’s comments came during a session that was interrupted several times by protesters shouting at him to stop sending weapons to Israel. “Stop the genocide,” they said, as they lifted their hands, stained in red, in the air. A number of senators also decried the civilian casualties, saying the administration needs to do more to press Israel to protect the population in Gaza.

    In response, Austin said he spoke with his Israeli counterpart, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, on Monday and that he repeated U.S. insistence that Israel must move civilians out of the battlespace in Gaza and properly care for them.

    Austin and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. CQ Brown Jr. were testifying on Capitol Hill about the Pentagon’s $850 billion budget for 2025.

    BLINKEN SAYS ISRAEL HASN’T TOLD U.S. ABOUT ANY SPECIFIC DATE TO LAUNCH RAFAH INVASION

    WASHIGNTON — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday said Israel has not apprised the U.S. of any specific date for the start of a major offensive into the southern Gaza city of Rafah, but added that American and Israeli officials remained in contact to try to ensure that “any kind of major military operation doesn’t do real harm to civilians.”

    Blinken spoke a day after Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu vowed that a date has been set to invade Rafah. The city is filled with around 1.4 million Palestinians, most of whom are displaced from other parts of the Gaza Strip. The United States, Israel’s closest ally, has said a ground operation into Rafah would be a mistake and has demanded to see a credible plan to protect civilians.

    Washington has also been applying pressure on Israel to improve humanitarian aid to Gaza, where half the population is starving and on the brink of famine due to Israel’s tight restrictions on allowing aid trucks through.

    “We’re looking at a number of critical things that need to happen in the coming days,” Blinken said, referring to recent Israeli announcements on the opening of new aid routes into Gaza and more active efforts to avoid casualties to both civilians and humanitarian relief workers. “But what matters is results and sustained results and this is what we will be looking at very carefully in the days ahead.”

    That includes getting assistance in and distributed to all of the territory “not just in the south, or in central Gaza. It has to get to the north as well,” he said.

    FRANCE USING ‘ALL INFLUENCE’ TO PERSUADE ISRAEL TO OPEN GAZA CROSSINGS TO AID CONVOYS

    PARIS — France’s foreign minister says his country is using “all levels of influence,” including threats of sanctions, to force Israel to open crossings with Gaza for vital humanitarian aid to reach Palestinians.

    France was the first country to propose European Union sanctions against violent Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank, Foreign Minister Stéphane Séjourné said in an interview Tuesday with French broadcasters RFI and FRANCE 24.

    He added: “We have multiple ways to utilize our influence, obviously, we can provide more sanctions … to let humanitarian aid convoys cross checkpoints” and reach people in Gaza.

    Sejourne did not elaborate on what kind of sanctions he was referring to. It is highly unlikely that France would impose any eventual sanctions without broader EU support, and the EU has been divided over policy toward Israel.

    ISRAEL SHOOTS DOWN A DRONE OVER THE RED SEA

    JERUSALEM — Israel shot down a drone over the Red Sea overnight in what the military described as the first deployment of its naval Iron Dome missile defense system.

    The military said that a Corvette warship shot down the drone as it flew east over waters near the southern Israeli city of Eilat. The military released grainy aerial footage of the missile making contact with an aircraft.

    It was not immediately clear who was directing the drone. Yemen’s Houthi rebels have been conducting near daily attacks on commercial and military ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, launching drones and missiles from rebel-held areas of Yemen.

    The Israeli defense system, called the “C-Dome,” is a naval version of the Iron Dome, which has been used to shoot down rockets fired from the Gaza Strip for the past decade.

    TURKEY AND ISRAEL PUTTING UP TRADE BARRIERS AS RELATIONS DETERIORATE

    JERUSALEM — Foreign Minister Israel Katz says Israel is preparing a ban on products from Turkey after Ankara announced it was restricting exports to Israel.

    Turkey said earlier Tuesday it is restricting exports of dozens of products to Israel, including aluminum, steel, construction products and chemical fertilizers. It said it would continue the measures until Israel declares a cease-fire and allows the uninterrupted flow of aid to Gaza.

    Katz said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is sacrificing the economic interests of his citizens “for his support of Hamas.”

    Relations between Turkey and Israel have been frosty for years, although trade ties between the two countries are strong.

    NATO-member Turkey is among the strongest critics of Israel’s military actions in Gaza.

    Erdogan has repeatedly called for an immediate cease-fire and accused Israel of committing genocide in its military campaign in Gaza. The Israeli Foreign Ministry had no additional comment.

    Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

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  • Turkey’s opposition stuns in sweeping local elections victory over Erdogan’s party

    Turkey’s opposition stuns in sweeping local elections victory over Erdogan’s party

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    Istanbul Municipality Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu speaks at the 19 May Commemoration of Atatürk, Youth and Sports Day celebrations held at the Maltepe Event Area on May 19, 2023 on Istanbul, Turkey. 

    Hakan Akgun | Getty Images

    Turkey’s opposition won a stunning victory across several major cities in the country’s local elections Sunday, dealing a severe blow to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling party and handing it its largest defeat in more than two decades.

    “Those who do not understand the nation’s message will eventually lose,” Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu told thousands of supporters after vote counts revealed that his center-left Republican People’s Party (CHP) had won the megacity of Istanbul by more than 1 million votes, Reuters reported.

    “Tonight, 16 million Istanbul citizens sent a message to both our rivals and the president,” he said.

    Erdogan’s conservative Justice and Development Party, abbreviated locally as AKP, dominates the country at the national level.

    In a speech Sunday night, Erdogan admitted his party had “lost altitude” and would work to rectify its errors.

    “We will correct our mistakes and redress our shortcomings,” he said from the balcony of the presidential palace. Erdogan, 70, has governed Turkey since 2003.

    The sweeping opposition win municipal elections across major Turkish cities like Istanbul, Izmir, and the capital Ankara could set the country in a new direction. Erdogan himself rose to prominence as Istanbul mayor in the 1990s before later going on to win the presidency; now, analysts are speculating that Imamoglu’s win in Istanbul could make him a front-runner for the Turkish presidency in 2028.

    Erdogan himself once said that whoever wins Istanbul wins Turkey. Imamoglu, a 52-year-old former businessman, has been Istanbul’s mayor since 2019. He attempted to run for president in Turkey’s 2023 general election, but was banned by Erdogan’s government from running, in a move CHP supporters say was purely political. In those elections, Erdogan’s party won big, leaving AKP on top at the national level.

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  • Iran’s allies are attacking the West. What happens next?

    Iran’s allies are attacking the West. What happens next?

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    Could the U.S. take a tougher line?

    While the scale and target of Biden’s promised response is not yet clear, any unilateral move is likely to draw blowback from key allies in the Middle East who worry about sparking a regional war.

    Saudi Arabia has pushed for restraint in dealings with Tehran and fears the economic cost of regional instability.

    Turkey, a key NATO ally, has denounced Israel’s campaign in Gaza, while President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has accused the U.K. and the U.S. of trying to turn the Red Sea into a “sea of blood.”

    “Turkey does not want to be drawn into this conflict because it shares a border with Iran,” said Selin Nasi, a visiting fellow at the European Institute of the London School of Economics. “If the U.S. as its main ally in NATO gets involved in this military conflict directly then Turkey has to choose a side, and that will mean it’s harder to maintain a balanced approach — like it has done with the war in Ukraine.”

    The challenge for Biden is how to retaliate without risking escalation by Iran and its partners in the region. Conversely, doing nothing — especially after having said he would avenge the deaths of the three U.S. soldiers — would leave him vulnerable to a charge of weakness from Trump.

    “Iran’s leadership probably calculates that the United States will be reticent to fulsomely respond in any manner that would risk escalation of tensions in the Middle East and spark the region-wide [conflict] the Biden administration has admirably tried to prevent the past three months,” said Jonathan Panikoff, a former U.S. deputy national intelligence officer.

    But the U.S. may have “to undertake a more fulsome response to restore deterrence,” he added.

    Jamie Dettmer, Jeremy Van der Haegen and Laura Kayali contributed reporting.



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  • Turkey’s Erdoğan signs off on Sweden’s NATO bid

    Turkey’s Erdoğan signs off on Sweden’s NATO bid

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    Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan today signed into law Sweden’s accession to NATO.

    “Welcome Türkiye’s approval of the ratification of Sweden’s NATO accession,” Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson tweeted. “With this, a key milestone has been reached in Sweden’s path towards NATO membership.”

    All NATO members, except Hungary, have ratified Sweden’s application to join the military alliance, prompted by Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.

    Shortly before Erdoğan’s move, U.S. Ambassador to Ankara Jeff Flake said he expected the rapid sale of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey.

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  • EU, US warn against Israel-Hamas war expanding into regional conflict

    EU, US warn against Israel-Hamas war expanding into regional conflict

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    EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, both on trips to the Mideast, warned on Saturday against the Israel-Hamas war escalating into a regional conflict as hostilities increased following the killing this week of a top Hamas official.

    “It is absolutely imperative to ensure Lebanon is not drawn into a regional conflict,” Borrell told a press conference in Beirut, according to Reuters and Agence France-Presse. “I’m also sending this message to Israel: No one will win from a regional conflict,” he said,.

    Blinken met on Saturday with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan as part of a new diplomatic tour of the Middle East. Blinken “emphasized the need to prevent the conflict from spreading, secure the release of hostages, expand humanitarian assistance and reduce civilian casualties,” U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in comments to Reuters.

    Borrell said he agreed with Lebanon’s Prime Minister Najib Mikati to work on “de-escalation and long-term stability,” during a meeting that touched on southern Lebanon, the Gaza war and Syria.

    He also sounded the alarm about a “worrying intensification of exchange of fire” at the United Nations demarcation between Lebanon and Israel, known as the Blue Line.

    “The priority is to avoid regional escalation and to advance diplomatic efforts with a view to creating the conditions to reach a just and lasting peace between Israel, Palestine and in the region,” said Borrell in a post on X.

    Fears that the Israel-Hamas conflict will spread to neighboring countries have grown as the Gaza Strip death toll of nearly 23,000 keeps rising after three months of Israel’s heavy military retaliation to a Hamas massacre in early October that killed over 1,200 people and led to the hostage-taking of nearly 250 others.

    Lebanese militant group Hezbollah on Saturday fired dozens of rockets at Israel after a strike earlier this week killed Hamas leader Saleh al-Arouri. Houthi militants, meanwhile, have increased their attacks of commercial ships in the Red Sea.

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  • Turkey’s parliamentary committee approves Sweden’s NATO membership

    Turkey’s parliamentary committee approves Sweden’s NATO membership

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    The foreign affairs committee of the Turkish parliament on Tuesday gave its approval for Sweden to join NATO, reported Turkey’s Anadolu news agency.

    This brings Sweden a step closer to joining the Western military alliance. It also comes after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan delayed action on Sweden’s bid for a year, arguing the country is too friendly toward Kurdish activists regarded by Ankara as terrorists.

    Erdoğan has also linked the approval of Sweden’s accession to the sale of F-16 fighter jets by the United States to Turkey — something that’s currently pending approval by the U.S. Congress.

    The general assembly of the Turkish parliament now needs to give its final green light before Sweden can officially become a full NATO member. However, no date for this plenary vote has been set.

    The unanimous approval of all current NATO member countries is required for any new state to join the military alliance.

    Hungarian leader Viktor Orbán has also been stalling Sweden’s accession bid, saying last week that there was no “great willingness” from Hungarian lawmakers to approve it. This makes Hungary the last NATO member country that hasn’t started the ratification process.

    Sweden and Finland both dropped their neutrality and asked to join the alliance in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Finland joined the alliance in April.

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  • Renewed Israel-Gaza war crowds out climate at COP28

    Renewed Israel-Gaza war crowds out climate at COP28

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    DUBAI — The war in Gaza crashed into the United Nations climate summit on Friday, as furious sideline diplomacy, blunt censures of violence and an Iranian boycott shoved global warming to the side.

    It was a sharp change in tone from the COP28 opening on Thursday, which ended on an upbeat note as countries promised to support climate-stricken communities. The mood darkened the following day as news broke that the week-old truce between Israel and Hamas was collapsing. 

    Israeli President Isaac Herzog spent much of the morning in meetings telling fellow leaders about “how Hamas blatantly violates the ceasefire agreements,” according to a post on his X account. He ended up skipping a speech he was meant to give during Friday’s parade of world leaders.

    There were other conspicuous no-shows. Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was absent, despite being listed as an early speaker. And Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian Authority leader, also disappeared from the final speakers’ list after initially being scheduled to talk just a few slots after Herzog. 

    Then, shortly after leaders posed for a group photo in the Dubai venue on Friday, the Iranian delegation announced it was walking out. The reason, Iran’s energy minister told his country’s official news agency: The “political, biased and irrelevant presence of the fake Zionist regime” — referring to Israel. 

    By Friday afternoon, the Iranian pavilion had emptied out. 

    The backroom drama played out even as leader after leader took the stage in the vast Expo City campus to make allotted three-minute statements on their efforts to stop the planet from boiling. The World Meteorological Organization said Thursday that 2023 was almost certain to be the hottest year ever recorded.

    U.N. climate talks are often buffeted by outside events. This is the second such meeting held after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. That war provoked some public barbs and backroom discussions at last year’s summit in Egypt, but leaders still maintained their scheduled speaking slots and a veneer of focus on the matter they were supposedly there to discuss.

    This year, that veneer cracked. 

    “There are currently a number of very, very serious crises that are causing great suffering for many people. It was clear that these would also affect the mood at the COP,” a German diplomat, granted anonymity to discuss the issue candidly, told POLITICO. 

    But that can’t distract officials working on climate change, the diplomat added: “It is also clear that no one on our planet, no country on Earth, can escape the destructive effects of the climate crisis.” 

    Tell-tale signals

    There had been early signs that the conflict would spill over into discussions at the climate summit. 

    Sameh Shoukry, president of the COP27 climate conference and Egyptian minister of foreign affairs, Sultan Ahmed al-Jaber, president of COP28 | Sean Gallup/Getty Images

    At Thursday’s opening ceremony, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry — president of last year’s COP27 summit — asked all delegates to stand for a moment of silence in memory of two climate negotiators who had recently died, “as well as all civilians who have perished during the current conflict in Gaza.” 

    On Friday, Jordanian King Abdullah II, Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan were among the leaders who used their COP28 speeches to draw attention to the war.

    “This year’s COP must recognize even more than ever that we cannot talk about climate change in isolation from the humanitarian tragedies unfolding around us,” Abdullah said. “As we speak, the Palestinian people are facing an immediate threat to their lives and wellbeing.”  

    Ramaphosa went further: “South Africa is appalled at the cruel tragedy that is underway in Gaza. The war against the innocent people of Palestine is a war crime that must be ended now. 

    But, he added, “we cannot lose momentum in the fight against climate change.”

    Asked for comment, an official from the United Arab Emirates, which is overseeing COP28, said the country had invited all parties to the conference and “are pleased with the exceptionally high level of attendance this year.” 

    The official added: “Climate change is a global issue and as the host for this significant, momentous conference, the UAE  welcomes constructive dialogue and continues to work with all international partners and stakeholders across the board to deliver impactful results for COP28.”  

    The other summit in Dubai

    In the back rooms of the conference venue, leaders were holding urgent talks on the war. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken huddled with Herzog on Thursday, according to a post on Herzog’s X account. 

    “In addition to participating in the COP, I’ll have an opportunity to meet with Arab partners to discuss the conflict in Gaza,” Blinken told reporters Wednesday while in Brussels for a NATO gathering. He didn’t offer further details.

    A senior Biden administration official told reporters Vice President Kamala Harris would also be “having discussions on the conflict between Israel and Hamas” during her trip to Dubai.

    On his X account, Herzog said he had met with “dozens” of leaders at the summit. His post featured photographs of Britain’s King Charles III, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, India’s Narendra Modi and Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. He also posted about meetings with Blinken and UAE leader Mohamed bin Zayed.

    Erdoğan met with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni at COP28 to discuss the war in Gaza, according to a statement by the Turkish communications directorate that made no mention of climate action. 

    U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak made no secret of the fact that he intended to use some of his brief visit to Dubai to talk about regional security.

    U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak made no secret of the fact that he intended to use some of his brief visit to Dubai to talk about regional security | Sean Gallup/Getty Images

    “I’ll be speaking to lots of leaders … not just [about] climate change, but also the situation in the Middle East,” he told reporters on his flight out of the U.K. Thursday night.

    The reignited Israel-Hamas conflict came to dominate his time at the summit. Meetings with other leaders were arranged with regional tensions in mind — not climate. Sunak met Israel’s Herzog and Jordan’s Abdullah, as well as Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al Sisi and the emir of Qatar.  

    “Given the events of this morning in Israel and Gaza, the prime minister has spent most of his bilateral meetings discussing that situation,” Sunak’s spokesperson told reporters in Dubai.

    The meetings focused on “what more we can do both to support the innocent civilians in Gaza, to de-escalate tensions, to get more hostages out and more aid in,” the spokesperson said.

    Even the U.K.’s ostensibly nonpolitical head of state, King Charles III — in Dubai to give an opening address to world leaders — was deployed to aid the diplomatic effort. Buckingham Palace said the king would “have the opportunity to meet regional leaders to support the U.K.’s efforts to promote peace in the region.”

    Separately, French President Emmanuel Macron was planning to meet various leaders on the security situation and then fly on for talks in Qatar, according to an Elysée Palace official. 

    Meanwhile, three of Europe’s leaders who have been the strongest backers of the Palestinians — Irish leader Leo Varadkar, Belgian Prime Minister Alexander de Croo and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez — held talks on the fringes of COP on Friday morning.

    Earlier on Friday, Israel withdrew its ambassador to Spain, blasting what it called Sánchez’s “shameful remarks” on the situation.

    Brazil’s Lula, whose country will host a major COP conference in 2025, lamented that just as more joint action is needed to prevent climate catastrophe, war and violence were cleaving the world apart.  

    “We are facing what may be the greatest challenge that humanity has faced till now,” he said. “Instead of uniting forces, the world is going to wars. It feeds divisions and deepens poverty and inequalities.”

    Zia Weise, Suzanne Lynch and Charlie Cooper reported from Dubai. Karl Mathiesen reported from London.

    Clea Calcutt contributed reporting from Paris. Nahal Toosi contributed reporting from Washington, D.C. 

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  • Trump muddles up Turkish and Hungarian leaders

    Trump muddles up Turkish and Hungarian leaders

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    Former U.S. President Donald Trump appeared to confuse the leaders of Turkey and Hungary in a campaign speech in New Hampshire on Monday.

    “There’s a man, Viktor Orbán, anybody ever hear of him?” Trump said, referring to the Hungarian prime minister.

    “He’s probably, like, one of the strongest leaders anywhere in the world. He’s the leader of Turkey,” the former president said. Turkey’s president is Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

    Trump added that Orbán has a “front” with Russia. Neither Turkey nor Hungary has a border with Russia.

    Trump has previously praised Orbán, who opposes migration and LGBTQ rights, and refers to his governing style as an “illiberal democracy.” Trump hosted him at the White House in 2019.

    In turn, Orbán was the first European leader to endorse Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, and urged him to “keep fighting” after the former president was hit with a criminal indictment.

    “Come back, Mr President. Make America great again and bring us peace,” Orbán told a meeting of the U.S. Conservative Political Action Coalition earlier this year.

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    Seb Starcevic

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  • Kurdish militants claim responsibility for terror attack in Ankara

    Kurdish militants claim responsibility for terror attack in Ankara

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    A suicide bombing on a government building in Turkey’s capital of Ankara Sunday morning was a terrorist attack, Turkish Internal Affairs Minister Ali Yerlikaya said.

    The outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), listed as a terrorist group by Turkey as well as a number of its Western allies, claimed responsibility for the attack. In a statement to the ANF news agency, PKK fighters said that the “sacrificial action” had been carried out by its “immortal brigade.”

    Local media reports said explosions and gunfire were heard in the city. Atatürk Boulevard, home to a number of government buildings and the country’s parliament, was closed. MPs were due to return to work Sunday following the summer recess.

    “At around 9:30 a.m., two terrorists arrived with a light commercial vehicle in front of the entrance gate of the General Directorate of Security of our Ministry of Internal Affairs [and] carried out a bomb attack,” Yerlikaya said in a statement.

    “One of the terrorists blew himself up and the other terrorist was neutralized,” the minister said. Two police officers were injured. “Our struggle will continue … until the last terrorist has been neutralized,” Yerlikaya said.

    Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc said an investigation has been launched into the attack.

    “These attacks will in no way hinder Turkey’s fight against terrorism,” Tunc said in a statement. “Our fight against terrorism will continue even more determinedly.”

    In November 2022, a bombing on a major shopping street in Turkey’s largest city, Istanbul, killed six and left more than 80 people injured. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan blamed the “treacherous attack” on extremist Kurdish separatist groups.

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    Gabriel Gavin

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  • Erdoğan threatens to ‘part ways’ from EU after critical European Parliament report

    Erdoğan threatens to ‘part ways’ from EU after critical European Parliament report

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    Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Saturday slammed a report from the European Parliament on the country’s EU accession talks and threatened to “part ways” from the bloc.

    Questioned by journalists about the report, Erdoğan said that “the EU is trying to break away from Turkey,” according to Turkish state media Anadolu Agency.

    “We will make our evaluations against these developments and if necessary, we can part ways with the EU,” Erdoğan said ahead of a trip to attend the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

    The European Parliament report, adopted this week in Strasbourg, said talks over Ankara’s accession to the bloc should not be resumed in current circumstances, voicing the EU’s concerns about human rights and rule of law violations. Instead, European lawmakers advocated finding “a parallel and realistic framework” for relations between Brussels and Ankara.

    “We have recently seen a renewed interest from the Turkish government in reviving the EU accession process,” said the lead lawmaker on the file, Spanish Socialist Nacho Sánchez Amor, upon adoption of the report on Wednesday.

    “This will not happen because of geopolitical bargaining, but only when the Turkish authorities show real interest in stopping the continuing backsliding in fundamental freedoms and rule of law in the country,” Sánchez Amor said.

    Tukrey-EU ties have deteriorated amid Erdoğan’s increasingly autocratic behavior following a failed coup attempt in 2016.

    Talks over Turkey’s accession to the bloc have stagnated for years. In July, however, EU foreign ministers agreed to move forward with relations.

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    Camille Gijs

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  • Who are the G20’s bad guys now?

    Who are the G20’s bad guys now?

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    NEW DELHI — When world leaders gather at the G20 summit on Saturday morning, the smiles may be more awkward than usual. 

    While China’s Xi Jinping and Russia’s Vladimir Putin won’t be there, a B-list of strongmen with their own damning human rights records will be ready to embarrass the leaders of Western democracy with some stiff handshakes and fixed grins. 

    Some of these international bad guys also have played an increasingly assertive role in negotiations on the Ukraine war — interventions welcomed by the Ukrainian government. However unsavory their domestic records may be, that means they can’t be ignored.

    Take Saudi Arabia’s Mohammed bin Salman. According to U.S. intelligence, he approved the gruesome murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. But last month, he hosted a multinational meeting in Jeddah aimed at kick-starting peace talks. He’s also staying on after the G20 for a state visit in India.

    Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who has locked up thousands of political opponents and stifled media freedom, met Putin just this week in an effort to unblock grain shipments through the Red Sea. 

    One official involved in preparations for the summit in Delhi this week joked that the optics will be challenging. “No one wants that photo-op with MBS, let’s face it,” the official said. 

    But overall, Western diplomats are unapologetic about engaging with the bad boys of the G20 — reflecting a growing realization in Western capitals the battle to win minds on the Ukraine war is not working and needs buy-in from the countries beyond the affluent capitals of Europe and North America.

    “I’m not here to issue scorecards,” said U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, when asked this week if President Biden was relaying U.S. concerns about Narendra Modi’s record on religious and press freedoms during his multiple meetings with the Indian leader. 

    Biden is expected to hold a meeting with MBS, with whom he shared an infamous fist-bump last year, a sign to many that all had been forgiven. 

    One European official involved in the preparations praised India for its work behind the scenes in trying to get consensus on an agreement rather than settling on different positions.  

    “If they succeed, it shows that the G20 has a future,” said the official, who was granted anonymity to speak openly due to the sensitive nature of the matter. 

    Ukraine remained the most divisive issue for G20 diplomats trying to hammer out a summit communique, with negotiations continuing late into Friday night.

    U.S. President Joe Biden is expected to hold a meeting with Saudi Arabia’s Mohammed bin Salman | Pool photo by Madel Ngan via AFP/Getty Images

    G7 countries — and the EU — are demanding that the principles enshrined in the U.N. Charter on territorial integrity and national sovereignty are reflected in the language.

    Also weighing on minds is the global economy. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz touches down in Delhi just as economic figures showed that industrial production in Europe’s economic powerhouse nose-dived again in July. 

    China is battling a slowing economy and a real-estate crisis. But it’s countries like India that are witnessing the kind of accelerated growth levels that suggest it is on the up.

    In New Delhi, giant posters of a smiling Modi, India’s prime minister, speckle the routes downtown. 

    This is India’s moment in the sun. Modi’s government has used its stint in the chair to show it can play a more assertive role in the global order. 

    India’s self-confidence as it hosts the global shindig signals a deeper geopolitical shift. 

    Three western officials with direct knowledge of the summit preparations said Brazil and South Africa, in particular, were playing a key role behind the scenes in coordination with India to get consensus on a final summit declaration, the holy grail of gatherings such as this. 

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    Suzanne Lynch

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  • CNBC Daily Open: Investors still aren’t convinced by bitcoin

    CNBC Daily Open: Investors still aren’t convinced by bitcoin

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    A sign is seen in a stand during the Bitcoin Conference 2023, in Miami Beach, Florida, U.S., May 19, 2023. 

    Marco Bello | Reuters

    This report is from today’s CNBC Daily Open, our new, international markets newsletter. CNBC Daily Open brings investors up to speed on everything they need to know, no matter where they are. Like what you see? You can subscribe here.

    What you need to know today

    Dip in markets
    U.S. markets were closed Monday for the Labor Day holiday. The     pan-European Stoxx 600 was flat, but major bourses dipped slightly and ended the day in the red. Germany’s DAX lost 0.1% as new data showed the country’s July exports dropping 0.9% on the month and 1% year on year, adding to fears about the German economy contracting in the third quarter.

    ‘Sick man of Europe’
    Germany is once again the “sick man of Europe,” said Hans-Werner Sinn, president emeritus at the Ifo institute. The country’s business activity in August contracted sharply, according to the HCOB flash purchasing managers index. Moreover, Germany’s plans to be carbon neutral by 2045 poses a risk to its industry, which might cause a “backlash” from the population, Sinn said.

    Missing Xi at G20
    Premier Li Qiang will lead China’s delegation at the G20 summit in New Delhi this weekend, said China’s foreign ministry. While the ministry declined to confirm if President Xi Jinping would attend the summit, spokesperson Mao Ning didn’t correct reporters who asked if Li’s attendance meant Xi would not show up. Another noteworthy absence: Russian President Vladimir Putin.

    Negotiating new grain deal
    Putin met his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Sochi, Russia on Monday. Putin reportedly said Russia is ready to renew the Black Sea Grain Initiative which allowed Ukraine to export agricultural products — but only if concessions are made to Russia as well.

    [PRO] Don’t sleep on these stocks
    Adults need seven to nine hours of sleep per day. Even though 63% of U.S. adults don’t meet that requirement, they are growing increasingly concerned about their wellbeing, according to a 2022 McKinsey survey. That’s the start of a good dream for these sleep-related stocks.

    The bottom line

    If charting the trajectory of interest rates in the U.S. economy is like “navigating by the stars under cloudy skies,” as Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell put it in his Jackson Hole speech, then predicting the movement of stocks is like doing so when the stars are snuffed out. As for forecasting the price of bitcoin? Add a blindfold to the intrepid navigator.

    Let’s look at two predictions made earlier this year.

    At the optimistic end of the spectrum is Geoff Kendrick, head of crypto research at Standard Chartered, who wrote in an April note that bitcoin’s value could jump to as much as $100,000 by the end of 2024.

    On the other hand, longtime bitcoin bull Chamath Palihapitiya, who said two years ago that bitcoin has replaced gold and would rocket to $200,000, changed his tune. “Crypto is dead in America,” Palihapitiya said.

    What do the numbers tell us? As of publication time, bitcoin is trading at $25,774. On Jan. 1, it was at $16,606, so bitcoin’s up around 55% this year. That suggests bitcoin has legs. But if we take a longer-term view, the current price of the digital currency is about 62% lower than its all-time high of $68,990 reached in November 2021.

    Adding to the confusion, bitcoin sometimes tracks the movement of stocks because it’s seen to benefit from a booming economy; bitcoin sometimes trades inversely with stocks because some consider it a safe haven in times of uncertainty. The story here, then, is that bitcoin is wildly volatile — and it’s impossible to prove or dismantle either prediction, at this point.

    Still, investors are optimistic about bitcoin because a U.S. court recently sided with Grayscale in a lawsuit against the SEC, which denied the company’s application to convert its bitcoin trust into an ETF. That means bitcoin ETFs from major companies are on their way, allowing retail investors to trade the cryptocurrency without actually owning it. The price of bitcoin rallied more than 7% when news broke last Tuesday.

    But the SEC has also delayed a decision on bitcoin ETFs, pausing the short-lived bitcoin bull charge. For August, bitcoin fell 10%.

    And so it goes.

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  • Russia Attacks Ukrainian Port Before Moscow’s Grain Deal Talks With Turkey

    Russia Attacks Ukrainian Port Before Moscow’s Grain Deal Talks With Turkey

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    KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Two people were hospitalized following a 3½-hour Russian drone barrage on a port in Ukraine’s Odesa region on Sunday, officials said.

    The attack on the Reni seaport comes a day before Russian President Vladimir Putin is due to meet with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan to discuss the resumption of food shipments from Ukraine under a Black Sea grain agreement that Moscow broke off from in July.

    Russian forces fired 25 Iranian-made Shahed drones along the Danube River in the early hours of Sunday, 22 of which were shot down by air defenses, the Ukrainian air force said on Telegram.

    Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy ’s chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, described the assault as part of a Russian drive “to provoke a food crisis and hunger in the world.”

    Russia’s Defense Ministry said in a statement that the attack was aimed at fuel storage facilities used to supply military equipment.

    Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan talk to each other during their meeting in the Bocharov Ruchei residence in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, Russia, Wednesday, Sept. 29, 2021. Erdogan will meet with Putin on Monday, Sept. 4, 2023 in a bid to persuade the Russian leader to rejoin the Black Sea grain deal that Moscow broke off from in July.

    Vladimir Smirnov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via Associated Press

    Putin and Erdogan’s long-awaited meeting is due to take place in Sochi on Russia’s southwest coast on Monday.

    Turkish officials have confirmed that the pair will discuss renewing the Black Sea grain initiative, which the Kremlin pulled out of six weeks ago.

    The deal — brokered by the United Nations and Turkey in July 2022 — had allowed nearly 33 million metric tons (36 million tons) of grain and other commodities to leave three Ukrainian ports safely despite Russia’s war.

    However, Russia broke away from the agreement after claiming that a parallel deal promising to remove obstacles to Russian exports of food and fertilizer hadn’t been honored.

    Moscow complained that restrictions on shipping and insurance hampered its agricultural trade, even though it has shipped record amounts of wheat since last year.

    The Sochi summit follows talks between the Russian and Turkish foreign ministers on Thursday, during which Russia handed over a list of actions that the West would have to take in order for Ukraine’s Black Sea exports to resume.

    Erdogan has indicated sympathy with Putin’s position. In July, he said Putin had “certain expectations from Western countries” over the Black Sea deal and that it was “crucial for these countries to take action in this regard.”

    Elsewhere in Ukraine, two people were killed and two others were wounded during Russian shelling Sunday on the village of Vuhledar in the Donetsk area.

    Artillery fire hit eight settlements across the region, Ukraine’s National Police wrote on Telegram.

    Ukrainian prosecutors also announced Sunday that they had opened a war crimes investigation into the death of a police officer killed by Russian shelling on the town of Seredyna-Buda on Saturday afternoon.

    Two other police officers and one civilian were wounded during the attack, which hit Ukraine’s north-eastern Sumy region.

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  • Kremlin says Putin will meet Erdoğan on Monday in Sochi

    Kremlin says Putin will meet Erdoğan on Monday in Sochi

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    Russian President Vladimir Putin will host a summit with his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi, Russia on Monday, the Kremlin has said.

    “The talks will take place on Monday and will be held in Sochi,” Kremlin Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov told reporters today.

    The meeting marks a rare visit to Russia from the leader of a NATO member country since the start of Moscow’s all-out war in Ukraine. Ankara is yet to confirm the date of the summit.

    Turkey is expected to push for the restoration of the U.N.-backed Black Sea grain deal, which Moscow withdrew from unilaterally in July, as well as access to cheap supplies of natural gas.

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    Gabriel Gavin

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  • Moscow attacks Ukraine port day before Russia-Turkey talks on grain deal

    Moscow attacks Ukraine port day before Russia-Turkey talks on grain deal

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    Moscow launched a barrage of drone attacks early Sunday at a port in Ukraine’s Odesa region used by Kyiv to export grain, a day ahead of talks between Russia and Turkey where reviving a U.N.-backed grain deal will be high on the agenda.

    Kyiv’s air defenses shot down 22 out of the 25 Iranian-made drones destined for the Danube River port infrastructure, Ukraine’s air force said on Telegram on Sunday. At least two people were reported injured.

    The Danube River has become Ukraine’s main route for shipping grain after a deal brokered by Turkey and the U.N. allowing Kyiv to use the Black Sea for exports collapsed in July. Moscow has stepped up its attacks of Danube port infrastructure in recent weeks.

    Russian President Vladimir Putin is set to meet Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Russia on Monday, where Turkey is expected to push for the restoration of the Black Sea grain deal.

    “Russian terrorists continue to attack port infrastructure in the hope of provoking a food crisis and famine in the world,” said Andriy Yermak, the Ukrainian president’s chief of staff, on Telegram following the Russian attack.

    Ukrainian officials also said Russian shelling had injured four people in the country’s southeastern Dnipropetrovsk region Sunday morning, while one person had died after attacks on Saturday in the country’s northeastern Sumy region. POLITICO couldn’t independently verify the reports.

    That also comes after a top Ukrainian general leading the country’s counteroffensive said on Saturday that Kyiv’s troops had breached Russia’s first defensive line near Zaporizhzhia in southeastern Ukraine after weeks of mine clearance.

    In a sign that Russia is also increasingly looking at all possible options to shore up its forces, Moscow has been appealing for fresh recruits through advertizing in the Caucasus and Central Asia, the U.K.’s Defense Ministry said on Sunday. Online adverts offering up to €4,756 in initial salaries have been spotted Armenia and Kazakshtan, as well as schemes offering fast-track Russian citizenship for those who sign up.

    Around 280,000 people have signed up for military service in Russia so far this year, the country’s former President Dmitry Medvedev said Sunday. Last year, Russia announced a plan of increasing its troops by 30 percent to 1.5 million.

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    Victor Jack

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