About: Kurds
Turkish FM says the EU has ‘over-politicised’ accession negotiations
The EU has “excessively politicised” the negotiations between Ankara and Brussels, Turkey’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu told EURACTIV’s partner EFE in a written interview, calling on the bloc to take a more positive approach. He reiterated his country’s...
Erdogan slams European rights court’s ruling in support of Kurdish leader
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Wednesday (23 December) blasted the top European rights court's call for Turkey to release Kurdish political leader Selahattin Demirtaş after four years in jail.
A Biden administration is bad news for Turkey’s Erdogan
Donald Trump’s lackadaisical approach to Turkey's President Recep Erdoğan gave him an opening for an aggressive and revisionist set of policies that pushed the boundaries of Turkey’s relations with America and Europe, writes Henri J Barkey.
Austria to file charges against Turkish spy
Austria will file charges against a person who has confessed to spying for Turkey's secret service, and authorities are investigating more suspected espionage activities, its interior minister said, warning Turkey this would not be tolerated.
German government criticises Turkey’s Syria invasion
The Turkish invasion into the Kurdish region lacked "legitimacy under international law". Berlin's development ministry wants to help in northern Syria because of COVID-19. EURACTIV's media partner Der Tagesspiegel reports.
Turkey, Austria trade barbs over Kurdish-Turkish clashes in Vienna
Austria and Turkey accused each other on Monday (29 June) of responding inappropriately to clashes between Kurdish and Turkish protesters in Vienna last week, further straining relations.
Erdogan is bullying Europe because Trump gave him the green light
The show which Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is playing now with the migrant crisis is, to a great extent, the result of the green light he got from Trump last October when the US troops withdrew from Syria.
Turkey says will not stop Syrian refugees reaching Europe after troops killed
Turkey will no longer stop Syrian refugees from reaching Europe, a senior Turkish official said, as Ankara responded on Friday (28 February) to the killing of 33 Turkish soldiers in an air strike by Syrian government forces in Syria's northwestern Idlib region.
Russia tells Turkey to refrain from provocative statements on Syria
Russia's foreign ministry on Thursday (13 February) called on Turkey to refrain from making provocative statements about events in Syria amid rising tensions over the Syrian province of Idlib.
Turkey hits back after Syrian shells kill Turkish troops
Turkey said on Monday (2 February) its military hit dozens of Syrian government targets after eight Turkish military personnel were killed by shelling in Idlib in northwest Syria, where fighting threatens to test ties between Ankara and Moscow.
French, Dutch smash huge migrant smuggling ring to UK
French and Dutch police arrested 23 people on suspicion of smuggling 10,000 Kurdish migrants to Britain in refrigerated lorries and rubber boats, Europe's judicial agency said Wednesday (22 January).
Turkey mulls sending allied Syrian fighters to Libya
Turkey is considering sending allied Syrian fighters to Libya as part of its planned military support for the embattled government in Tripoli, four senior Turkish sources said on Monday (30 December), with one adding that Ankara was leaning toward the idea.
US Senate committee approves Turkey sanctions bill
A US Senate committee backed legislation on Wednesday (11 December) to impose sanctions on Turkey after its offensive in Syria and purchase of a Russian S-400 missile system, seeking to push President Trump to take a harder line against Ankara.
Russia balks at Turkish idea of new Syrian military operation
Russia said on Tuesday (19 November) it was bewildered by a Turkish pledge to conduct a new military operation in northern Syria if the area was not cleared of people Ankara calls terrorists, warning that any such move would damage efforts to stabilise the region.
Turkey says it will send most IS detainees to their home countries by year-end
Turkey will have repatriated most of its Islamic State detainees to their home countries by the end of the year, Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu said on Tuesday (19 November), a week after Turkish authorities began the repatriation programme.
Despite ‘wonderful’ meeting, Trump and Erdogan fail to resolve conflicts
US President Donald Trump on Wednesday (13 November) pushed Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan to walk away from the purchase of a Russian missile defence system, calling it a “very serious challenge” to bilateral ties, even though he described a meeting between the two leaders as “wonderful.”
Syria operation reveals cracks among Turkish opposition
Turkey's military incursion in Syria has given President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan a bump in opinion polls and exposed potential cracks in an informal political alliance that claimed surprise victories over his ruling party in local elections this year.
Turkey starts ‘sending home’ detained foreign fighters
Turkey said on Monday (11 November) it had deported two captives from Islamic State, a German and an American, starting a programme to repatriate detainees that has caused friction with its NATO allies since it launched an offensive in northern Syria.
US House recognises Armenian genocide, backs Turkey sanctions
The US House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly on Tuesday (29 October) to recognise the mass killings of Armenians a century ago as a genocide, a symbolic but historic vote instantly denounced by Turkey.
Trump hails death of ‘depraved’ Islamic State leader Baghdadi in US raid
Fugitive Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi died “whimpering and crying” in a raid by US special forces in northwest Syria, President Donald Trump announced on Sunday (27 October), fulfilling what he called his top national security goal.
NATO slams Turkey over Syria, lukewarm reactions to German ‘safe zone’ proposal
NATO defence ministers on Thursday (24 October) denounced Turkey for its military incursion in Northeast Syria, but acknowledged there was little they could do to restrain their strategically important ally.
US welcomes German security plan for Syria, unlikely to take part
The United States and NATO cautiously welcomed on Wednesday (23 October) a German proposal for a security zone in northern Syria, though Washington's envoy to the alliance saying it should be for Europe to take charge and not US forces.
Russia, Turkey reach ‘historic’ deal on Syria border
Russia and Turkey agreed on Tuesday (22 October) to ensure Kurdish forces withdraw from areas close to Syria's border with Turkey and to launch joint patrols, in a deal hailed as "historic" by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.