Day: September 2, 2022

Serbia counts on Türkiye’s support for the continuation of talks to resolve lingering disputes with Kosovo, the Serbian foreign minister said on Friday.

Dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina will “lead to a compromise and a mutually acceptable solution, and contribute to the preservation of regional peace and stability,” Nikola Selakovic said in a statement after meeting his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu in the capital Belgrade.

Serbia and Kosovo last week agreed on a new border policy under an EU-facilitated dialogue process.

Tensions were rising in the region over Kosovo’s plans to make it mandatory for everyone, including Serbs living in the north, to have a Kosovo ID card and license plates for cars.

Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008, with most UN member states, including the US, UK, France, Germany and Türkiye, recognizing it as a separate autonomous country.

Serbia, however, continues to claim Kosovo as its territory.

Selakovic and Cavusoglu also expressed satisfaction over “the increasingly intensive economic cooperation” between Serbia and Türkiye, which has already brought about a “significant” rise in bilateral trade this year, the statement said.

Relations between Serbia and Türkiye “are at the highest level in recent history,” the statement added.

Cavusoglu has traveled to Belgrade on a two-day official visit to participate in the Open Balkan Initiative Summit.

In his speech at the summit earlier in the day, he emphasized that Ankara will continue encouraging dialogue between Serbia and Kosovo.

“The (recent) agreement on ID cards shows the merit in focusing on our shared interests rather than differences,” said Cavusoglu.

“Türkiye has open communication with both parties. We will continue to encourage dialogue to reach an agreement on vehicle plates and other remaining issues.”

Source: Anadolu Agency

We should act faster in delivering aid to Pakistan where floods have killed over 1,200 people besides damaging swathes of agricultural land, leaving millions homeless and destroying infrastructure, the Turkish interior minister said as he visited the country on Friday.

The southern districts of Baluchistan and Sindh provinces are worst-affected, while parts of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have also been hit.

A Turkish ministerial delegation headed to Pakistan on Friday to express solidarity and support for the South Asian country.

Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu, Environment Minister Murat Kurum, and heads of the Turkish Disaster and Emergency Management (AFAD) and Turkish Housing Development Administration (TOKI) visited flood-hit regions, including Badin district of Sindh.

In a press talk, Soylu said supplies such as tents, food, medicines and hygiene materials and boats were delivered to the region, adding: “All these are being sent gradually, but what we see today is that we need to act a little faster. Because there is great despair among people.”

Calling on everyone to not to leave the people alone, the interior minister said: “This is not a disaster, this is a deluge, people are under water.”

“We have shipped 10,000 tents so far, our friends are trying … to reach almost everywhere,” he went on to say.

“Over a million homes have been damaged here, after the temporary shelter, permanent structures must be made,” said Kurum. “For damage assessment our ministry will provide both personnel and equipment support.”

The high-powered delegation also met Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, who said the country is facing “most difficult time in our history.”

“We derive great strength and confidence from support and cannot thank President Erdogan enough. This visit reflects unwavering bond of brotherhood between us,” he tweeted.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Semra Guzel, an opposition lawmaker in Türkiye whose legislative immunity was lifted over accusations of “being member of an armed terror organization” was held on Friday, the interior minister said.

Guzel, a member of Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), was captured in a joint operation carried out by the Turkish National Intelligence Organization (MIT) and Istanbul Police Department when she was on her way to northwestern Edirne province, Suleyman Soylu said on Twitter.

Guzel, carrying a fake passport, was with an individual, with initials A.G., who spread PKK terrorist propaganda and is a human trafficker, Soylu added.

In March, the Turkish parliament lifted the legislative immunity of Guzel, a HDP deputy from the southeastern Diyabakir province.

While 327 lawmakers voted in favor of lifting Guzel’s immunity, 52 legislators opposed the motion.

Earlier this year, photos of Guzel with PKK terrorist Volkan Bora were widely circulated in Turkish media.

Bora was neutralized in 2017 by the Turkish military in Türkiye’s southeastern Adiyaman province.

In its more than 35-year terror campaign against Türkiye, the PKK — listed as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the US, and EU — has been responsible for the deaths of over 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants.

The Turkish government accuses the HDP of having links to the PKK terror group.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Greece’s harassment of Turkish jets over the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean Seas could have “dangerous consequences,” according to the spokesperson of Türkiye’s AK Party.

“This is something that the world today never wants,” Omer Celik told reporters in the capital Ankara Thursday after a meeting of the party’s Central Executive Board.

Celik called on Greek authorities to heed diplomacy and steer clear of such harassment of Turkish jets.

Those who criticize Türkiye for buying Russian-made S-400 air defense system should also raise their voice against Greece using S-300s to radar lock Turkish F-16s, according to Celik, pointing to hypocritical Western treatment of Türkiye.

Turkish jets engaged in NATO missions over the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean Seas on Aug. 23 were harassed by a Russian-made S-300 air defense system stationed on the Greek island of Crete, according to Turkish National Defense Ministry sources.

However, Greek military officials have denied the Turkish account of the actions, which are described as “hostile” in the NATO Rules of Engagement.

Türkiye’s National Defense Ministry is preparing to send radar records of the incident to the NATO Secretariat-General and alliance members’ defense ministries.

Türkiye, a NATO member for over 70 years, has complained of repeated provocative actions and rhetoric by Greece in the region in recent months, saying such moves frustrate its good faith efforts for peace.

Source: Anadolu Agency