Day: November 19, 2022

At the ceremony in Istanbul, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said that Amreyev “has made valuable contributions to Türkiye-Kazakhstan relations and increasing solidarity in the Turkic world in his 40 years of professional life.”

Cavusoglu noted that the Distinguished Service Award of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been given to nearly 140 natural and legal persons since 1989, adding that during his tenure 12 people received this award.

“We will continue to take steps that will transform both our country and the great Turkic world into a belt of security and prosperity,” he said.

For his part, Amreyev thanked Cavusoglu for the award, and said: “During my duty as secretary general of the Organization of Turkic States, which I carried out with great honor and pride in the last 4 years, the Turkic world, the Organization of Turkic States, changed dramatically.”

He said that it is for the first time in history that Turkic states act as a single entity, thanks to the gains they have made in recent years.

“The Turkic world is no longer a rhetoric, it is a reality. They are aware of each other. Our countries know that they are not alone. The whole world knows this very well. This is a new paradigm,” Amreyev said.

“I would like to thank President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Foreign Minister Cavusoglu for their political support in the most critical processes in the implementation of developments that strengthen the unity and values of the Turkic world,” he added.

The leaders of the Organization of Turkic States established Turkic Investment Fund and appointed Amreyev its president last week.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Speaking with reporters via a webinar, National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby said the determination had nothing to do with Washington’s relationship with Riyadh and that it was the State Department that decided to ask the Justice Department to submit the filing.

Kirby said Biden is “aware of this legal process and this legal determination,” adding that it “has absolutely nothing to do with the merits of the case itself.”

He reiterated that it was a determination requested by the State Department and provided by the Justice Department at the court’s request.

“It has absolutely nothing to do with the bilateral relationship with Saudi Arabia, which as you know, is tense right now given the OPEC+ decision,” said Kirby.

His remarks came a day after reports of the Biden administration saying the status of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who was recently also named prime minister of his country, as a foreign head of government should shield him from lawsuits over his role in the 2018 killing of the US-based Saudi journalist.

The administration submitted the declaration of sovereign immunity to a federal court in Washington hearing a lawsuit filed against the prince by Khashoggi’s fiancee, Hatice Cengiz, and the Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN) rights group that Khashoggi had founded, over bin Salman’s alleged role in the killing in Istanbul, Türkiye.

The Saudi prince has repeatedly denied any involvement in the murder. The Biden administration’s opinion is not binding on the judge hearing the case, who will have the ultimate say.

Saudi officials allegedly killed Khashoggi and then dismembered his body at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul in 2018. His remains have never been found.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Truck drivers in Brazil blocked highways Friday as supporters of outgoing President Jair Bolsonaro continued to demonstrate against Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s victory in a presidential runoff.

Authorities registered 17 roadblocks across the country.

The highest concentration of roadblocks was in the northwestern state of Rondonia, where authorities registered 11.

Brazil’s Federal Highway Police (PRF) also confirmed roadblocks in the Federal District and the States of Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul and Rio de Janeiro.

Between Oct. 30 and Nov. 9, authorities arrested 49 people allegedly involved in the roadblocks, with the highest number of arrests in the southern state of Santa Catarina, according to Brazilian news portal G1.

The PRF announced Friday that it had dismantled 1,158 demonstrations since protests began.

Authorities have also blocked the bank accounts of 43 people and companies allegedly driving “anti-democratic acts” following Lula’s victory.

Federal Supreme Court (STF) judge Alexandre de Moraes announced the measure was to target the “repeated abuse of the right to assemble.”

In recent weeks, authorities have been targeting those they allege are driving undemocratic acts — ranging from illegal roadblocks and anti-democratic demonstrations amid calls by demonstrators for military intervention.

Demonstrations began after many supporters of Bolsonaro failed to recognize Lula’s victory in the tight runoff late last month, claiming the election was stolen.

There was not any indication of election irregularity in Brazil, while overseas, the results were quickly recognized by various leaders.

A report by Brazil’s Defense Ministry last week found no electoral irregularities in a detailed document provided to electoral authorities.

Bolsonaro lost to Lula, who garnered 50.9% of the vote compared to Bolsonaro’s 49.1%, according to Brazil’s Superior Electoral Court.

Lula is set to be sworn in for a third term Jan. 1.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Environmental group, Ultima Generazione, or Last Generation, staged the protest and threw 8 kilograms (17.6 pounds) of flour on a BMW car that was repainted by the American artist.

The protest held at Fabbrica del Vapore, a cultural center hosting a retrospective of the pop-art master, targeted the colorful 1979 BMW M1.

Later, members of the group tried to glue themselves to the car’s windows while others were sitting in the display area.

Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini criticized the protest and noted similar protests across Europe.

“Let them pay the damages and spend some time where they deserve,” Salvini said on Twitter. He is also the minister of Infrastructure and Sustainable Mobility.

The group blamed the media for remaining “silent” about the truth.

“We feel obligated to do so,” it said on Twitter.

The protest is the latest example of actions spreading across Europe, including in the UK, Germany, Spain and France.

Source: Anadolu Agency

The mostly elderly Ahiska Turks set off from Kherson on Oct. 31 but some could not enter Russia because of problems with their documents, said sources.

As a result of intensive efforts by the Turkish Embassy in Moscow at the Kremlin, the Russian foreign, interior and defense ministries and work conducted by the Turkish Foreign Ministry with the Russian Embassy in Ankara, permissions were obtained for the group.

The group entered Russia via Crimea on Friday. The convoy is expected to reach Russia’s border with Georgia later in the day.

The Turkish Embassy in Tbilisi also took necessary initiatives with Georgian authorities.

Preparations for entry and hosting the Ahiska Turks, who are expected to reach Türkiye via Georgia, have been completed by relevant authorities.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland fear that Russia and Belarus will “weaponize migration” by sending refugees through EU countries, said the MailOnline news outlet in the UK.

Russia sent thousands of asylum-seekers to Finland’s border in 2015 and 2016, while in 2021, the EU accused Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko of forcing migrants to make illegal crossings into Europe.

Poland has already built a 115-mile steel wall in response and has placed barbed wire around its border with Russia.

Finland and other Baltic states are following suit and are reinforcing their borders with barbed wire.

Finland’s Prime Minister Sanna Marin said the country’s 830-mile border with Russia will be “fortified.”

Marin claimed that it would help defend the nation against the “hybrid threat” and possible large-scale and irregular migration “orchestrated by the Kremlin,” said the MailOnline.

Stanslaw Zaryn, a Polish government security official, said the wall sends a strong message to Moscow and Minsk that Poland “takes the security and integrity of its borders extremely seriously,” according to the Metro news outlet.

‘I believe that Belarus and Russia will think twice before pursuing again the weaponization of migration,” he added.

Polish human rights organizations have criticized its government, arguing the move will deter asylum seekers from seeking refuge.

Human rights groups have also reported that refugees are being subjected to abuse while being forced back into Belarus.

The 2,106-mile border with new barriers will be completed by 2025 across the Baltic states, according to MailOnline.

Source: Anadolu Agency