Turkey Live Coverage (20 June): 26 Die in Military Clashes with PKK

1700 GMT: During a recent speech at the Washington Institute, Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Shaul Mofaz said that Israel needs to come to terms with Turkey's superpower status in the Middle East.

1615 GMT: BDP's deputy Altan Tan underlined the equally important matter of halting military operations and responded to calls for PKK to lay down its arms. Altan said:

Every time, they ar calling on PKK lay down its arms. OK, let it do so but how, to whom and where shall it leave its arms? 

1520 GMT: Barzani spoke to Turkey's TRT: 

The period of armed struggle is over now. This gives harm to Kurdish people. Our position is clear and obvious. We are asking our brothers in Turkey to continue their activities in the Parliament. The recent steps taken are very important ones for Turkey. I am condemning this incident. 

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Turkey Live Coverage (7 June): Politics and Pressure over the Kurdistan Talks

1740 GMT: Following the Global Counter- Terrorism Forum, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said regarding Turkey's fight against PKK: 

With respect to our fight against terrorism, we work very closely together, and in fact, we are learning every week how we can be more closely knit together to cooperate and to support Turkey’s fight against the PKK. I will not discuss potential arms transfers that have not been formally notified to Congress, but I will say that the extensive assistance that we currently provide is going to intensify through closer cooperation and planning, and both the foreign minister and I are committed to making sure both of our governments are as focused and coordinated as we can be going against those that threaten Turkey and Turkish lives.

 I think I’ve said it on every trip to Turkey – the United States stands strongly with Turkey in your fight against the PKK whose long campaign of violence has claimed tens of thousands of lives. 

1535 GMT: Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu criticized the silence of countries who haven’t spoken out against the Assad regime so far and underlined, once again, the significance of an international consensus. He said:

From Turkey’s perspective, there is instability on the border between Turkey and Syria. The Assad regime does not create stability: On the contrary, Assad’s methods destroy the stability in the region. 

The international community should act unanimously to stop the oppression and atrocities.

Turkey will continue its inclusive activities to strengthen the opposition in Syria.

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Turkey Live Coverage (22 March): Military Operations Continue Against Kurdish Group

1920 GMT: Following Israel's confiscation of a Palestinian plot in Valaja village in the West Bank and its plan to turn it into a park for Jewish settlers, a statement released by the Turkish Foreign Ministry said that Israel's settlement activities despite all warnings by the international community are unacceptable.

It is also stated that Israel is blocking the peace process by its negative position and deprive vision of two state solution by physical conditions it creates in the region. 

1725 GMT: Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan said that almost no one earns less than $2 a day in Turkey, and the number of those who earn less than $4 a day is only 3.6 percent.

1650 GMT: A speculation is going on in Ankara that the ruling AKP government has adopted a new policy on the Kurdish issue.

According to officials, the government is abandoning dialogue and negotiations with the leaders of the outlawed terrorist/separatist organisation, PKK. Instead, some believe that the government will hold negotiations with the pro-Kurdish party, BDP; whereas others think that the priority will be given specifically to the Turkish public opinion, in order to prevent increasing anger of Turks against Kurdish people.

Just hours ago, Prime Minister Erdogan called on Kurdish citizens to abandon BDP. If BDP and Ocalan (the imprisoned leader of PKK) are sidelined, then with whom AKP is going to talk? If BDP is wanted to be negotiated with, then the question is that how is it possible to convince the party to change its strategies while the party-Kurdish base alliance is anchored on a nationalistic platform where Ocalan and PKK militia are seen as the leader and "guerillas" of a "freedom-seeking" nation, respectively? 

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Turkey Live Coverage (14 March): A Growing Role Over Syria

1845 GMT: Turkey is getting ready to sue Iran for its relatively high natural gas price. Energy and Natural Resources Minister Taner Yıldız said: "The road to arbitration is being paved on March 16, and we will not wait for too long after that to file our complaint."

Turkey currently buys a cubic meter of Azerbaijani gas for $330 and pays Russia $400 for the same amount. However, Iran sells its gas to Turkey for $505 for each cubic meter. 

Turkey is reportedly going to take the issue to the International Chamber of Commerce in Switzerland, which awarded Turkey $800 million in compensation in 2009 in a previous dispute with Iran.

1730 GMT: Retired Gen. Ergin Saygun, who has been receiving medical support since he was first arrested as a Sledgehammer suspect in 2011, was arrested by a Turkish court today. 

The case of Sledgehammer suspects, a clique inside the military, are being accused of carrying out anti-government plans to overthrow the AKP government. Crashing jets, bombing mosques during a busy hour of the day are just some of the accusations. 

1645 GMT: State-run Anatolia news agency reported that at least 765 Syrian refugees, mostly women and children, have crossed into Turkey since Tuesday night. It is reported that Turkey currently hosts nearly 14,000 Syrian refugees in its Hatay district.

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Turkey Live Coverage (7 March): Erdogan Wants A Solution to Syria

2140 GMT: The Interior Ministry's confidential report on the Uludere massacre reached to the parliament. BDP's MP Ertigril Kurkcu said that the video images of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles per se do not let to an air strike, according to the findings of the report. 

CHP's Malik Ecder Ozdemir also stated that the special report found out that no local senior military officials knew about the air strike. Therefore, the report wants a broader investigation.

1930 GMT: Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu met privately with his Iranian and Azerbaijani counterparts, Ali Akbar Salehi and Elmar Mammadyarov repectively, in Nakhichevan. In these meetings, it is reported that Davutoglu and Mammadyarov talked about the current political situation in South Caucasus and Azeribaijan-NATO relations since this country is in NATO's Partnership for Peace program. On the other hand, Davutoglu and Salehi reportedly talked about Iran's prospective talks with P5+1 countries (the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany) and Turkey's strong willingness to host a possible meeting in Istanbul.

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Turkey's Message for Egypt: "Democracy Shall Win"

On Tuesday, as hundreds of thousands of protesters gathered in Cairo, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan called on Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to "listen to people's outcries and extremely humanistic demands" and continued his advice:

Meet the freedom demands of people without a doubt. In today’s world, freedoms cannot be postponed or overlooked.

We are mortal. We will all die and be judged by those who remain. As Muslims, our final address is a two-cubic-meter hole. What matters is to be remembered with respect. We should listen to the voice of our conscience and the voice of our people and be ready either for their good prayers or curses. We are for the people; we are in the service of the people.

Turkey will continue to stand side-by-side with both the Tunisian and Egyptian people and continue to share their hope and happiness.

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