Tayyip Erdogan

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis will visit Turkey on Monday for talks with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan aimed at maintaining the positive momentum achieved in bilateral ties in recent months despite lingering problems between the neighbors.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday that the United States and European countries were not doing enough to pressure Israel to agree a ceasefire in Gaza, after Palestinian militant group Hamas' move to accept a truce proposal.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis' visit to Ankara on Monday and his meeting with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan will take place without high expectations, with the main goal being to preserve the positive climate, the "calm waters" in the Aegean, and the open channels of communication between the two sides. 

During his customary monthly briefing at the Presidential Mansion, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis expressed his dissatisfaction with the conversion of a former Byzantine church in Istanbul, the Monastery of Chora, into a mosque.

He pledged to raise the issue with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan during his visit to Ankara next Monday.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan postponed a White House meeting with President Joe Biden, a source familiar with the situation and a Turkish official has said of a visit that had been tentatively planned for May 9.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has said he does not believe the Palestinian militant group Hamas will leave Qatar, where it is based, adding he had seen no such signs that Doha wished the group to leave, either.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan began a rare visit to Iraq on Monday aiming to reset ties between the Middle East neighbors by inking a raft of deals covering security cooperation against Kurdish PKK militants, energy and trade.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan discussed efforts to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza and reach a fair and lasting peace in the region during a meeting with Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Istanbul on Saturday, his office said.

Turkey will take steps to strengthen its medium-term economic program and the three main priorities are to increase public savings, prioritize investments and accelerate structural reforms, President Tayyip Erdogan said.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Israeli leadership are solely responsible for the recent escalation of tensions in the Middle East, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday.

"Israel is trying to provoke a regional conflict, and its attack on Iran's embassy in Damascus  was the last drop," he told a press conference in Ankara after a cabinet meeting.