Kazakhstan

BELGRADE - Meeting with Kazakh Ambassador Nurbach Rustemov on Friday, Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic expressed satisfaction with the achieved degree of cooperation between the two countries, noting that bilateral relations were friendly and sincere.

Turkey has declared a day of national mourning after twin attacks in Istanbul killed at least 38 people, including 30 police officers, late on Dec. 10, Doğan News Agency has reported.

The Ankara Governor's Office released an official written statement, notifying that a day of national mourning had been declared to commemorate the victims of the attack.

Turkey's Directorate of Religious Affairs (Diyanet) has gathered intelligence via imams from 38 countries on the activities of suspected followers of the U.S.-based Islamic preacher Fethullah Gülen, widely believed to be the mastermind of the failed July 15 coup attempt. 

Turkey has entered the top 10 countries with the most items on the UNESCO Intangible Heritage List, with the addition of traditional flatbread during the 11th official meeting. 

During the meeting in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, one national and two multi-national files were presented on behalf of Turkey. 

Turkey will chair the Energy Club of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in 2017, becoming the first non-SCO country to hold its term presidency, according to officials from the Energy Ministry. 

In a meeting on Nov. 22, a proposal from Ankara to pave the way for non-SCO member countries to assume the term presidency of the Energy Club was accepted, officials said.  

Turkey would never take steps to undermine NATO's collective defense and unity as spelled out in Article 5, the alliance's chief has said, recalling President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's commitment to NATO membership amid the revival of a discussion on Turkish participation in the Russian-led Shanghai Cooperation Organization, known as the Shanghai Five. 

China is willing to consider any application from NATO-member Turkey to join a Russian and Chinese-led security bloc, the Shanghai Pact, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said Nov. 21 after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said his country could join.

Is there significance in asking "If Turkey has lost its hope of becoming a member of the European Union, why should it compromise so much on Cyprus?" Put aside the awkward question of "Is Turkey a negotiating party in the Cyprus talks?"A settlement on Cyprus cannot and should not be a bargaining tool for either the EU or Turkey in their unending love-hate relationship.

Aiming to become a member of the Shanghai Pact, whose members are countries where "one-man rule" is predominant, will only cause more problems for Turkey's foreign policy, main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) lawmaker Öztürk Yılmaz has said.

Turkey should not be "fixated" on the idea of joining the European Union and should look at other opportunities, such as the Russia-led Shanghai Pact, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has said.

"Turkey should first of all feel relaxed about the EU and not be fixated" about joining it, Erdoğan told reporters on the presidential plane returning from Uzbekistan, daily Hürriyet reported.