Turkey

The United Nations Security Council is scheduled to meet on Dec. 18 to discuss a complaint by Iraq over Turkish troops deployed to a camp near the northern Iraqi city of Mosul. 

From Moscow, the news for Turkey was not good. Russian President Vladimir Putin chided Turkey and President Tayyip Erdo?an in particular during a Dec.

Egyptian clerics, particularly during the Gezi protests of 2013, were the inevitable darlings of Turkey's Islamists. Remember Yusuf al-Qaradawi, the president of the Association of Muslim Scholars and the ideological leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, who decreed in June 2013 that the Gezi protesters were "acting against Allah's will." The Turkish clergy never objected to that fatwa. 

Can there be anything more absurd? Well, probably. After all, the world is going through such a period that every day the level of absurdity is being carried to new heights. Still, the creation of a Sunni Alliance led by Saudi Arabia with the aim of fighting Sunni, Salafist, jihadist, Islamist terrorism might constitute a new and hard-to-be-surpassed world record in absurdity.

Turkey's southeast is experiencing its harshest days in decades. Never have we witnessed open "urban-warfare" on such a scale. 

Sevil Erku?sevil.erkus@hurriyet.com.trA Turkish government official has confirmed to Hürriyet Daily News that Israeli and Turkish officials held talks in Switzerland over the broken ties and may reach a deal soon.

Israel and Turkey have reached a preliminary agreement to normalize relations, including the return of ambassadors to both countries, Reuters quoted an Israeli official as saying on Dec 17.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has it clear that Bulgaria is adhering to its EU commitments and it complying with the Third Energy Package, Bulgaria's Prime Minister Boyko Borisov has said.

A Turkish court on Dec. 17 issued arrest warrants for the former editor and former owner of the Zaman newspaper.

Turkish foreign ministry has warned its citizens aiming at traveling to Russia over the visa regime Russia will start imposing on Turkish citizens as of Jan. 1, 2016, after relations between the two countries have been tense due to a jet crisis.