Anadolu

In what was viewed as another display of nationalistic rhetoric aimed at a domestic audience on Thursday, Turkey announced its intention to proceed with drilling activities in the Eastern Mediterranean, while a university rector and the head of an organization linked to the ruling AK Party set their sights on 12 Greek islands, Western Thrace and parts of Crete.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said German and French leaders will visit Istanbul next week for talks on the migration crisis, local media quoted by the BBC reports.

Erdogan told reporters on his plane back from Brussels that he, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron "will meet in Istanbul next Tuesday", Anadolu news agency reported.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Tuesday that a 2016 agreement between Turkey and the European Union needs to be updated, taking into account developments in Syria, and that Ankara was ready to work constructively on the issue.

Turkey shot down two Syrian warplanes over Idlib on March 1 and struck a military airport well beyond its frontlines in a sharp escalation of its military operations following the death of dozens of Turkish soldiers last week.

Turkish President Recep Erdogan said today that Turkey plans to banish Syrian government forces from Idlib in northwestern Syria by the end of February.

Speaking to lawmakers, he said he hoped the air force issue in northwestern Syria would be resolved soon.

Istanbul prosecutors have issued a new detention warrant for businessman Osman Kavala, shortly after he was acquitted on terrorism charges in a trial pertaining to the 2013 Gezi Park protests.

Turkey has prepared thermographic cameras and other precautionary measures against the spread of the new flu-like coronavirus, but there are currently no cases or patients at risk, the Health Ministry said.

The number of the death cases has increased to 9 with 440 confirmed cases.

Turkey continues to follow an aggressive strategy towards other nations in the Eastern Mediterranean.

At least 18 civilians were killed and another 27 were injured in a bomb blast in the Syrian city of Al Bab near the border with Turkey, Anadolu news agency reported.

Earlier, the Turkish Ministry of Defense reported 10 dead and 15 injured in the blast.

The US ambassador in Turkey was summoned on Wednesday after the House of Representatives voted to recognize mass killings of Armenians a century ago as genocide and called for sanctions over Turkey's incursion in Syria, Anadolu news agency said.