Turkish military

The presidents of Turkey and Russia spoke by phone Friday to try to defuse tensions that rose significantly in Syria after 33 Turkish troops were killed in a Syrian government airstrike, and a new wave of refugees and migrants headed for the Greek border by land and sea after Turkey said it would no longer hold them back.

Turkey has decided to no longer stop Syrian refugees from reaching Europe by land and sea, a senior Turkish official told Reuters on Thursday, in anticipation of the imminent arrival of refugees from Syria's Idlib where nearly a million have been displaced.

Turkish and northern Cypriot officials met on Saturday in an abandoned town wrecked by war to discuss potentially re-opening the area after 46 years, a move that Ankara said was a "historic" opportunity to bring tourism and economic benefits.

Turkey's Defense Minister Hulusi Akar had separate meetings with his British and French counterparts in Brussels on Feb. 13.

Akar visited NATO headquarters on the second day of NATO defense ministers meeting.

He met with U.K. Defense Secretary Ben Wallace before attending a session on defense, deterrence and burden-sharing.

Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli on Feb. 11 condemned an attack by the Syrian regime on Turkish troops in Idlib province of Syria and called on the Turkish government to reassess its relations with Russia, Damascus' main ally.

Five Turkish soldiers were killed and five others were injured in a Syrian regime artillery attack in Idlib province of Syria, as the Turkish army retaliated against the regime forces, Turkey's Defense Ministry said on Feb. 10.

Delegations from Turkey and Russia will meet on Feb. 10 for a second time following a weekend session in the Turkish capital Ankara.

Turkish hosted a Russian delegation in the capital Ankara on Feb. 8 to discuss the escalating situation in Idlib, northwestern Syria.

According to diplomatic sources, the Turkish and Russia delegations held a three-hour meeting which stressed the need to ensure peace on the ground and discussed steps to boost political process.

Turkey will use its right of self-defense in the strongest manner if Turkey faces a new attack in Syria, the Defense Ministry said on Feb. 8.

"In the event of a new attack, the proper response will be given in the strongest manner based on the right of self-defense," the ministry said in a statement.

Main opposition SYRIZA slammed the government over its management of relations with Turkey and demanded that it respond to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's statement that he hopes that Greece does not approach Aegean islands the sovereignty of which Ankara disputes, just as the Greek military this year did not approach the Imia islets on the anniversary of the crisis that brought the tw