U.N. Security Council

Thousands of people gathered on July 11 in Srebrenica for the 19th anniversary of the massacre of some 8,000 Muslim males by ethnic Serbs forces, Europe’s worst atrocity since World War II.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry has said it is not fully satisfied with the process of elimination of the Syrian chemical weapons arsenal in a written statement, claiming the Syrian government has yet to destroy all of its facilities.

Turkey will continue to follow the developments with regard to the elimination of chemical weapons in Syria, the ministry said on June 27.  

Turkey is very supportive of the UN, says the head of the United Nations Development Program, adding that it is breaking ground in its transition from a recipient to a provider of development support. ‘Turkey has a very positive story to tell and an experience to share,’ says Helen Clark.

The Turkish government has updated its official terrorist organization list, removing the al-Nusra Front from the group listed under the title “al-Qaeda in Iraq.” However, the changes published in the Official Gazette on June 18 kept al-Nusra listed as a “terrorist organization.” 

Russia said on June 17 it has gained Syrian approval to open four border crossings from Iraq, Jordan and Turkey to deliver aid to millions of people under a "far-reaching formula" proposed to U.N. Security Council members.

Iran and world powers enter a critical fifth round of nuclear talks in Vienna on June 16 amid reports Tehran and Washington may use the occasion to discuss cooperation in Iraq.

The Turkish government has blacklisted Nigeria’s fundamentalist militant group Boko Haram in line with a U.N. Security Council decision that recently placed the group on the U.N.’s list of terrorist organizations associated with al-Qaeda.

Iran’s investment interest in Turkey is rising, as it provides a route to break into the global economy, Aegean-Iran Cooperation Association has said to Anadolu Agency in İzmir.

Former U.N. envoy for Syria Lakhdar Brahimi has warned that the war-torn country was heading toward becoming “another Somalia” ruled by warlords, in an interview published in a German weekly this weekend.

As Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani starts his two-day official visit to Ankara today hosted by President Abdullah Gül of Turkey, high rank delegations from the U.S. and Iran will meet in Geneva for two days of nuclear talks in the first direct diplomatic contact since the Islamic Revolution in 1979.