Hulusi Akar

Defense Minister Hulusi Akar on April 21 called on Greece for better relations but said Athens is acting slowly to respond to "the hand Turkey extended for friendship."

The PKK terrorist organization has come to the brink of collapse thanks to the Turkish army's continued military operations, Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said on April 19, while vowing that the anti-terror fight will endure determinately.

The Turkish army has launched a major offensive against PKK hideouts and targets in northern Iraq in a bid to destroy the terror organization's capacity to attack Turkey in the coming months, the Defense Ministry has announced, informing that many terrorists were neutralized and their structures were hit as a preliminary result of the military operation.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had iftar dinner with soldiers in Yüksekova district of southeastern Hakkari province on April 13.

The president, accompanied by Defense Minister Hulusi Akar and the Turkish Armed Forces command, visited the 3rd Infantry Division Command in the Yüksekova district of Hakkari.

The Turkish army is continuing to stay vigilant against the naval mines in the Black Sea, the defense minister has said, stressing that marine traffic through the Bosporus is not affected by the drifting sea mines and runs as usual.

Defense Minister Hulusi Akar has expressed suspicion over the possibility of intentionally leaving mines in the Black Sea in a bid to pave the way for NATO minesweepers to enter these waters.

The defense ministers of Turkey, Italy, and the U.K. are scheduled for a tripartite meeting in Istanbul late on April 8 for discussing bilateral and regional security and defense cooperation, along with the issue of Ukraine.

Defense Minister Hulusi Akar on April 6 held an online meeting with his counterparts from Black Sea coastal countries and discussed the floating mines in the Black Sea and the issue of humanitarian corridors to Ukraine.

The discussions, held upon Turkey's invitation, were fruitful, the minister said in a statement after the meeting.

Turkey can provide ship support for the evacuation of civilians and injured Turkish and other nationals in Mariupol through the sea, Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said on April 3.

"In this context, our coordination with authorities of the Russian Federation and Ukraine continues," Akar said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has rejected Moscow's offer to start peace negotiations in Belarus, instead, pointing at Istanbul, Warsaw, Bratislava, Budapest or Baku for talks.

"Warsaw, Bratislava, Budapest, Istanbul, Baku. We proposed all of them," Zelensky said on Feb. 27 in an address posted online.