Ibrahim Kalin

Turkey's presidential spokesperson İbrahim Kalın has said that changing borders of the Idlib de-escalation zone in northwestern Syria, as determined by Astana and Sochi agreements, is out of the question.

Speaking at a news conference on Feb. 6, Ibrahim Kalın said it is not possible for Turkey to accept any proposal of change regarding the de-escalation zone.       

Turkey has announce plans to begin gas and oil exploration in a maritime area reaching from the Greek island of Kastelorizo to Libya, with which Ankara has in November, 2019, signed an accord that delimits their putative Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs, though they are not contiguous) by expropriating a huge chunk of Greece's EEZ, particularly around Crete.

Turkey plans to expand its gas exploration drive to Libya's offshore waters, Ibrahim Kalin, a Turkish presidential spokesman was cited as saying on Thursday. 

"Because of our agreement with the official government of Libya, we will continue with seismic research and drilling in the Eastern Mediterranean but also in areas we agreed on with Libya," he said.

Turkey has assessed the results of the Berlin Summit as introducing an important opportunity for the cessation of hostilities in Libya and underlined that it will maintain its constructive and peaceful policy to this end.

Turkish presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin described as "significant" the outcome of an international summit on the Libya crisis in Berlin as it led to an agreement for a ceasefire in the strife-torn North African country. 

Turkey's presidential spokesman discussed developments in Syria and Libya over the phone with the U.S. national security advisor, Turkish presidential sources said early on Jan. 17.

A top Turkish official and a key U.S. diplomat in the region on Jan. 11 discussed Syria and the U.S.-Iran row in Istanbul, according to diplomatic sources.

Over 20,000 civilians have fled Syria's northwestern region of Idlib to places near the Turkish border in the last two days, amid heightened bombardments by the Syrian regime and Russia, state-run Anadolu Agency reported on Jan. 9.

Turkey mainly cares for the immediate end of clashes and the announcement of a cease-fire in Libya, presidential spokesperson İbrahim Kalın has said, calling on the parties in the country to return the positions they were in last year in April.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Jan. 3 chaired a meeting to discuss recent developments in the region.

Following the Istanbul meeting, held in the Dolmabahçe Palace, Communications Director Fahrettin Altun said the meeting discussed recent developments in Iraq, Libya and Syria, as well as the recent U.S.-Iran row.