Mustafa Şentop

Turkey's ruling AKP will propose the establishment of a parliamentary friendship group with Egypt, a senior party lawmaker said on April 20.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on April 8 met Kuwait's Foreign Minister Sheikh Ahmed Nasser al-Sabah.

The meeting at the presidential complex was closed to the press.

In a separate meeting, Turkey's Parliament Speaker Mustafa Şentop also met al-Sabah and a delegation accompanying him.

A bill proposed by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) to mandate security investigations into first-time public appointees, which was initially rejected by opposition votes, passed in the parliament on late April 7.

The Turkish diplomat heading the U.N. General Assembly has arrived in Ankara, his home country's capital, as part of an official visit.

Volkan Bozkır met with Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu.

Turkey on April 5 detained 10 retired admirals after 104 of them signed a letter over remarks made by Parliament Speaker Mustafa Şentop on the Montreux Convention. 

Ankara's Chief Public Prosecutor on April 4 launched an investigation into a declaration released by 104 retired admirals over remarks made by Parliament Speaker Mustafa Şentop on the Montreux Convention.

The declaration has drawn strong reactions from the government and officials.

Main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu has criticized developments on a security investigation law proposal that was initially rejected in parliament by opposition votes, adding that a decision to renew the vote was taken after an initiative of the parliament speaker with the demand of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).

Volkan Bozkır, The Turkish diplomat heading the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), said on March 31 that he will depart on his first official trip since taking office to visit Turkey, Qatar and Azerbaijan.

He said his stops will include Hatay in Turkey where he will meet Syrian refugees and visit the U.N. cross-border humanitarian mechanism.

Parliament Speaker Mustafa Şentop reiterated that quitting from international treaties, such as Montreux Convention, is not on the agenda of Turkey.

"There is no discussion about the positions we have achieved in the War of Independence, especially in Montreux. We do not even think about such an argument," Şentop told reporters on March 29.

Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, the chairman of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), has strongly denounced President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for withdrawing Turkey from the Istanbul Convention that promotes gender rights and stipulates concrete legal and administrative actions to stop the violence against women.