Tanju Bilgiç

Turkey has proposed to sign agreements with 14 countries for taking back irregular migrants, newswires reported on Wednesday.

Those 14 countries have been "the source of irregular migration", Reuters quoted Turkish foreign ministry spokesman Tanju Bilgic as saying at a news conference. Bilgic didn't name the countries.

Turkey has said it had proposed signing agreements with 14 countries on the return of migrants from EU member states.

Ankara had "offered to conclude readmission deals with 14 countries", foreign ministry spokesman Tanju Bilgiç said at a weekly news conference without naming the countries.    

Air strikes conducted by Russia and the Syrian government could endanger peace talks aiming to bring an end to the Arab republic's almost five-year-old war, Ankara has said.

Turkish authorities prevented more than 500 refugee a day from traveling to Europe in the first two months of 2016, officials have said ahead of a summit between Turkey and the European Union during which the flow of refugees to the continent will be discussed.

NATO's mission to monitor refugee flows in the Aegean Sea and combat people smugglers is the brainchild of Turkey, Ankara has stressed, rejecting reports that NATO vessels deployed in the Aegean have not yet started operating in Turkish waters because Turkey has not yet given permission.

For a second time, Turkey will commemorate victims of the Struma tragedy, in which 767 Jews died in the Black Sea while trying to escape the Holocaust, with the Foreign Ministry underlining the need to draw lessons from the tragic incident.

In line with a recent NATO decision, Germany will lead a naval mission in the Aegean Sea and NATO planes will conduct reconnaissance flights on Turkey's border areas as part of efforts for tackling illegal migration, Turkish officials have said.

Ankara has protested a statement by Washington classifying Turkey along with the "terrorist organization" Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) in northern Syria, while also warning the Syrian Kurdish militia of a "severe response" if they advance toward Azaz. 

Turkish officials have confirmed that its armed forces shelled positions of the military wing of the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) in northern Syria for a third straight day on Feb. 15, saying the move was retaliation against the PYD's military wing, the People's Protection Units (YPG).

Saudi Arabian aircrafts have not yet reached Turkey but four F-16 fighter jets will come as agreed upon previously, Turkish Defense Minister ?smet Y?lmaz said on Feb. 14.