Tayyip Erdogan

The United States could soon freeze preparations for delivering  F-35 fighter jets to Turkey, officials told Reuters, in what would be the strongest signal yet by Washington that Ankara cannot have both the advanced aircraft and Russia's S-400 air defense system.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Wednesday Foreign Minister Winston Peters will travel to Turkey to "confront" comments made by Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on the killing of 50 people at mosques in Christchurch.

The European Union should formally suspend Turkey's negotiations to join the bloc, EU lawmakers said on Wednesday in a symbolic rebuke of Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, who Western governments accuse of widespread abuses of human rights.

Turkey cannot become a member of the European Union, said Manfred Weber, the European Peoples Party's (EPP) lead candidate for the upcoming European elections, adding that he would end accession talks if he becomes European Commission president.

Turkey will never turn back from a deal to purchase S-400 missile defence systems from Russia, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday, adding that Ankara may subsequently look into buying S-500 systems.

Turkey and the US are negotiating Washington's offer to sell a Patriot missile defence system to Ankara, Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Friday.
Cavusoglu's comments were carried by state-owned Anadolu news agency after Bloomberg reported that Turkey had rejected a US proposal to deliver a Patriot missile system by the end of the year.

The Hellenic American Leadership Council (HALC) welcomed on Thursday the US Congress decision that blocks the sale of weapons and F-35 aircraft to Turkey until further notice.

An overwhelming bi-partisan majority both at the Senate and the House in Washington has passed a bill backed by HALC and the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) with two key provisions on Turkey.

Greece does not welcome coupists but the case of eight soldiers who fled to the country after a failed 2016 coup attempt against Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan is a matter of the judiciary, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said on Tuesday.

"Greece must respect the judiciary's decisions," Tsipras said after meeting Erdogan in Ankara.

Turkey and Iraq will deepen their cooperation in the fight against terrorism, President Tayyip Erdoğan said on Jan. 3, stressing that securing Iraq's political unity and territorial integrity, as well as ensuring its stability and security, are at the heart of Turkey's policy on Iraq.

Turkey may start a new military operation in Syria at any moment, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday, adding that U.S. President Donald Trump had given a positive response to Turkey's plans for an operation east of the Euphrates, writes Reuters.