Authoritarianism

A Syrian woman who is named "Turkey" and escaped form war-torn Syria two years ago has named her son after President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, state-run Anadolu Agency has reported.

President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that Russia's relationship with Turkey had fully recovered after what he called a crisis caused by Ankara's shooting down of a Russian warplane near the Syrian border in 2015, reported Reuters.

Four de-escalation zones are slated to be established in Syria, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said May 3, claiming that the move would solve 50 percent of the problem in the country. 

Four de-escalation zones are slated to be established in Syria, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said May 3, claiming that the move would solve 50 percent of the problem in the country. 

The European Union has not imposed any preconditions on Ankara, such as the lifting of the state of emergency, before a prospective meeting between top Turkish and European officials later in May, Turkish diplomatic sources have said, emphasizing Ankara's interest in keeping channels of dialogue open with Brussels. 

The presidents of Russia and Turkey have said they support the formation of so-called safe zones in Syria and hope an agreement about them will be reached at the multilateral Syria talks underway in Kazakhstan.

Joint steps by Turkey and Russia could influence the situation in the Middle East, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on May 3 as he met Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss the situation in Syria and other economic and political issues.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says the EU must open new chapters in Turkey's accession negotiations.

Otherwise Ankara had nothing to discuss with the EU and would say "goodbye," Reuters reported on Tuesday.

It is not only the fact that we live in oppressive political circumstances, that freedoms are immensely curbed, and that submission is becoming the only option. Worse, we are now supposed to live under the terror of ambivalence.

Bulgaria is ranked lower in the World Press Freedom Index 2017 than any other European Union member, Reporters Without Borders said in its annual report on the index, quoted by BGNES.