Geography of Asia

Turkey and Russia will carry out a comprehensive review of their bilateral relationship and regional cooperation in the Syrian, Libyan and Nagorno-Karabakh theaters and will plan 2021-2022 diplomatic consultations, including the next Turkish-Russian high-level cooperation council at the presidential level.

Forty-six years after they were killed, 14 children who fell victim to Greek Cypriot terrorist organization EOKA-B's violence, they have been given a final resting place.

The parliament adopted a law early Dec. 7, banning commercial activities of organizations and individuals facing sanctions by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). Accordingly, collecting or providing funds to such individuals and organizations also stands banned in Turkey.

Turkey's service sector exports amounted to $65 billion as of 2019, the chairman of Turkish Airlines said on Dec. 25. 

President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus on Dec. 25 said the town of Varosha, once a long closed-off area, could now be viewed as an open region.

Ersin Tatar, speaking during his visit to the Bayrak Radio Television Corporation's 57th foundation anniversary, said the organization contributed to the will of Turkish Cypriots.

Turkey attracted 12.03 million foreign visitors in the first 11 months of 2020, the country's Culture and Tourism Ministry said on Dec. 25. 

The figures fell 71.95% year-on-year in the January-November period from 42.9 million, the official data showed, as expected, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and measures to stem it.

The top Turkish diplomat is set to pay a visit to Sochi next week and meet his Russian counterpart, according to diplomatic sources.

Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu will meet with Sergey Lavrov on Dec. 29. The two officials are expected to address bilateral relations as well as regional issues.

Some 14 Turkish Cypriot children, who were killed by infamous EOKA-B members during the Cyprus Operation in 1974 and buried in a mass grave following the massacre, will receive head-stones after their identities were confirmed through DNA tests made by the Committee on Missing Persons in Cyprus (CMP).

A historic movie theater on Istanbul's iconic İstiklal Avenue is scheduled to meet the public eye in the first months of 2021 as the ongoing restoration works at the theatre are close to completion.

The exhibition and arrangement work in the building has come to an end with the completion of the renovations, according to the daily Hürriyet.

Turkey will help its sister state, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), bring more government services to citizens online through a new data center, Turkey's vice president told the visiting Turkish Cypriot premier on Dec. 23.