Government of Turkey

Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli has renewed his call on İYİ (Good) Party chair Meral Akşener to break with the opposition Nation's Alliance and return to her "home," meaning the MHP.

"There is still time, our suggestion is still valid. Return home, this ordeal will end," Bahçeli said during the MHP'S provincial heads meeting on Dec. 24.

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.

Turkey and the European Union have taken some steps mutually attempting to create a positive environment to maintain relations, Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said on Dec. 24.

"With some mutual steps taken recently, we are trying to create a more positive atmosphere," Çavuşoğlu said, addressing staff of the Turkish Accreditation Agency (TURKAK).

Devlet Bahçeli, the head of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), and Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu have slammed a verdict by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) on the release of the former co-leader of the People's Democratic Party (HDP), Selahattin Demirtaş, who they both has categorized as a "terrorist."

Presidential Communications Director Fahrettin Altun has called for the extradition of Can Dündar, the exiled former editor-in-chief of the Cumhuriyet daily who has been sentenced to more than 27 years in jail on espionage and terror charges for one of the paper's stories.

President Tayyip Erdogan accused Europe's top rights court of hypocrisy on Wednesday for calling on Turkey to release a jailed Kurdish politician, saying it was defending a "terrorist," a stance rejected by his defenders as a cover to stifle democracy.

A Turkish court on Dec. 23 sentenced Can Dündar to 27 years and six months in prison for aiding the terror group FETÖ by publishing state secrets, although not being a part of the hierarchical structure of the organization.

Under the indictment submitted to Istanbul's High Criminal Court no:14 on Oct. 14, Dündar could get anywhere from about 22 to 35 years behind bars.

President Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday that Turkey hopes to "turn a new page| in its ties with the United States and European Union, and that Ankara had been subjected to "double standards" by both its NATO ally Washington and the bloc.

Turkey hopes to "turn a new page" in its ties with the United States and European Union, President Tayyip Erdoğan said on Dec. 23, noting that Ankara had been subjected to "double standards" by both its NATO ally Washington and the bloc.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday that a call by the European Court of Human Rights for the release of Kurdish politician Selahattin Demirtas was hypocritical and only Turkish courts can rule on his case.