Presidency of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and German Chancellor Angela Merkel in a video conference on Dec. 19 discussed bilateral ties and Turkey-EU relations.

"Turkey wants to open a new page in relations with the EU," Erdoğan said, according to a statement from Turkey's Communications Directorate.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Dec. 14 Turkey will impose a four-day lockdown beginning on Dec. 31 to maintain gains against the pandemic.

Speaking after a cabinet meeting, Erdoğan said the stay-home order would begin at 9 p.m. on Dec. 31 and run through Jan. 4. 

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President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Dec. 9 that any sanctions imposed by the European Union on Turkey will not have a great impact, adding that the bloc had never acted honestly or kept its promises.

Turkey will not bow to threats and blackmailing over Eastern Mediterranean, the Turkish president reiterated on Dec. 7, stressing that the county will not allow any "imperialist expansionism" on the sea, either.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Nov. 30 received Ukraine's prime minister in the Turkish capital Ankara, according to the presidency.

Erdoğan received Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal at the presidential complex, said the presidency.

Decrying rising Islamophobia in Western countries, the Turkish president said Saturday that insulting people's beliefs has nothing to do with freedom.

A Turkish court sentenced hundreds of military and civilian personnel at an air base to life prison sentences Thursday, proclaiming them guilty of involvement in the 2016 failed coup attempt against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government.

Turkey has deported nearly 9,000 foreign terrorists so far, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan told the Group of 20 Summit on Nov. 22.

"Although we were left alone, we have nabbed nearly 9,000 foreign terrorist fighters and sent them back to their countries," Erdoğan said at the virtually organized summit.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan spoke over the phone with his Venezuelan counterpart to discuss steps to boost bilateral ties, Turkey's Communications Directorate said on Aug. 14. 

Erdoğan and Nicolas Maduro also discussed ways to enhance bilateral cooperation and solidarity, as well as regional developments, according to the directorate.

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Any attack on a Turkish vessel engaged in energy exploration along Turkey's continental shelf in the Eastern Mediterranean will pay dearly, warned Turkey's president on Aug. 13.