Istanbul, Turkey:

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Wednesday he will host the leader of Palestinian group Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, in Turkey this weekend.

“The leader of the Palestinian cause will be my guest this weekend,” Erdogan, an outspoken critic of Israel, told lawmakers.

Private television channel NTV reported that the two men would meet on Saturday at the Dolmabahce palace in Istanbul.

Their last meeting was in July 2023 when Erdogan hosted Haniyeh at the presidential palace in Ankara alongside Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas.

Erdogan has been one of the strongest critics of Israel since the start of the war in Gaza, sparked by the group’s attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.

The attack claimed 1,170 lives, mostly civilians, Israeli figures show.

Israel has responded with a ground and air offensive that the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said has killed at least 33,899 people, mostly women and children.

The Turkish leader has forged friendly ties with Haniyeh, who is based in Qatar.

Erdogan last week offered Haniyeh condolences for the death of his three sons and some of his grandchildren in an Israeli strike in Gaza.

Erdogan has called Israel a “terrorist state” and accused it of conducting a “genocide” in Gaza. He has called Hamas “liberators” or “mujahideen” fighting for their land.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Israel has recalled diplomats and asked its citizens to return from Turkey after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in a massive protest in Istanbul against Israel’s strikes on Gaza Strip.

“Given the grave statements coming from Turkey, I have ordered the return of diplomatic representatives there in order to conduct a reevaluation of the relations between Israel and Turkey,” Israel’s Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

Istanbul, Turkey:

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday that Ankara could “part ways” with the European Union if necessary when asked about the contents of a European Parliament report on Turkey.

The report, adopted earlier this week, said Turkey’s accession process with the 27-member bloc cannot resume under current circumstances and called for the EU to explore “a parallel and realistic framework” for its ties with Ankara.

Turkey has been an official candidate to join the EU for 24 years, but accession talks have stalled in recent years over the bloc’s concerns about human rights violations and respect for the rule of law.

“The EU is trying to break away from Turkey,” President Erdogan told reporters ahead of a trip to the United States. “We will make our evaluations against these developments and if necessary, we can part ways with the EU.”

Turkey’s Foreign Ministry said earlier this week that the European Parliament report contained unfounded allegations and prejudices and took “a shallow and non-visionary” approach to the country’s ties with the EU.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday said Turkey would be “proud” if a country like India becomes a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).

At the same time, Erdogan said all non-P5 members should have an opportunity to become members of the Security Council by rotation.  He was responding to question at a media briefing In a reference to the P5 or five permanent members of the Security Council — China, France, Russia, the UK and the US, Erdogan said the “world is bigger and larger than five”.  

“We would be proud if a country like India became a permanent member of the UN Security Council. As you know, the world is bigger and larger than five,” he said.

“What we mean is that it’s not only about the US, the UK, France, China and Russia. We don’t want to have just these five countries in the Security Council,” he said. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Moscow:

President Vladimir Putin said Monday that Russia was ready to revive the Black Sea grain export deal “as soon” as restrictions on its own exports were lifted.

“We will be ready to consider the possibility of reviving the grain deal… and we will do it as soon as all the agreements on lifting restrictions on Russian agricultural exports are fully implemented,” Putin said at a press conference with Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)