Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, right, and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi pose for the media during a bilateral signature agreements ceremony at the Presidential palace in Ankara, Wednesday, September 4, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AP

The presidents of Türkiye and Egypt on Wednesday (September 4, 2024) found common ground on the war in Gaza as they continued to mend long-strained relations, emphasising the need for a permanent cease-fire and guaranteed delivery of humanitarian aid.

Türkiye’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi spoke during the Egyptian leader’s first official visit to Ankara after years of tensions between the regional powers.

“Türkiye and Egypt have a common stance on the Palestinian issue,” Mr. Erdogan said after he and Mr. el-Sissi oversaw the signing of cooperation agreements. “The end of the genocide that has been going on for 11 months, the establishment of a permanent cease-fire as soon as possible, and the unhindered flow of humanitarian aid continue to be our priorities.”

In February, Mr. Erdogan made his first visit to Egypt in more than a decade after the countries agreed to repair ties and reappointed ambassadors. He said the countries wanted to boost bilateral trade to $15 billion in the coming years.

Relations between Egypt and Türkiye, a long-time backer of the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood group, soured a decade ago after the Egyptian military ousted President Mohammed Morsi, who hailed from the Brotherhood, amid mass protests against his divisive rule. Egypt also outlawed the group as a terrorist organisation.

In recent years, Ankara has stopped its criticism of Mr. el-Sissi’s government, aiming to improve strained relations with Egypt and other Arab nations while seeking investments during an economic downturn. In November 2022, Mr. Erdogan and Mr. el-Sissi were photographed shaking hands at the World Cup in Qatar.

The Egyptian foreign minister then travelled to Türkiye in 2023 to show solidarity after a deadly earthquake struck parts of southern Türkiye and Syria.

This is Mr. el-Sissi’s first visit to Türkiye since he was elected president in 2014, a year after he led the military’s overthrow of Morsi.

“We should work together to prevent humanitarian crises, especially by addressing regional issues together,” Mr. el-Sissi said. “We should work more intensively, especially with our brothers in Gaza and Palestine. In this context, both Türkiye and Egypt emphasised that an urgent cease-fire should be established as soon as possible.”

Mr. Erdogan, a vocal critic of Israel’s military actions, accused Israel’s government of “condemning” the people of Gaza to hunger and thirst.

“Israel and its supporters are responsible for every innocent person who dies from hunger, thirst or lack of medicine,” he said.

He also told reporters that Türkiye wanted to cooperate with Egypt on natural gas and nuclear energy.

Mr. Erdogan welcomed Mr. el-Sissi at the steps of his airplane at the airport in Ankara, a gesture he rarely makes.

Mr. el-Sissi said on Facebook that his trip to Türkiye and Erdogan’s February visit to Cairo “mirror the joint will to start a new era of friendship and cooperation between Egypt and Türkiye.”

Egypt, together with Qatar and the United States, a key Israel ally, has been working for months to try and broker a cease-fire and the return of the remaining more than 100 hostages held by the Palestinian militant Hamas group. The negotiations have stalled following new Israeli demands.

Egypt opposes any Israeli presence along the Gaza side of its border, claiming it would threaten the decades-old peace treaty between the countries, a cornerstone of regional stability. Hamas had asked to have Türkiye added as a guarantor in the cease-fire talks, but the proposal was not accepted.

The war began with Hamas’ October 7 assault on Israel in which the militants killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took around 250 hostages. The overall Palestinian death toll in Gaza has now surpassed 40,000 people, according to the Health Ministry in Gaza.

File picture of Syrian President Bashar Assad (right) with Turkiye’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
| Photo Credit: AP

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said on Sunday (August 25, 2024) that efforts to mend ties with Turkiye had so far brought no tangible results.

“The initiatives did not yield any results worth mentioning despite the seriousness and genuine keenness of mediators,” Mr. Assad said in a speech to the Syrian Parliament, referring to conciliation efforts by Russia, Iran and Iraq.

Turkiye severed ties with Syria in 2011 after the outbreak of the Syrian civil war, in which it supported rebels seeking to oust Mr. Assad. Mr. Assad views the rebels as terrorists.

“The solution is openness,” Mr. Assad said. “Restoring a relationship requires first removing the causes that led to its destruction.”

The Syrian President made clear that while he wants Turkish troops to withdraw from Syria, that was not a precondition for talks.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said earlier in July he would extend an invitation to Mr. Assad “any time” for possible talks to restore relations.

A Turkish newspaper earlier reported Mr. Erdogan and Mr. Assad could meet in August, but a Turkish diplomat denied the report.

Russia has been trying to facilitate a meeting between the two leaders in an effort to restore ties. Iraq also said in July that it may seek to try to bring the two leaders together.

Syrian President Bashar Assad, right, shakes hands with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
| Photo Credit: AP

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday said he might invite his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad to Turkiye “at any moment”, in a sign of reconciliation after the 2011 war broke ties between Ankara and Damascus.

Mr. Erdogan’s comments come after tensions have mounted over the past week after a mob went on the rampage, vandalising businesses and properties owned by Syrians in a central Anatolian city.

“We may send an invitation (to Assad) at any moment,” Mr. Erdogan told journalists aboard a plane from Berlin where he watched Euro 2024, the official Anadolu news agency and other media reported.

Turkiye originally aimed to topple Mr. Assad’s regime when the Syrian conflict erupted with the violent suppression of peaceful protesters in 2011 and backed rebels calling for his ouster.

But more recently, Ankara has shifted focus to preventing what Mr. Erdogan in 2019 dubbed a “terror corridor” from opening up in northern Syria.

He has long said he could reconsider ties with Mr. Assad as his government is working to ensure safe and voluntary return of Syrian refugees.

Speaking to journalists, Mr. Erdogan said some leaders including Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested to mediate a meeting with Assad in Turkiye.

“Now we have come to such a point that as soon as Bashar al-Assad takes a step towards improving relations with Turkiye, we will show him the same approach,” Mr. Erdogan said.

Violence

Turkish authorities this week detained over 470 people after anti-Syrian riots in several cities sparked by accusations that a Syrian man had allegedly harassed a Syrian minor in Kayseri.

Mr. Erdogan on Monday blamed the opposition for stoking tensions and condemned the anti-Syrian violence as “unacceptable”.

The fate of Syrian refugees is a burning issue in Turkish politics, with Mr. Erdogan’s opponents in last year’s presidential election promising to send them back to Syria.

Turkeiye, which hosts some 3.2 million Syrian refugees according to UN data, has been shaken several times by bouts of xenophobic violence in recent years, often triggered by rumours spreading on social media and instant messaging applications.

The riots in Kayseri spread to several other cities including Istanbul this week while clashes between armed protesters and guards of Turkish positions in Syria’s north killed seven people.

Turkiye has launched a string of offensives in Syria since 2016 targeting Kurdish militias, Islamic State group jihadists and forces loyal to Assad.

Pro-Turkish forces in Syria now control two vast strips of territory along the border.

On Monday, hundreds of Syrians demonstrated throughout the Ankara-controlled area, with some armed protesters attacking Turkish trucks and military posts, and taking down Turkish flags.

Mr. Erdogan has vowed to reveal “which dirty hands” triggered the clashes in northern Syria.

According to the Syrian Observatory, four border crossings with Turkiye have been shut in the wake of the violence. There was no immediate confirmation by the Turkish government.

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.)

Istanbul:

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has launched a negotiation process with Hamas for the release of Israeli hostages  kidnapped by the Palestinian militants, an official source told AFP on Wednesday.

“They are negotiating to secure the release of the hostages,” the source said, confirming a report by the private TV channel Haberturk.

Dozens of people have been taken hostage during Hamas’s surprise attack on Israel.

The Turkish President, who has offered to mediate to restore peace, has been stepping up talks with his Middle Eastern counterparts.

Late Wednesday he spoke with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, the Anadolu state news agency reported.

It quoted Erdogan saying that on behalf of Turkey, “we are ready to do everything in our power”, including mediation and “fair arbitration” to end the conflict quickly.

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

Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdogan addresses lawmakers from his ruling AK Party at the Turkish Parliament in Ankara, Turkey on October 11, 2023. Murat Cetinmuhurdar/Presidential Press Office/Handout via REUTERS
| Photo Credit: VIA REUTERS

Turkey’s president on Wednesday vowed to intensify strikes against Kurdish fighters in Syria and Iraq.

Turkey has been bombing sites in northeast Syria since Thursday, hitting civilian and military targets and infrastructure and causing casualties, according to Kurdish authorities.

“We have already intensified air operations and we will continue, and show the terrorists that we can destroy them anywhere and at any moment,” Recep Tayyip Erdogan said, referring to fighters of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) – listed as a terror group by Ankara and its Western allies.

Ankara has said that it launched a new wave of air strikes in retaliation for an attack in Ankara earlier this month that wounded two security personnel.

PKK has claimed responsibility for the attack, the first bombing to hit the Turkish capital since 2016.

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, President of Turkey, addresses the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly at the United Nations headquarters, on Sept. 19, 2023.
| Photo Credit: AP

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan raised the issue of Kashmir during his address to world leaders at the high-level 78th session of the UN General Assembly session here.

“Another development that will pave the way for regional peace, stability and prosperity in South Asia will be the establishment of a just and lasting peace in Kashmir through dialogue and cooperation between India and Pakistan,” Mr. Erdogan said in his address to the General Debate on September 19.

“As Turkiye, we will continue to support the steps to be taken in this direction,” he said.

His comment comes weeks after he met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in New Delhi during which both the leaders discussed strengthening trade and infrastructure relations.

Mr. Erdogan said it was a matter of pride that India was playing a role at the United Nations Security Council. He said he favoured making five permanent and 15 “temporary” members as permanent members of the UN Security Council.

“Those 20 (5+15) should be permanent members of the UNSC in rotation. But as you know, the world is bigger than five. When we say the world is larger than five, what we mean is that it’s not only about the U.S., U.K., France, China and Russia,” he said.

In recent years, the Turkish leader has referred to the issue of Kashmir in his address to world leaders at the high-level UN General Assembly session.

Last year, Mr. Erdogan raked up the issue of Kashmir during his address to world leaders at the high-level UN General Assembly session here.

“India and Pakistan, after having established their sovereignty and independence 75 years ago, they still haven’t established peace and solidarity between one another. This is much unfortunate. We hope and pray that a fair and permanent peace and prosperity will be established in Kashmir,” Mr. Erdogan had said.

In 2020, Mr. Erdogan in his pre-recorded video statement to the General Debate had made a reference to Jammu and Kashmir. India had at that time termed it as “completely unacceptable”, saying Turkey should learn to respect the sovereignty of other nations and reflect on its own policies more deeply.

United Nations:

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan raised the issue of Kashmir during his address to world leaders at the high-level 78th session of the UN General Assembly session here.

“Another development that will pave the way for regional peace, stability and prosperity in South Asia will be the establishment of a just and lasting peace in Kashmir through dialogue and cooperation between India and Pakistan,” Erdogan said in his address to the General Debate Tuesday.

“As Turkiye, we will continue to support the steps to be taken in this direction,” he said.

His comment comes weeks after he met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in New Delhi during which both the leaders discussed strengthening trade and infrastructure relations.

Erdogan said it was a matter of pride that India was playing a role at the United Nations Security Council. He said he favoured making five permanent and 15 “temporary” members as permanent members of the UN Security Council.

“Those 20 (5+15) should be permanent members of the UNSC in rotation. But as you know, the world is bigger than five. When we say the world is larger than five, what we mean is that it’s not only about the US, UK, France, China and Russia,” he said.

In recent years, the Turkish leader has referred to the issue of Kashmir in his address to world leaders at the high-level UN General Assembly session.

Last year, Erdogan raked up the issue of Kashmir during his address to world leaders at the high-level UN General Assembly session here.

“India and Pakistan, after having established their sovereignty and independence 75 years ago, they still haven’t established peace and solidarity between one another. This is much unfortunate. We hope and pray that a fair and permanent peace and prosperity will be established in Kashmir,” Erdogan had said.

In 2020, Erdogan in his pre-recorded video statement to the General Debate had made a reference to Jammu and Kashmir. India had at that time termed it as “completely unacceptable”, saying Turkey should learn to respect the sovereignty of other nations and reflect on its own policies more deeply.

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

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday sought to persuade Russian President Vladimir Putin to revive an agreement that allowed Ukraine to export grain and other commodities from three Black Sea ports despite the war with Russia.

Mr. Putin in July refused to extend the agreement, which was brokered by Turkey and the United Nations a year earlier and was seen as vital for global food supplies, especially in Africa, West Asia and the rest of Asia. Ukraine and Russia are major suppliers of wheat, barley, sunflower oil and other goods that developing nations rely on.

Also Read | Russia hits Ukraine’s Danube port in attack condemned by Romania

Mr. Erdogan said the grain deal was the headline issue at the daylong talks between the two leaders in Russia’s Black Sea resort of Sochi, where the Russian President has a residence.

“Everyone is looking at the grain corridor issue,” Mr. Erdogan said in opening remarks.

Mr. Putin acknowledged that “issues related to the Ukraine crisis” would be discussed between them.

“I know that you intend to raise questions about the grain deal. We’re open to negotiations on that subject,” he told Mr. Erdogan, repeating what has been the Kremlin’s official position on international efforts to resurrect the agreement.

Russia broke off the deal, complaining that a parallel deal promising to remove obstacles to Russian exports of food and fertiliser hadn’t been honoured. It said restrictions on shipping and insurance hampered its agricultural trade even though it has shipped record amounts of wheat since last year.

A lot is riding on the talks for the world food supply. “I believe that the message we will give after our meeting will constitute an important step for the world, especially for the underdeveloped African countries,” Mr. Erdogan said.

Since Mr. Putin withdrew from the grain initiative, Mr. Erdogan has repeatedly pledged to renew arrangements that helped avoid a food crisis in parts of Africa, West Asia and the rest of Asia.

The meeting took place against a backdrop of Ukraine’s recent counteroffensive against the Kremlin’s invasion forces.

In the latest development, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Sunday that Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov would be replaced this week. The job requires “new approaches,” Mr. Zelenskyy said, without elaborating. Mr. Reznikov on Monday published a photo of his resignation letter.

Analysts expect tough negotiations in Sochi.

“My gut feeling is that Putin recognises the leverage he has by using food as an economic weapon, and thus will fight for all he can get in terms of concessions on his wishlist,” said Tim Benton, a food security expert at the Chatham House think tank.

Those may include Russia’s grains, or fertiliser exports, or wider issues, he said.

Data from the Joint Coordination Center in Istanbul, which organised the Ukraine shipments, shows that 57% of the grain from Ukraine went to developing nations, with the top destination being China, which received nearly a quarter of the food.

Russia has repeatedly attacked the Odesa region, Ukraine’s main Black Sea port area. On Monday, the Ukrainian Air Force said it intercepted 23 of 32 drones that targeted the Odesa and Dnipropetrovsk regions but did not specify damage caused by the drones that got through.

The Turkish President has maintained close ties with Putin during the 18-month war in Ukraine. Turkey hasn’t joined Western sanctions against Russia following its invasion, emerging as a main trading partner and logistical hub for Russia’s overseas trade.

Opening the talks, Mr. Putin mentioned various areas of bilateral cooperation, such as a proposed Russian gas hub in Turkey and the construction of the first nuclear power plant there, in which Moscow is actively involved.

NATO member Turkey, however, has also supported Ukraine, sending arms, meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and backing Kyiv’s bid to join NATO.

Mr. Erdogan angered Moscow in July when he allowed five Ukrainian commanders to return home. The soldiers had been captured by Russia and handed over to Turkey on condition they remained there for the duration of the war.

Mr. Putin and Mr. Erdogan — authoritarian leaders who have both been in power for more than two decades — are said to have a close rapport, fostered in the wake of a failed coup against Mr. Erdogan in 2016 when Mr. Putin was the first major leader to offer his support.

The Sochi summit follows talks between the Russian and Turkish Foreign Ministers on Thursday, during which Russia handed over a list of actions that the West would have to take in order for Ukraine’s Black Sea exports to resume.

Mr. Erdogan has indicated sympathy with Mr. Putin’s position. In July, he said Mr. Putin had “certain expectations from Western countries” over the Black Sea deal and that it was “crucial for these countries to take action in this regard.”

U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres recently sent Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov “concrete proposals” aimed at getting Russian exports to global markets and allowing the resumption of the Black Sea initiative. But Mr. Lavrov said Moscow wasn’t satisfied with the letter.

Describing Turkey’s “intense” efforts to revive the agreement, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said it was a “process that tries to better understand Russia’s position and requests, and to meet them.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin, Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan. File
| Photo Credit: AP, REUTERS 

Russian President Vladimir Putin will host Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan for talks in Russia’s Black Sea resort of Sochi on Monday, the Kremlin announced Friday, just over six weeks after Moscow broke off a deal partly brokered by Ankara that allowed Ukrainian grain to reach world markets despite the 18-month war.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov announced the talks Friday, ending weeks of speculation about when and where the two leaders might meet next as international efforts continue to patch up the Black Sea Grain Initiative which got grain and other food to Africa, the Middle East and Asia where hunger is a growing threat.

Turkey, together with the United Nations, brokered a deal in July 2022 that allowed Ukraine to ship grain and other foodstuffs from three Black Sea ports.

A separate memorandum between the U.N. and Russia, agreed at the same time, pledged to overcome obstacles to Moscow’s shipment of food and fertilizer to world markets.

Also read: Why allowing Ukraine to ship grain during Russia’s war matters to the world

However, Russia pulled out of the deals earlier this year, claiming that its conditions hadn’t been met.

On Thursday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov hosted his Turkish counterpart for talks in Moscow.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres sent Russia a new proposal in hopes of reviving the deal but it didn’t satisfy Moscow’s demands, Mr. Lavrov said then.

Mr. Lavrov said he had given Ankara a list of actions that the West would have to take in order to resume Ukrainian grain and fertilizer shipments. Talks between Mr. Putin and Mr. Erdogan could help unlock that.

The agreement had allowed Ukraine to ship almost 33,000 tons of grain at a time of growing global hunger.

Meanwhile, Russian officials said Friday that air defenses intercepted drones heading toward three of the country’s western regions. Regional governors said defense systems stopped three drones in the Kursk, Belgorod and Moscow regions.

Moscow airports briefly halted flights but no major damage or injuries were reported, according to Russian authorities.

Drones aimed at targets inside Russia — and blamed by Moscow on Ukraine — have become almost a daily occurrence as the war has entered its 19th month and Kyiv’s forces pursue a counteroffensive. Recently, the drones have reached deeper into Russia.

The apparent Ukrainian strategy is to unnerve Russia and pile pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin, although Kyiv officials normally neither claim nor deny responsibility for attacks on Russian soil.

The Associated Press was unable to determine whether the drones are launched from Ukraine or inside Russia.

Meanwhile, satellite images analyzed by the AP show that suspected Ukrainian drone attacks late Tuesday destroyed at least two Ilyushin Il-76 military transport planes at a Russian air base.

The images taken Thursday show Princess Olga Pskov International Airport, which is a dual military-civilian airport about 700 kilometers (400 miles) north of the Ukrainian border and near Estonia and Latvia.

The four-engine Il-76 is the workhorse of the Russian military’s airlift capacity, able to land and take off in rugged conditions. The Russian military is believed to have over 100 of them in its fleet.

The AP analysis, conducted Friday, showed what appeared to be the blackened hulks of two Il-76s on separate parking pads on the air base’s apron. One included the plane’s tail, the other appeared to show pieces of another aircraft. Fire damage could be seen around the pad.

Eleven other Il-76s had been moved off their parking pads into different positions on the airport’s taxiways, possibly in an attempt to make it more difficult for them to be struck again. One was on the runway itself. Another Il-76 remained on the pad, though it wasn’t clear why.

Local reports said Ukrainian drone attacks on the air base had damaged four Il-76s.

The satellite image was taken at 1303 GMT Thursday. Videos on social media Thursday night showed anti-aircraft fire going around the air base again, though it remained unclear whether it was another attack.

The air base at Pskov was initially targeted Tuesday night, but cloud cover prevented satellites from getting an unobstructed picture.

On Thursday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said his country had developed a weapon that hit a target 700 kilometers (400 miles) away, apparently referencing the air base attack. He described the weapon as being produced by Ukraine’s Ministry of Strategic Industries but gave no other details.

The Kremlin’s forces have targeted Ukraine with numerous salvos of Iranian-made exploding drones in the war over the past year.