Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Xi Jinping met on Sunday, August 31, before the dinner hosted by the President of China in honour of the leaders attending the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit. The summit is convening amid increasing geopolitical tensions, including Israel's war in the Gaza Strip, the conflict in Ukraine, and international customs disputes. Xi, who holds the rotating presidency, will preside over the summit. The Presidency's Directorate of Communications of the Republic of Türkiye announced that the two leaders discussed a range of issues and made assessments on economic cooperation. The two leaders discussed, among other issues,...
Türkiye in International Media
Minister of Foreign Affairs Hakan Fidan announced that Türkiye has closed its airspace to Israel and prohibited Turkish ships from docking at Israeli ports. Speaking at the extraordinary session of the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye on the situation in Gaza, Fidan noted, "We have cut off all trade with Israel. We do not allow Turkish ships to dock at Israeli ports. We prohibit Israeli aircraft from entering our airspace. No other country has fully cut off its commercial relations with Israel." According to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Israel is blocking the delivery of humanitarian aid to...
President Erdoğan, speaking at the Steel Dome delivery ceremony, facility inaugurations, and the groundbreaking ceremony in Oğulbey, stated: “Today, we meet 80 per cent of the needs of our heroic army with domestic systems. In doing so, we preserve vital resources that must remain within our country. By also offering our systems to our friends and allies, we enhance our diplomatic influence.” The President emphasised that the “Steel Dome” system will take Türkiye to a new level in air defence. In this context, he announced the delivery of “Sky Dome” systems, consisting of a total of 47 vehicles...
Turkish defence electronics company Aselsan will more than double production capacity with a $1.5 billion investment in a new technology base, President Tayyip Erdoğan announced on Wednesday. Erdoğan said the base, the first phase of which is expected to be commissioned in mid-2026, will be the largest single defence industry investment in the country and Europe's biggest integrated air defence facility. Wednesday's groundbreaking ceremony included an announcement that Aselsan has also delivered components for Türkiye's multi-layered Steel Dome air defence system. NATO member Türkiye first announced its plans to build its Steel Dome system in July 2024,...
Türkiye on Wednesday condemned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s remarks about the Armenian genocide, stating that they were aimed at “covering up” crimes committed by the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip. In a statement, the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs said: “Netanyahu's remarks about the events of 1915 is an attempt to exploit the tragedies in the past for political purposes.”
On Monday, the Presidency's Directorate of Communications of the Republic of Türkiye described Israel’s latest attacks on Gaza as "an attack on press freedom and another war crime", following reports from Palestinian authorities that at least 20 people, including five journalists, one of whom was from Reuters, were killed at Nasser Hospital. The Head of Communications Burhaneddin Duran announced on the X social media platform that "Israel, persisting in its crimes by ignoring all humanitarian and legal principles, is under the illusion that systematic attacks on journalists can suppress the truth." Duran noted that the Israeli army launched...
"We will continue to self-confidently walk towards the goal of a terror-free Türkiye, which annoys and worries our foes, with firm steps and by knowing what we want. We will all together build a bright Türkiye, at the center of which tranquility, calm and affection lie, without harming the legacy of our martyrs and ghazis." President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan delivered a speech at the 954th anniversary celebrations of the Victory of Manzikert in Bitlis. President Erdoğan expressed his gratitude for all the martyrs and ghazis, from the Victory of Manzikert to the Battle of Çald...
Hakan Fidan urges ‘coordinated pressure’ on Israel toward lasting peace as OIC foreign ministers convene in Jeddah over Gaza crisis. Palestinian people need “our collective action,” Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Monday at the opening of an emergency meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on Gaza. Speaking at the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers meeting held in Jeddah, Fidan said: “What the Palestinian people need is our collective action.” He also underlined the importance of “coordinated pressure” to force Israel toward a lasting solution. The OIC meeting, chaired by the Turkish top diplomat, will focus on the...
Türkiye on Friday held a groundbreaking ceremony for a railway linking its northeastern Kars province with Azerbaijan's Nakhchivan exclave. During a ceremony in the eastern province of Igdir, Turkish Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu said the new railway line will serve as a vital development move by providing a new transportation link between Türkiye, Azerbaijan and Azerbaijan's Nakhchivan exclave. The 224-kilometer railway line is designed as a critical link within the South Caucasus transit corridor, known as Zangezur Corridor. Minister Uraloglu stated that the railway project, with an estimated cost of 2.4 billion euros, will include five stations,...