Turkey's government

Turkey has announced plans to begin oil exploration in the Aegean Sea within its territorial waters.

The Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO) has been granted nine exploration licenses by Turkey's Ministry of Energy. These licenses, valid for eight years each, cover the Gulf of Xiros and areas near the Dardanelles, following a request made in June 2023.

European Union auditors said on Wednesday that they are unable to establish whether some of the billions of euros the bloc has given to Turkey to help it cope with Syrian refugees is actually having any impact.

In 2020 Turkey's government changed the status of Hagia Sophia from a museum into a mosque. Now, Ankara is looking to repeat this with another important UNESCO World Heritage site, Chora Church.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg made no breakthrough on Sunday in talks about Sweden's membership in the military organization with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, with officials from the two countries to meet in just over a week to try to bridge their differences.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg will hold talks with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and other senior Turkish officials Sunday as pressure mounts on Turkey to lift its objections to Sweden joining the military organization.

NATO on Thursday ramped up pressure on its member Turkey to drop its objections to Sweden's membership as the military organization seeks to deal with the issue by the time US President Joe Biden and his counterparts meet next month.

Over the years, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has repeatedly made the hand sign of the ultra-nationalist, neo-fascist, and Islamist 'Grey Wolves', a paramilitary branch of his ruling coalition partner Devlet Bahçeli's Nationalist Movement Party (MHP).

Erdogan's re-election as president in the general elections scheduled for June, 2023, hinges on the MHP's full support

Turkey on Dec. 2 called on the Council of Europe to avoid interfering in internal affairs of Turkey ahead of a decision this week on whether Ankara could face rare disciplinary proceedings over the case of a jailed businessman. 

A Turkish court on Nov. 26 kept businessman Osman Kavala in jail who is accused of financing 2013 anti-government protests and playing a role in the 2016 coup attempt.

The next hearing is scheduled for January 17.

Turkey's government is giving unprecedented 'space' to the country's top cleric, who is using it to help consolidate President Erdogan's political base.