Atalay

The Turkish government has denied claims that it has supported jihadist militants of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), recently renamed the Islamic State.

“We do not have any data in hand on that issue,” Deputy Prime Minister Beşir Atalay told reporters on Aug. 14 when asked about claims that jihadists have received treatment in Turkey.

The current chaos in Iraq may herald the safe return of thousands of Turkish citizens to their homeland, Deputy Prime Minister Beşir Atalay announced Aug. 8, saying that Ankara will implement an open door policy for those who have been living in the Makhmur camp for decades.

The current chaos in Iraq may herald the safe return of thousands of Turkish citizens to their homeland, Deputy Prime Minister Beşir Atalay announced Aug. 8, saying that Ankara will implement an open door policy for those who have been living in the Makhmur camp for decades.

The 2013 International Religious Freedom Report, which is conducted by the U.S. State Department, has criticized Turkey over a rise in anti-Semitism in the country and the status of the Halki seminary.

The fresh report on 2013 events quoted Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan as saying that some Jewish groups were behind the Gezi Park protests that shook the country last summer.

The Justice and Development Party (AKP) is set to announce its presidential candidate on July 1 in Ankara in a meeting comprising more than 4,000 party officials together. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is the most likely contender for the ruling party.

The number of Syrians who are housed in refugee camps and cities in neighbouring Turkey has reached 1.05 million, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Beşir Atalay told a news conference on Thursday.
   
Ankara has maintained an "open border" policy to refugees fleeing the conflict between President Bashar al-Assad's forces and rebels in Syria.

The southeast may seem to be a powder keg, but the government is intent on taking critical steps on the peace process, the deputy PM says The Turkish government is prepared to take a “courageous step” in the Kurdish peace process, including passing legal amendments for a new roadmap, Deputy PM Beşir Atalay told a workshop on the peace process held in Diyarbakır on June 6.