Tanju Bilgiç

Sevil Erku?sevil.erkus@hurriyet.com.trAnkara has welcomed a U.S. statement that the country is not currently providing arms to the People's Protection Units (YPG), the military force protecting the northern Syrian region of Rojava.

Turkey welcomes a fresh support pledge by NATO to lend it military backing amid repeated Russian violations of Turkish airspace, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Tanju Bilgiç said on Oct. 9, while stressing that Turkey has yet to place such a demand. 

Turkey is continuing talks with NATO and its bilateral partners to enhance its defense capabilities, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Tanju Bilgiç said Oct. 9, noting the discussions include Patriot missiles.

Turkey is concerned about the potential for a fresh wave of Syrian migrants arriving at its border as a result of Russian air strikes in Syria, foreign ministry spokesman Tanju Bilgiç told reporters on Oct. 9. 

Turkish military officials are ?ready to meet? with their Russian counterparts to get ?explanations? for recent violations of Turkish airspace and to find what kind of measures they will take to prevent further breaches, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Tanju Bilgiç said on Oct. 7.

Two of 18 Turkish workers kidnapped by gunmen in Baghdad this month have been freed in the southern city of Basra in front of a Turkish company's construction site, officials told Hürriyet Daily News on Sept. 16. 

Foreign Minister Feridun Sinirlio?lu will pay an official visit to Sochi on Sept. 16-17 following a visit to Azerbaijan, ministry spokesperson Tanju Bilgiç has said.

Speaking at a press conference on Sept. 15, Bilgiç said the visit was part of political consultations between the two countries, but ministers will also discuss regional issues, such as Syria and Ukraine.

Thai authorities have not given any information over claims that a key suspect in the plotting of last month's deadly bombing in Bangkok was last tracked via multiple flights to Turkey, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Tanju Bilgiç said Sept. 15.

Turkey?s ambassador to Luxembourg, Levent ?ahinkaya, returned to his office more than four months after being withdrawn in protest of the Luxembourg parliament?s move to recognize the mass killings of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire in 1915 as genocide.

Greek authorities have seized a freighter carrying an undeclared shipment of weapons en route from Turkey to Libya.