Ahmet Davutoğlu

Khaled Mashaal, the head of Hamas' political bureau, has made a surprise appearance at an event of Turkey's ruling party, endorsing the Turkish leaders and voicing his hope to "liberate Palestine and Jerusalem" together with them in the future.

Turkish Parliamentary Speaker Cemil Çiçek has issued a veiled yet public call for four ex-minister accused of corruption to be tried at the country's Supreme Council, arguing that it would benefit the nation and the quartet if they were absolved by the top court.

Turkey's Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu will not be visiting Bulgaria in January as previously planned, Turkish media reports suggest.

The reason is that Sofia is not willing to receive him before June's general election in Turkey, according to the English-language version Zaman daily.

Turkey and Iraq have begun a new round of talks to seek additional measures for the elimination of the threat posed to the region by extremist Islamists as Baghdad requested more military and intelligence assistance from Turkey, including the delivery of weapons.  

Close cultural ties between Turkey and Macedonia are valuable for business and the two countries should elevate their economic relations to the level their historic partnership deserves, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu has said while visiting Macedonia.

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has extended an invitation Jean-Claude Juncker to visit Turkey, as he called to congratulate the EU chief over his "new" post after being elected head of the European Commission back in July.

Three Turks accused of spying on compatriots in Germany for the Turkish National Intelligence Organization (MİT) had no links to either the spy agency or the Directorate of Overseas Turks, Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu told reporters Dec. 19.

The prime minister of Iraq's Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), Nechirvan Barzani, is set to arrive in Turkey on the night of Dec. 18, ahead of talks with Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Tanju Bilgiç has announced.

The meeting between Davutoğlu and Barzani is expected to take place on Dec. 19 in Istanbul, diplomatic sources said.

After the quarrel between Turkish and European officials intensified following the media raid in Turkey on Dec. 14, the country's permanent representation in Brussels has approached the European Union to try to soothe concerns over the case.

A visit to Iran by Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu on Dec. 17 highlighted their opposing views on the Syrian conflict, with both countries saying dialogue was needed to close gaps.
    
"We consider the Assad regime as not having legitimacy," he said at a joint press conference with his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif.