Erdoğan

Russia and Turkey vowed to deepen cooperation in the fight against terror following the assassination of Russian Ambassador to Turkey Andrey Karlov in a gun attack on Dec. 19. 

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has extended his condolences over the assassination of Russian ambassador Andrey Karlov, adding that Ankara and Moscow agree that the killing was an attempt of provocation against mutual ties. 

Seven-year-old Bana Alabed, who has attracted the world's attention while tweeting from war-torn Aleppo, was evacuated from the divided Syrian city of Aleppo on Dec. 19, a Turkish NGO announced on social media.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan called on Dec. 17 for all Turkish citizens to unite against terror and put aside fights as the country was hit by a deadly terror attack, a week after twin bombings in Istanbul.  
 

Russian President Vladimir Putin told Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in a telegram on Dec.17 that Russia was ready to increase cooperation against terrorism after a car bomb attack in Turkey's central province of Kayseri.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has called on "all parties and the international community to abide by" the Turkey-brokered truce in Aleppo on Dec. 16, state-run Anadolu Agency has reported.

On his official Twitter account, Erdogan wrote Friday: "The Turkey-brokered truce in Aleppo and the continuation of evacuations is the only hope left for innocent people. 

Speaking in a phone conversation with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan late Dec 15, U.S. President Barack Obama praised the role Turkey played in brokering a truce deal in Aleppo that paved the way for the evacuation of thousands of civilians from the besieged city. 

Germany's ambassador to Turkey, Martin Erdmann, expressed his sorrow to Ayşenur Bahçekapılı, the deputy parliament speaker of the Turkish parliament, for the mistreatment she received by German police at Cologne airport, which fueled a diplomatic tension between the two countries.
 
Erdmann paid a courtesy visit to Bahçekapılı on Dec. 15 in parliament.
 

President Recep Erdoğan spoke the truth when he said recently that Turkey is a European country. This may appear odd to those who predicate their outlook on religious factors. However, the geo-political geography that a country belongs to has to be considered from a much broader perspective.

France's new consul general to Istanbul, Bertrand Buchwalter, lived twice in Turkey before being appointed to his last post. He came to Ankara to live for the first time as a young boy, only to come back to the city as a young diplomat.

Married to a Turkish wife, Buchwalter speaks fluent Turkish.