Erdoğan

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has criticized the outcry after the recent arrests of journalists and Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) deputies. "When my prison sentence was confirmed in 1999, I went to the Pınarhisar Prison quietly and served my sentence. I did not yell, have a fit, or stage a show," he said.  

Turkey would like to boost economic ties with Belarus and increase the mutual trade volume to $1 billion, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said during a visit to Minsk on Nov. 11.      

Good news for its fans: The International Strongmen Club is growing in size! 

The United States should not provide a safe haven for the U.S.-based Islamic preacher Fethullah Gülen, who the Turkish government accuses of orchestrating the failed July 15 coup attempt, a top adviser to President-elect Donald Trump has said. 

U.S. Vice President-elect Mike Pence told daily Hürriyet on Nov. 9 that Washington's new administration wanted to improve relations with Turkey and bring them back to their previous level.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan congratulated Donald Trump over the phone following the latter's victory in the U.S. presidential election on Nov. 8.

According to a Turkish presidential source, Erdoğan said he believed bilateral ties would be further strengthened in the near future.

A new era has begun in the United States, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Nov. 9, adding that he hopes the American people's choice of Donald Trump in the Nov. 8 election will "bring favorable developments."  
"I wish a future full of success and that the choice of the American people be favorable, on behalf of my nation and myself," Erdoğan said.

Ankara reacted angrily on Nov. 9 to a harsh progress report by the European Commission on Turkey, with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan urging the European Union to make up its mind on Turkey's accession bid immediately.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu confirmed the speculation on Nov. 8 about his refusal to twice take the call of German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier. "They think Germany is a superior country and expect us to be ready to take the phone whenever they are ready for that. We are not loafing around here, we also have things to do," Çavuşoğlu said.

Photo: Xinhua/Marios Lolos

BELGRADE - Austria said on Monday it will meet with its Balkan neighbours to discuss what action they might take if a deal with Turkey aimed at restricting the flow of illegal migrants into the European Union collapses, EurActiv.com reports.