Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe

Turkey's EU Minister Ömer Çelik will come together with foreign ministers of EU countries at the Informal Meeting of Foreign Ministers in Estonia this week, his office announced on Sept. 5.

Çelik's meeting with top EU diplomats comes at a time when Germany had announced it will discuss suspending or ending Turkey's accession negotiations with the EU in an October meeting. 

Turkey's EU Minister Ömer Çelik will hold talks with the foreign ministers of EU countries at an informal meeting this week, following German Chancellor Angela Merkel's announcement that she plans to ask for the suspension or ending of Ankara's bid to join the EU at the European Council in October. 

A former Turkish judge was shortlisted for the Vaclav Havel Human Rights Prize 2017, alongside two others from Austria and Hungary. 

Murat Arslan, who has been under arrest since 2016, is described by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) as "a well-known and reputed judge."

Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said dialogue between Turkey and the European Union needs to continue despite having several setbacks, Daily Sabah reported.

Turkey has vowed "different processes" were ahead regarding Cyprus after a U.N.-led conference failed to provide a settlement to the decades-old division in the island, announcing a joint work with Turkish Cypriots for a road map. 

Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu on June 21 described Japan as Turkey's chief economic partner in the Asia-Pacific area.     

His remarks came after meeting his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida in Tokyo to discuss bilateral relations, and regional and global issues as part of a two-day official visit.       

Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan told Bahrain's Foreign Minister that the dispute between Qatar and other Arab states should be resolved by the end of the holy month of Ramadan, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said on June 10.

Ankara has urged dialogue and continued contacts between Gulf countries in a bid to resolve the unprecedented crisis that emerged after Saudia Arabia and prominent Arab countries cut off ties with Qatar on June 5, while expressing Turkey's "sadness" over the incident. 

A group of Arab nations led by Saudi Arabia and Egypt cut ties with Qatar on June 5, accusing the gas-rich Gulf country of supporting extremism, while a number of regional and global actors, including Turkey and the U.S., called for dialogue to resolve the dispute.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said on May 30 that it was not possible to allow German lawmakers to visit troops currently stationed at Turkey's İncirlik air base, although Ankara may reconsider if it sees "positive steps" from Berlin.