Tayyip

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his Finnish counterpart, Sauli Niinistö, will meet on March 17 to discuss Finland's bid to join NATO amid reports that Ankara plans to ratify Finland's accession protocol to the alliance in the coming days while delaying Sweden's bid.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (L) and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban (R) meeting in Budapest, Hungary, 7 November 2019. Photo: EPA-EFE/ZSOLT SZIGETVARY HUNGARY OUT

The report, which is also the 50th anniversary edition, registered the 17th consecutive year of falls in global freedom but remained hopeful for the coming years.

Türkiye will not approve Sweden's bid to join NATO as long as it continues to permit those who burn the Quran, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has said, repeating Ankara's favorable position for Finland's application to the alliance.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan attended the opening ceremony of multiple facilities in Denizli on Jan. 28.

"We have only pursued politics of services and projects over the past 20 years. Just like every other city, Denizli is also the closest witness to our politics of services and projects," Erdoğan said.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has described 2023, the centennial of the Republic of Türkiye, as the beginning of a new era for Türkiye's development, vowing to enter the country among the top 10 economies in the world.

As US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will be hosting his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu in Washington on Wednesday, the Biden administration will be moving ahead with its stated intention to supply Turkey with 40 new F-16s and modernization kits to upgrade 80 of its older ones.

Turkey and the United States will aim to smooth out a series of disagreements between the NATO allies when the Turkish foreign minister visits Washington this week. But expectations that outstanding issues can be resolved are low.

Sweden and Finland must extradite dozens of political opponents that Ankara considers to be terrorists in order for Turkey to approve their joint NATO bid, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Sunday.

''Today with much greater goals and much greater self-confidence and strength, we have set our direction towards the future, " President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Jan. 14. 

Erdoğan attended the opening ceremony of multiple projects and services in the province of Muğla.

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson on Jan. 13 denounced a demonstration by PKK terror organization in central Stockholm, where the supporters of the group hung a puppet from its legs that depicted President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, as 'disgusting' and an act of "sabotage" against Sweden's bid to join NATO.