Turkiye in December 2022

10 December 2022

Turkey Calls on Russia to Implement its Commitments Regarding “YPG” in Syria (Anadolu Agency). “In its political consultations with Russia, Turkey has renewed its aspirations to implement the provisions of the memorandum of understanding signed with Moscow regarding the terrorist organization ‘PKK/YPG’ in Syria.”
James Jeffrey: How the United States Can Compromise with Turkey to Avert a Syria Incursion (Foreign Policy). Washington should build on past three-way Turkey-U.S.-SDF arrangements to put a real offer on the table.

Erdogan to Putin: Clearing the Syrian Border of Terrorists to a Depth of 30 km is a Priority (Anadolu Agency). Erdogan told his Russian counterpart of the necessity and priority of purging the Syrian border with Turkey from [PKK] terrorists, to a depth of at least 30 km, in the first phase, according to the Sochi agreement concluded in 2019.
Turkey Announces the Killing of a PKK Leader in Northern Syria (Syria TV). The Turkish Defense ministry said in a statement that Turkish forces managed to kill the Fahmi Muhammad, an official of the “Afrin Liberation Forces” affiliated with the PKK organization.

Erdoğan: Turkish Missiles could Hit Athens if Greece Militarizes Aegean Islands (Turkish Minute). Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan warned that Turkey could hit Athens with missiles if Greece continues to arm the Aegean islands.
EU Approves $232M Border Control Package for Eastern Türkiye (Daily Sabah). The European Commission adopted a package worth 220 million euros (over $232 million) for measures to enhance security on Türkiye’s eastern border, as part of a previously signed migrant deal between the bloc and Ankara.

Ankara: We are Going to Raise our Trade Exchanges with Washington to $100 Billion (Anadolu Agency). Turkish Vice President Fuad Oktay said that his country and the United States are moving forward towards achieving their goal of raising trade exchange between them to $100 billion.Turkey said Tuesday it has cleared up a dispute linked to a Western price cap on Russian crude that had stalled the passage of tankers through the Bosporus and Dardanelle straits, Agence France-Presse reported.

President of the Russian Duma Proposes Working With Turkey To Combat Terrorism (Syria TV). The Speaker of the Russian State Duma, Vyacheslav Volodin, called for an international conference to combat terrorism in Moscow, with the participation of Turkey, the Syrian regime and other countries….He pointed out that Russia “will hold a conference to discuss these files, in which Turkey, Syria, Iran , China, Pakistan and other countries will participate.”
Erdoğan attends a tripartite summit with Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan (Daily Sabah). Erdoğan, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, and Turkmen leader Serdar Berdimuhamedov met in the western Turkmen city of Awaza to address steps to further deepen cooperation between the three countries in various areas, particularly in trade, energy and transportation. On Wednesday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called for the start of natural gas transportation from Turkmenistan to Western countries.

Erdogan: I Offered Putin a Meeting between the Leaders of Turkey, Russia and Syria (Anadolu Agency). Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan revealed on Thursday that he had offered his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, a tripartite meeting [among] the leaders of Turkey, Russia and Syria.
Thousands Rally in Istanbul to Support Mayor Facing Ouster (Associated Press). Thousands of people gathered outside the Istanbul municipal building for a second day on Thursday to denounce a legal verdict that could lead to the city’s popular mayor Ekrem Imamoglu being ousted from office and barred from running in elections next year.

Lavrov Says Russia-Türkiye Trade Doubled to $45B in 2022 (Anadolu Agency). Trade between Russia and Türkiye doubled in the first nine months of this year to reach $45 billion, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Wednesday. In an online meeting of foreign ministers of the Organization of Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC), Lavrov hailed the Black Sea region as “a crossroads of peoples, cultures, religions, and civilizations.”

Terrorist PKK supporters disturb peace in London (Anadolu Agency). Supporters of the PKK terrorist group on Saturday clashed with police in London. Gathering in front of the French Embassy in London, a group of the terror group’s supporters chanted slogans against Türkiye and France after Friday’s shooting of Kurds in Paris.

Cavusoglu: Turkey Will Not Allow Greece to Expand “Even One Mile” in the Aegean Sea (Al Jazeera). Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu stressed during the end of the year assessment meeting that his country will not allow Greece to expand “even one mile” in the territorial waters of the Aegean Sea. Cavusoglu warned Greece against being drawn into what he described as adventures and running after false antagonisms, saying, “The end will never be good for you.”
PKK Cell Arrested Before Carrying out a Terrorist Operation And Istanbul Announces the Arrest of 18 Foreigners Closely Connected to ISIS, HTS, and Al Qaeda (Anadolu Agency). Turkish security took the initiative to arrest the 5 terrorists, after monitoring that they had received instructions from the Iranian “Karash” region, to carry out a terrorist operation in Turkey. Security forces also seized weapons, ammunition, wireless devices, telephones, and digital and paper documents. Security sources in Istanbul conducted simultaneous raids on 21 sites and arrested people believed to be close to the terrorist organization.