The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Mevlut Cavusoglu

  • Khashoggi: ‘Saudi team must have acted on orders’

    A 15-man Saudi team that flew to Turkey before the killing of Jamal Khashoggi, the slain Saudi journalist, must have been acting on orders, not necessarily from King Salman, Turkey’s Foreign Minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, said.

    Cavusoglu, however, said that it was Saudi Arabia’s responsibility to tell Turkey what happened to Khashoggi’s body.

    Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist critical of the Saudi Government and its de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, disappeared at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2.

    Saudi officials initially insisted that Khashoggi had left the consulate, then said he died in an unplanned “rogue operation”.

    The kingdom’s public prosecutor, Saud al-Mojeb, later said that the journalist was killed in a premeditated attack.

    Turkish President, Tayyip Erdogan, had repeatedly demanded for more information from Saudi Arabia.

    He asked Saudi officials to explain who in Riyadh sent the 15-man team suspected of involvement in the killing.

    Erdogan said “the 15-man team did not come to Turkey on their own, they came on orders.

    “Without due orders and permissions, 15 people cannot come from Saudi Arabia to kill their own citizen.”

    Cavusoglu said Erdogan had spoken to Saudi Arabia’s King Salman twice after the killing, and that he was sure the king would not give orders to kill someone.

    Turkish and Saudi officials had carried out joint inspection of the consulate and consul’s residence.

    Erdogan said some Saudi officials were still trying to cover up the crime.

    Ankara had demanded Riyadh to cooperate in finding Khashoggi’s body, which Istanbul’s chief prosecutor said had been dismembered.

    “I think it is Saudi Arabia’s responsibility to find out what happened to Khashoggi’s body and inform us about it, as the 15-man team is still in Saudi Arabia,” Cavusoglu said.

    Saudi Arabia has so far detained 18 people and dismissed five senior government officials as part of an investigation into Khashoggi’s death.

  • Turkey asks Germany to extradite 81 citizens over failed coup

    Turkey asks Germany to extradite 81 citizens over failed coup

    Turkey has asked the German government to extradite 81 of its citizens for suspected involvement in a failed military coup in 2016, the Justice Ministry said in response to a question from the Left Party.

    The government of President Recep Erdogan has accused Germany of harbouring supporters of Fethullah Gulen, an exiled preacher and former ally of the president whose movement is accused of orchestrating the coup.

    The answer to the Left Party’s question, seen by dpa on Monday, does not reveal how many extradition requests Ankara submitted for people it accuses of terrorism-related activities.

    In November 2016, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said that Turkey was seeking the extradition of “more than 4,000” supporters of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party ( PKK ).

    “Regardless of the measures the Turkish side uses to exert pressure, the federal government must not extradite,” said Left Party lawmaker Alexander Neu.

    “Instead, it must exert pressure itself in order to finally free German hostages from custody.”

    Turkey is currently holding a handful of German citizens, including journalists and human rights activists, on terrorism-related charges, causing strained diplomatic relations to reach an unprecedented low.

    Turkey’s relationship with Germany was severely strained after it refused to allow Turkish politicians to hold campaign rallies in February.

    Erdogan repeatedly threw Nazi slurs against Angela Merkel and accused the country of Nazi practices.

    Berlin’s decision to grant asylum to some of 414 army officers and government workers only added fuel to Turkey’s escalating animosity toward the country.

    NAN

  • Finnish President Niinisto to meet Trump in White House

    Finnish President Niinisto to meet Trump in White House

    Finnish President Sauli Niinisto will meet with the U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington on Aug. 29, the Finnish Presidential Office said on Thursday.

    The meeting will be the first encounter between the two leaders.

    The last bilateral presidential meeting between the two countries was held 15 years ago when the then-Finnish president Tarja Halonen visited the White House.

    Matti Vanhanen, Chairman, Foreign Affairs Committee in the Finnish Parliament, described the upcoming visit as “a very good event.”

    Vanhanen told newsmen he was of the opinion that the meeting would be connected with the Finnish chairmanship of the Arctic Council.

    “Finland has openly promoted the idea of arranging a summit of the Council members.

    “The visit will give an opportunity to further the goals of the Finnish chairmanship,” Vanhanen said.

    Mika Aaltola, an expert at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs (FIIA), told newsmen on Thursday that the fact that  bilateral meeting was arranged signals that relations between the two countries are good.

    Aaltola said Niinisto’s visit to Washington would consolidate Finland’s relationship with the U.S.

    Top level visits to Finland by American politicians are rare.

    American leaders had frequently visited Estonia, Finland’s southern neighbour.

    Former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden visited Finland during the Obama administration.

    The U.S. Vice President Mike Pence was in Estonia earlier this month.

    In another development, Turkish Presidential Spokesperson, Ibrahim Kalin said on Thursday that the U.S. Secretary of Defence Jim Mattis would visit the country soon over the current dilemma on Kurdish issues.

    Ties between the two NATO allies had been strained amid Washington’s support for Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), armed wing of the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD).

    Turkey claimed the YPG group is an offshoot of PKK military group, which had been waging war in southeast Turkey for more than 30 years.

    Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said that apart from Mattis’ visit, the Russian Chief of Armed Forces Staff, Gen. Valery Gerasimov would visit Turkey to discuss the situation in Syria’s Idlib.

  • Turkish president blasts Netherlands over botched rally

    …  Dutch are Nazi remnants – Erdogan

    Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has described the Dutch as “Nazi remnants and fascists,” as a diplomatic row grows over a cancelled rally.

    The Turkish foreign minister was due to speak in the Dutch city of Rotterdam on Saturday in support of a referendum to give Mr. Erdogan greater powers, the BBC reports.

    But the rally was banned for security reasons, and the minister’s plane was then refused permission to land.

    Turkey has now summoned the Dutch charge d’affaires for an explanation.

    “Ban our foreign minister from flying however much you like, but from now on, let’s see how your flights will land in Turkey,” President Erdogan said at a rally in Istanbul.

    Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu also warned Turkey would impose heavy sanctions if his visits were blocked.

    Dutch Prime Minister, Mark Rutte, said in a statement (in Dutch) that the Turkish threat of sanctions made “the search for a reasonable solution impossible.”

    The Netherlands was therefore withdrawing landing rights, he said.

    Mr. Rutte also stressed that Dutch officials had earlier discussed whether the planned rally with Mr. Cavusoglu could be private and “smaller-scale” and held in a Turkish consulate or embassy.

    The Netherlands “regrets the course of events, and remains committed to dialogue with Turkey,” the statement added.

  • Turkey threatens to cancel EU deal over Greek coup ruling

    Turkey has threatened to cancel a deal with the European Union on taking back migrants who cross over to Greece.

    Turkish officials are unhappy about a decision by the Greek Supreme Court not to extradite a group of eight Turkish soldiers who fled to Greece after a failed coup in July, the BBC reports.

    Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu described the ruling as a “political decision” and demanded a retrial.

    An EU spokeswoman said the body was confident the migrant deal would hold.

    The three majors, three captains and two sergeant majors fled in a helicopter to Greece after last July’s coup attempt in Turkey.

    They are accused of playing a significant part in the attempt, and of having links with a group which allegedly tried to assassinate President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the night of the attempted coup.

    The soldiers said they were not involved and would fear for their lives if extradited home.

    The Greek court’s presiding judge ruled that the men were unlikely to receive a fair trial in Turkey.

     

  • Turkey recalls envoy to Germany over ‘genocide’ claim

    Turkey has recalled its envoy to Germany in protest against German MPs declaring the 1915 massacre of Armenians during the First World War (WWI) as “genocide.”

    Turkey called the vote “an example of ignorance and disrespect.”

    Armenians said up to 1.5 million of their people died in the atrocities of 1915, the BBC reports.

    Turkey said the toll was much lower and rejects the term “genocide.”

    The vote heightens German-Turkish tensions at a time when Turkey’s help is needed to control migrant arrivals.

    The Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, said the resolution would seriously affect relations with Germany, and that the government would consider further measures in response to the vote.

    The Turkish Foreign Minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu tweeted: “The way to close the dark pages in your own history is not by besmirching the history of other countries with irresponsible and groundless parliamentary decisions,” a clear reference to Germany’s Nazi past.

    But the German Foreign Minister, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, called for calm.

    “As expected, Turkey has reacted, and I hope that we will succeed in the next days and weeks to avoid any overreaction,” he told journalists during a visit to Buenos Aires.