France is ready to begin discussions with Turkey on chapter 22, entitled regional policy, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said on Tuesday. France previously had blocked five of the 35 negotiating chapters. Relations between Turkey and France were tense under former President Nicolas Sarkozy and the remarks by Fabius may signal a warming in ties. Turkey began accession talks with the EU in 2005. Last week, PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan harshly criticized EU, saying that Turkey had started the formal process for integration in 1963 and this delay of more than 50 years was unforgivable. Erdogan also talked about deepening ties with the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) that includes Russia, China, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. |
The jailed leader of the PKK, Abdullah Ocalan, called for a ceasefire on Thursday, ordering armed PKK militants to withdraw from Turkey. Hundreds of thousands of people gathered in the city of ... more
The Syrian government said the rebel groups foreign supporters, Turkey and Qatar, were responsible for a chemical attack in Aleppo. The countries that back and support the rebels, including ... more
US secretary of state John Kerry was in Ankara on Friday for talks with the Turkish leaders, including PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan and President Abdullah Gul, focused on the crisis in Syria, ... more