Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced that as long as Germany and Netherlands call him dictator, he will continue calling them Nazis, Erdogan said in an interview with CNN Turk and Kanal D.
“It is no wonder that there is so much aggression in the air when diplomacy is seen to have achieved so little. A vacuum has been created which will be filled either by negotiations or by threats and potential military action. Another problem is that the other two Minsk Group co-chairs, France and the United States, have been seen to be too passive recently and that therefore the impression is created that Russia—and in particular foreign minister Sergei Lavrov—is the sole negotiator.”
Across Europe’s Turkish communities, where the film is being shown this week, audiences may well be dabbing their eyes and declaring: “That’s our boy!” President Erdogan’s spin doctors certainly hope so. There are four million registered voters outside Turkey and the referendum on April 16 — over boosting the president’s powers to near-Putin levels — is looking as if it could be a near-run thing.
The Turkish newspaper Hurriyet recently reported that the historic Surp Asdvadzadzin (Mother Mary/Meryem Ana) Armenian church in the city of Kayseri will be turned into a library and “book café.” According to the report, the project has a budget of six-million Turkish liras.
It follows Tuesday’s request by Gokalp Kokcu, a counter-terrorism prosecutor, for an arrest warrant for Gulen and other suspects linked to the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO).
The EU measures take the number of people under its Syrian sanctions to 239, as well as 67 companies. EU sanctions also include an oil embargo, restrictions on investments, a freeze of Syrian central bank assets held in the EU and a ban on exports of equipment and technology that could be used against civilians.
“I would say that Azerbaijan’s such behavior is not a new, I as well faced similar problems. There was a problem with Azerbaijan’s ambassador to Belgium. Several years ago when I visited Artsakh he forced me to swear that I will never visit there.Thus, I am no longer surprised by Azerbaijan’s such behavior,” Andre du Bas de Warnaffe said.
“I join with many historians who believe that historical Armenian churches represent the cultural heritage of the Armenian nation and should be returned to their rightful owners to be cherished and used for appropriate religious purposes,” concluded Senator Portantino.
“It is disappointing that President Aliyev released only a small number of political prisoners among several hundred pardons he issued prior to Nowruz. OSCE participating States commit to respecting freedom of expression, including the freedom to exchange information and views without interference from public authorities.
Damascus said the Syrian air defense forces shot down an Israeli unmanned aerial vehicle above Quneitra city, Al Mayadeen TV reported, which, according to some information, is linked with Hezbollah. The Syrian side insists the UAV was downed after it breached the airspace.
