Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu
Turkey’s interior minister on Wednesday ruled out deportation for legal migrants, underlining that the ongoing action was only against irregular migration.
Speaking to foreign journalists in Istanbul, Suleyman Soylu said: “Any major change in the migration policy of Turkey is out of question.”
“Deportation is out of question for any regular migrant who came to our country through legal ways,” Soylu added.
Syrian regime forces supported by Russian jets on Wednesday fully sieged the de-escalation zones in northwestern Syria by violating Astana and Idlib agreements, officials told Anadolu Agency.The Bashar al-Assad regime struck the Khan Shaykhun district in Idlib’s de-escalation zone at noon on Tuesday with Iranian-backed foreign terrorist groups and Russian special forces, they said speaking on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to speak to the media.There are still a small number of opposition fighters and anti-regime armed elements in the area.Turkey and Russia agreed last September to turn Idlib into a de-escalation zone where acts of aggression are expressly prohibited.Under the deal, opposition groups in Idlib would remain in areas where they were already present, while Russia and Turkey would carry out joint patrols in the area to prevent a resumption of fighting.The Syrian regime and its allies, however, have consistently broken the terms of the cease-fire, launching frequent attacks inside the de-escalation zone.The de-escalation zone is currently inhabited by about 4 million civilians, including hundreds of thousands of people displaced by regime forces from their cities and towns throughout the war-weary country in recent years.Syria has been locked in a vicious civil war since early 2011, when the Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests with unexpected ferocity.Since then, hundreds of thousands of people have been killed and more than 10 million others displaced, according to UN officials.
Assad regime backed by Russia sieges NW Syria
Aquila Aviation, founded by Turkish investors in Germany, will set up an airplane manufacturing facility in Turkey, the country's industry and technology minister said on Wednesday."We will move a part of Aquila Aviation's production to Turkey and will be manufacturing airplanes under our own brand," Mustafa Varank said in Germany.Varank underlined the importance of aviation sector for the value added production rise in Turkey.Celal Gokcen, the CEO of Aquila Aviation, said the company manufactures two airplanes in a month."Our target is to produce in Turkey," Gokcen said.
Aviation firm in Germany to produce airplanes in Turkey
Soylu’s remarks came as Turkey extended a deadline until Oct. 30 for unregistered Syrians in Istanbul to leave the city and to go to the provinces, where they were first registered.
However, some foreign media outlets misconstrued the facts stating Syrian migrants were being returned to their home country forcibly, which has been embroiled in civil war since 2011.
“There are over 540,000 Syrians in Istanbul. We have planned schools and hospitals for them. We cannot exceed this capacity. This is loud and clear," he said.
“One of our biggest successes is the registration of all Syrians coming to Turkey under temporary protection status and to update their registrations after a while.”
Turkey's foreign minister on Wednesday stated that the failures of integration policies have been among Europe's most discussed issues both within itself and within the Council of Europe."To be successful on the integration policies, we should support the policies of local authorities," Mevlut Çavuşoğlu told at the opening session of European Mobility Week event in Turkey's capital Ankara.Çavuşoğlu stressed that, by creating awareness on the culture of living in harmony, local authorities can overcome intolerance, xenophobia, discrimination and populism tendencies."If we better advertise this event, which has over 1,000 cities from 37 countries as participants, even more countries and more cities from our country can join the event," he said, adding that he is pleased with Turkey's participation in the event.Referring to "walk with us", the event's slogan this year, Çavuşoğlu said that Turkey had always told the EU to walk and overcome the problems together.He also added that although Turkey and the EU would easily overcome the technical obstacles, they also need to overcome the political obstacles together.
Turkey's FM calls on EU to overcome obstacles together
The U.S. on Wednesday called for an end to the violence in Syria after an airstrike hit a Turkish envoy, killing three civilians and injuring 12 others."Monday's reckless airstrike on a Turkish convoy follows similar vicious attacks by the [Bashar al-] Assad regime and its allies against civilians, humanitarian workers and infrastructure," State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said during a news briefing Wednesday. "This brutal violence must cease."On Monday, the Turkish military initiated a troop transfer to Idlib to ensure the safety of an observation post, to keep supply routes open and prevent civilian casualties in the region, according to Turkey's Defense Ministry.The ministry strongly condemned the airstrike, saying it "violates existing agreements, cooperation and dialogue with Russia."Turkey and Russia agreed last September to turn Idlib into a de-escalation zone where acts of aggression are expressly prohibited.The Syrian regime and its allies, however, have consistently broken the terms of the cease-fire, launching frequent attacks inside the area.The de-escalation zone is currently inhabited by 4 million civilians, including hundreds of thousands displaced by regime forces from cities and towns throughout the war-weary country.Hundreds of thousands of people have been killed and more than 10 million displaced during the course of Syria's more than eight-year conflict, according to the UN.
'Brutal violence must cease' in Syria, says State Dept.
Abiding by law
Turkey has complied with international law and human rights when dealing with the issue of irregular migration, he noted.
“From the very beginning, we’ve followed a principled, planned and consistent policy. We’ve taken no indiscriminate step [on this].”
However, Europe came to terms with the crisis in 2015 – four years after the Syria war broke out, he said.
“From 2011 to 2015, the West wanted to use Turkey, Jordan, and Lebanon as a depot. They realized in 2015 the problem will spread to their borders and got flurried."
Turkish Cypriot Prime Minister Ersin Tatar will visit Turkey on Thursday, Turkey's Presidential Communications Directorate said in a statement on Wednesday.Tatar will pay his first official visit to Turkey at the invitation of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, according to the statement.Erdoğan and Tatar are expected to discuss several issues including further development of close cooperation between the two sides, activities related to hydrocarbon resources in the Eastern Mediterranean and the latest developments on the Cyprus issue, it said.Some high-level officials from Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) -- including the Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Kudret Ozersay and Minister of Finance Olgun Amcaoglu -- will accompany Tatar during his visit, the statement added.In 1974, following a coup aiming at Cyprus’ annexation by Greece, Ankara had to intervene as a guarantor power. In 1983, the TRNC was founded.The decades since then have seen several attempts to resolve the dispute, all ending in failure. The latest one, held with the participation of the guarantor countries -- Turkey, Greece, and the U.K. -- ended in 2017 in Switzerland.
Turkish Cypriot premier to visit Turkey on Thursday
Turkish security forces "neutralized" five PKK terrorists during operations in the country's southeast.Turkish authorities often use the word "neutralized" in their statements to imply that the terrorists in question either surrendered or were killed or captured.Three terrorists were neutralized during internal security operations launched by the provincial Gendarmerie Command and Police Department in Savur district of Mardin province, the Interior Ministry said early Thursday on Twitter.Two other terrorists were neutralized in an air-backed anti-terror operation in Silopi district of Sirnak province, the provincial governor’s office said.The operation was carried out to protect Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO) workers and to neutralize PKK terrorists in the district, it said.Three Turkish soldiers were martyred and another wounded in Silopi on Wednesday when they were attacked by PKK terrorists while guarding TPAO workers.Turkey's presidential communications director Fahrettin Altun condemned the attack in a post on Twitter. “Our state will continue to make life unbearable for all terrorist organizations which are attempting to attack our country.“I wish Allah's mercy upon our heroes Muhammed Ferdi Guntekin, Mehmet Ucar and Ayhan Yanik who were martyred in the terrorist operation in Sirnak,” he said. Anti-terror operations are continuing in the region.In its more than 30-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the European Union -- has been responsible for the deaths of nearly 40,000 people, including many women, children and infants.
At least five PKK terrorists neutralized in southeast Turkey
He put the latest figure of Syrians living in Turkey under temporary protection at 3.6 million.
“The figure for those who returned to their country is 347,000,” he said.
Stating that Afghan and Pakistani irregular migrants were continuously crossing through Agri, Igdir and Van [eastern] border crossings, Soylu said: “We’ve held over 100,000 Afghan migrants last year. They are coming to Turkey as they see Turkey as a safe country.
“Turkey allocates both money and human resource to this issue. We’ve sent 32,000 Afghans to their country. How did we send them? By plane,” he said, adding they had spent $40 billion on this.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said Wednesday that Turks who have the right of asylum can remain in Greece but those who cannot obtain it should return to Turkey.Speaking to French daily Le Figaro in advance of his meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron, Mitsotakis said Greece will change its national policies on requesting asylum and speed up the decision-making process.Stressing Turkey's importance as a neighbor and NATO ally, Mitsotakis said Greece is eager to work with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to resolve issues such as migration.A common policy on asylum in the European Union needs to be pursued, he added.In 2018, Greece along with Germany were among the top EU countries where suspected members of the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETÖ) sought asylum after the defeated coup attempt in Turkey, according to Turkish officials.FETÖ and its U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gulen orchestrated the defeated coup of July 15, 2016 which left 251 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured.Ankara accuses FETÖ of being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police and judiciary.Greek PM vows to revise asylum policies
Greek PM says Turks denied asylum should return to Turkey
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said Wednesday that irregular migrants who have the right of asylum can remain in Greece but those who cannot obtain it should return to Turkey, according to a deal between Ankara and the European Union.Speaking to French daily Le Figaro in advance of his meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron, Mitsotakis said Greece will change its national policies on requesting asylum and speed up the decision-making process.Stressing Turkey's importance as a neighbor and NATO ally, Mitsotakis said Greece is eager to work with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to resolve issues such as migration.A common policy on asylum in the European Union needs to be pursued, he added.Turkey and the European Union signed a refugee deal in March 2016 which aimed to discourage irregular migration through the Aegean Sea by taking stricter measures against human traffickers and improving the conditions of nearly three million Syrian refugees in Turkey.Greek PM says Turks denied asylum should return to Turkey
Greek PM vows to revise asylum policies
Referring to the suspension of three mayors in eastern Turkey earlier this week, he said: "They are openly supporting PKK. We saw it and launched an investigation. What would you do? Would you have ignored the continuation of this aid until the case concluded?"
The Interior Ministry suspended the mayors of Diyarbakir, Mardin and Van provinces -- Adnan Selcuk Mizrakli, Ahmet Turk and Bedia Ozgokce Ertan for supporting terrorism.
All mayors are from the opposition Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), a party Turkey's government has accused of having links to the PKK terror group.
In its more than 30-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the EU -- has been responsible for the deaths of some 40,000 people, including women, children and infants.
Turkish security forces "neutralized" seven PKK terrorists during operations in the country's southeast.Turkish authorities often use the word "neutralized" in their statements to imply that the terrorists in question either surrendered or were killed or captured.Five terrorists were neutralized during security operations by the provincial gendarmerie command and police in Savur in the Mardin province, the Interior Ministry said on Twitter. Two other terrorists were neutralized in an air-backed anti-terror operation in Silopi in the Sirnak province, the provincial governor’s office said.The operation was carried out to protect Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO) workers and to neutralize PKK terrorists in the district, it said. Three Turkish soldiers guarding TPAO workers were martyred and another wounded in Silopi on Wednesday when they were attacked by PKK terrorists.Anti-terror operations are continuing in the region.In its more than 30-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK -- listed as a terrorist group by Turkey, the U.S. and the European Union -- has been responsible for the deaths of nearly 40,000 people, including many women, children and infants.
At least 7 PKK terrorists neutralized in southeastern Turkey