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ANKARA: Irans Armed Forces chief of staff on Wednesday held rare talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, reportedly focused on the fight against "terror" groups in Syria and Iraq.

Erdogan hosted General Mohammad Hossein Bagheri at his presidential palace in Ankara with Turkeys top general Hulusi Akar also in attendance, the Turkish presidency said.

The state-run Anadolu news agency said the hugely unusual talks lasted 50 minutes, but gave no details.

Reports ahead of Bagheris three day visit, which began on Tuesday, had said the Iranian general was aiming to coordinate policy on Syria and Iraq. Relations between overwhelmingly Sunni Muslim Turkey, a secular state, and the mainly Shiite Islamic Republic of Iran have on occasion been tense in the last years.

Turkey and Iran lie on opposing sides of the Syrian conflict, with Erdogan seeking the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad to end the war. Tehran, along with Moscow, remain the Syrian leaders key allies and backers.

Erdogan has sometimes lashed out at the rise of "Persian nationalism" in the region, especially concerning the power of Shiite militias in Iraq.

But Turkey and Russia have been cooperating more over Syria in recent months, helping to extract civilians from Aleppo and then co-sponsoring peace talks in the Kazakh capital Astana.

Tehran may also share Ankaras concerns about over sway of the Syrian Kurdish Peoples Protection Units (YPG) in the border area.

Both Turkey and Iran have substantial Kurdish minorities and they vehemently oppose a plan by Iraqs autonomous Kurdish region to organise a vote on independence later this year.

"We are seeking a good agreement with Turkey to provide better security for Iranian and Turkish borders especially in the west and northwest," said Guards spokesman General Ramezan Sharif, quoted by the IRNA news agency.

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Iran forces chief holds rare talks with Erdogan - The News International

Turkish President Erdogan speaks during a meeting of the AK Party in Rize.

Domestic politics are at the heart of the current poor state of relations between Turkey and some European countries, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday.

Ties between Turkey and Germany have soured in recent months, reaching a nadir last month when German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel said Berlin would no longer encourage or guarantee investment in Turkey.

"We know that the most of the criticism of European countries for our country is related to their domestic politics," Erdogan said at the opening of a factory in Isparta, southwest Turkey.

Referring to the Netherlands' block on Turkish ministerial speeches in the run-up to April's constitutional referendum in Turkey, the president said: "Now we see that Germany is using the same tactics. I believe that they will return to normal after the elections."

Germany will hold a federal election of Bundestag lawmakers on Sept. 24.

A series of diplomatic incidents has included German complaints about the arrest of its nationals on terrorism charges, the lack of access for lawmakers to German troops at Incirlik air base in southern Turkey and claims that Turkey has carried out espionage in Germany.

Ankara has accused Germany of harbouring terrorists and criticised the government for barring Turkish politicians from addressing crowds ahead of the referendum.

On Tuesday, Turkey allowed German lawmakers to visit their troops based at an air base near Konya, central Turkey, under a deal brokered by NATO.

It followed the withdrawal of German jets from Incirlik, where they had been tasked to conduct surveillance missions against Daesh in Syria, after lawmakers were denied permission to visit.

Party change

Turning to the governing Justice and Development Party or AK Party, which he heads, Erdogan said: "We are committed to achieve a fundamental change in our party."

He has previously warned "tired" AK Party lawmakers to step aside ahead of the 2019 general election and he made a similar warning when he told the crowd that change was needed for those who had "moved away from the values of the AK Party".

Erdogan added: "We need companions who are energy-driven, enthusiastic and have equipment and projects for the future of our country, our nation and our cities."

Syria, Iraq borders

On the issues of the security threats at Turkey's borders, Erdogan said a "terror state, which is trying to establish itself along the Syrian and Iraqi borders" was aimed as damaging Turkey's independence and future.

In Syria, the YPG, which Ankara views as an extension of the PKK terrorist organisation but is backed by the US, has established territory along stretches of the Turkish border while in Iraq, the Kurdish Regional Government has pledged to hold a referendum on independence from Baghdad.

The PKK, also designated a terrorist organisation by the US and EU, resumed its armed campaign against Turkey in July 2015 and since then has been responsible for the deaths of close of 1,200 people including security personnel and civilians.

Erdogan said the "insignificant and unfounded accusations" of European politicians against Turkey were borne from the same desire to hurt Turkey.

Source: AA

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Erdogan says relations with Berlin will improve after German election - TRT World

By Fatih Hafiz Mehmet

ANKARA

In a further sign of an impending shake-up in the ruling party, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Sunday that the party he leads cannot be allowed to stagnate.

Erdogan has repeatedly suggested changes are planned to the Justice and Development (AK) Party ahead of a general election in 2019.

We cannot confine the AK Party to stagnation in an era where Turkey and the world are changing rapidly, he said at a party rally in the southern city of Antalya.

He added that those become a burden to the party would be pulled off the road.

However, those who carried out their duties with enthusiasm would be welcome to remain, he said.

At a similar event in Isparta on Saturday, Erdogan said he was committed to fundamental change in our party.

The president also addressed possible links between some party members and the group said to be behind last years defeated coup -- the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO).

Wherever there are those who are linked to FETO, notify us immediately and we are obliged to show them the door immediately, he told the crowd.

FETO had divided both the Turkish and the worldwide Muslim nation, Erdogan said.

Referring to the groups U.S.-based leader Fetullah Gulen and FETO supporters who had fled abroad, he added: They have parked in Pennsylvania, Germany, in different countries of the West.

You will escape to many more countries. You will escape to Africa. But you will escape and we will chase... Because we cannot tolerate my nation to be split.

FETO is accused of orchestrating the July 15 coup attempt that saw 250 people martyred and some 2,200 injured.

Erdogan said a Germanmagazine, Focus, made an interview with Kemal Kilicdaroglu, head of the main opposition Republican Peoples Party (CHP),who said "No one in Turkey has life and property security."

Erdogan added that the expression Kilicdaroglu usedshows he is deliberately defaming Turkey and complaining about Turkey to German public opinion.

Kilicdaroglu is trying to scareGerman investors and German tourists away from coming to Turkey, Erdogan added.

"Whatever lies these say [...] the interest of investors and tourists towards our country is continuously on the rise," Erdogan stressed.

Erdogan said: "Kilicdaroglu says 'Do not come', but the tourists say 'What is that to you?'"

He also mentioned the latest figures in Turkish economy.

"In the first quarter of 2017, growth is 5 percent, annual exports has exceeded 150 billion dollars. These signal good days ahead. Inflation has dropped to single-digit again," Erdogan added.

In addition, Erdogan said they are in preparation for a third airport in Antalya. He said they are planning to start at the end of 2017 the construction of the new airport in Antalya's west, which has an investment value of 850 million dollars.

He added that they are planning to open the airport in 2021 the latest.

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Erdogan gives further sign of change to ruling party - Anadolu Agency

15-year-old Eren Bulbul was martyred by PKK terrorists late Friday in Macka district of northern Trabzon province

home > Turkey, todays headlines 13.08.2017

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Turkish president spoke on the phone on Sunday with the mother of the teenage boy who was martyred by PKK terrorists late Friday.

Eren Bulbul ,15, died from wounds sustained as he helped gendarmes track PKK terrorists in Macka, a town 22 kilometers (14 miles) south of the Black Sea province of Trabzon.

Gendarmerie Master Sgt. Ferhat Gedik, 41, was injured in the same incident and also martyred.

An AK Party delegation visited Eren's house in Macka on Sunday and during the visit AK Party Deputy Chairman and Istanbul MP Ravza Kavakci Kan called Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Kan later gave the phone to Eren's mother Ayse Bulbul to speak and Erdogan offered his condolences on the phone.

"We will take his [Eren's] revenge in a very different way," Erdogan said to her.

The PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and EU -- resumed its armed campaign against Turkey in July 2015.

Since then, it has been responsible for the deaths of some 1,200 Turkish security personnel and civilians, including women and children.

Reporting by Seyit Ahmet Eksik; Writing byFatih Hafz Mehmet

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Erdogan speaks to mother of teenager martyred by PKK - Anadolu Agency

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan slammed Israel over its implementation of extra security measures in Jerusalem. He called on the Jewish state on Sunday to observe "basic human rights values" following the clashes between Israeli security forces and Palestinian rioters over Israel's decision to place metal detectors at the entrance to the Temple Mount complex.

The Turkish president didn't stop there. "I condemn Israel's insistence on disregarding all warnings to maintain its position," he said. "It is unacceptable that Israel shut down Haram al-Sharif three days and imposed new restrictions, including metal detectors, on Muslims' entry to the area," he charged.

Erdogan notedly referred to the Temple Mount as 'Haram al-Sharif,' the name Muslims call the Temple Mount by.

"Metal detectors and other restrictions must be lifted immediately and the current status quo must be restored," he pressed on.

Erdogan spoke at a press conference held at the Istanbul Ataturk Airport where he was embarking on his trip to Saudi Arabia, Quait and Qatar in order to attempt to help solve the Gulf countries' rift with Doha.

Israeli security forces should refrain from using violence and act according to international law and humane values, he stressed while talking to the press there.

The Turkish president also expressed his wish for the world to take the Palestinian side in this current issue of contention between the two parties. "I call on the international community to take action in order to ensure that all restrictions on the freedom of worship at Haram al-Sharif be removed immediately," he continued, implying that the placing of the metal detectors was infringing on worshipers' basic democratic rights.

Turkey's Prime Minister Binali Yldrm also spoke out, calling on Israeli authorities to renege on their "unacceptable behavior including hurting the Al-Aksa mosque." Taking to Twitter, he emphasized that "terror has no religion, language or nationality, and it hurts all of humanity." The Turkish premier also said that Ankara "rejects Israel's excuses [about] closing the Al-Aksa mosque to Muslims."

Yldrm called on the Israeli government to "take into account that sensitivity of the Islamic world to this issue, and go back on the mistake it made in the fastest manner possible."

At the same time, he made sure to condemn attacks on synagogues in his country, and said that Muslims have been living alongside Jews in Turkey for hundreds of years. "Jews make up an important factor in Turkey's culture richness," he said and called on demonstrators to be "more moderate and not to attack places of prayers."

Erdogan had already spoken to Israeli President Reuven Rivlin, asking him to act for the removal of the metal detectors, but since their conversation last week the clashes have intensified. On Friday night, a 19-year-old Palestinian terrorist entered the home of an Israeli family in the West Bank community of Neveah Tzuf (Halamish) and stabbed to death three of the family members: 70-year-old Yosef Salomon and his two children, 46-year-old Chaya and 36-year-old Elad, who was a father of five.

Earlier in the day, three Palestinian demonstrators found their deaths in the mass protests which saw security forces and rioters face off for hours.

Israel had decided to introduce the new security measures after two Israeli policemen were killed by three Muslim terrorists ten days ago. The assailants fled into the Muslim structures within the complex, and after police conducted a thorough search of the area multiple weapons surfaced, indicating that other potential perpetrators had been stashing them in preparation to carry out further attacks.

While the metal detectors remain in place, top Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, have said in the past couple of days that the country was considering alternative security options in the wake of the unabating tensions surrounding the issue.

Yasser Okbi contributed to this report.

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