Mediaboss Marketing

By Enes Kaplan

ANKARA

Turkey has been pursuing a balanced foreign policy between the East and the West, presidential spokesperson Ibrahim Kalin said Wednesday.

Speaking at a meeting with the representatives of international media organizations in the Turkish capital, Kalin said Turkeys NATO membership did not prevent Ankara from establishing close relations with Russia, China or other countries.

"Foreign police is not a zero sum game to us. Getting closer to Russia does not need to have a negative impact on our relations with the U.S. and Europe.

"In the same manner, being a NATO ally does not mean that we will completely cut off our relations with Russia, China, African countries or Latin America," he said, adding Turkeys geopolitical position necessitated a multifaceted foreign policy.

Kalin said Turkey shared closer views with Russia in some issues, while sharing similar views with the U.S. and E.U in some others.

"It is impossible to reduce foreign policy to a single bloc under the current circumstances. Instead, we are pursuing a balanced policy between the East and West.

"Moreover the developments in economy and security force us to adopt a wider perspective," Kaln said.

Erdogan's aide also commented on the future of Turkey-EU relations, associating the lack of "desired momentum" in the accession process with the anti-EU, anti-Turkey and anti-refugee sentiment across the continent.

"If the EU is suffering from 'enlargement fatigue', they should know that Turkey is also feeling tired and indignant because the membership process is not moving forward".

Kaln reiterated that the EU had yet to fulfil its commitment to Turkey over a refugee deal signed in March 2016, and went on to say that issues with the visa-free travel agreement could be resolved if the European Commission presented a "reasonable" offer.

Signed on March 18, 2016, the agreement aims to discourage irregular migration through the Aegean Sea by taking stricter measures against human traffickers and improving conditions for nearly 3 million Syrian refugees in Turkey.

The deal included a 6 billion euro ($6.8 billion) aid package to help Turkey care for millions of refugees hosted in the country. However, Turkey has so far received only 677 million euros ($716 million).

Turkey is hosting the largest number of Syrian refugees in the world, and has so far spent around $25 billion on the refugees.

Ankara is also criticizing the EU for not honoring its promises to relocate some of the Syrian refugees from Turkey.

As of Dec. 5, 2016, 2,761 Syrian refugees have been resettled from Turkey to Europe while 1,187 irregular migrants have been returned from the Greek islands to Turkey, according to the European Commission. Europe had agreed to take 72,000.

The deal also allows for the acceleration of Turkeys EU membership bid and visa-free travel for Turkish nationals within the Schengen area, on the condition that Ankara meets 72 requirements set by the EU.

While Turkey has fulfilled most of the criteria, differences between Brussels and Ankara on anti-terror legislation have forestalled the visa liberalization deal.

Changing counter-terrorism legislation is a key condition of the visa-free travel agreement between the 28-member bloc and Turkey.

Read more:

Turkey pursues a balanced foreign policy: Erdogan aide - Anadolu Agency

ANKARA

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday urged a reformed judicial system with a harmonious separation of powers.

Addressing members of the judiciary at the presidential complex in the capital Ankara, Erdogan decried the Fetullah Terror Organizations (FETO) infiltration of judicial bodies and the trouble they have caused.

Erdogan urged a new democratic judicial system, saying, Redefining the relations between the legislative and executive powers in a democratic way is not a loss but a gain for Turkey.

He reassured that the pluralistic, broad-based structure of the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK) would be protected, saying, There is no possibility of returning to [old systems] from the pluralistic system which has benefited us greatly."

Referring to FETO, he said the terrorist group had abused the support given to judicial bodies to fight the coup plotters. This abuse led them to not only dominate positions but also damaged our fight against the putschists.

Constitutional changes to Turkeys system of government are now going through parliament.

Constitutional reform and the change to a presidential system has been on the political agenda since Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a former prime minister and Justice and Development (AK) Party leader, was elected president in August 2014. This marked the first time a Turkish president had been directly chosen by popular vote.

The July 15 defeated coup left at least 248 people martyred, and around 2,200 others wounded.

Turkey's government accuses the FETO terror network of staging the coup attempt as well as being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police, and judiciary.

Since the failed coup attempt, operations have been ongoing in the military, police, and judiciary, as well as in state institutions across the country, to arrest suspects with alleged links to FETO.

*Reporting by Enes Kaplan; Writing by Ahmet Sait Akcay

The rest is here:

President Erdogan urges reformed judicial system - Anadolu Agency