Author: Erkin Akkoyun

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussed the humanitarian situation in Gaza during a telephone conversation on Sunday, the Kremlin said in a statement. “The discussion focused on the critical situation in the Palestine-Israel conflict zone, in particular, the disastrous humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip,” the Kremlin said. Putin reaffirmed his principled position of rejecting and condemning terrorism in all its manifestations, deeming it essential to avoid such grave consequences for the civilian population while countering terrorist threats. Russia is ready to provide all possible assistance to alleviate the suffering of civilians and de-escalate the…

Latest Developments The third-most senior Hamas figure, Saleh al-Arouri, was killed on January 2 in a Beirut blast that Lebanese authorities blamed on Israel. Arouri was among at least four people who died in an Israeli drone strike on a Hamas media office in the southern Dahiyeh suburb of the Lebanese capital, a Hezbollah stronghold, authorities said. Israeli officials had no immediate comment. After Yahya Sinwar and Ismail Haniyeh, Arouri was the top-ranked Hamas official. He pursued an especially aggressive Palestinian terrorism strategy, with a focus on the West Bank, where he ordered the 2014 abduction and murder of three Israeli teenagers, sparking a…

An American court found that Mukhtar Ablyazov stole money from BTA Bank and laundered it in the United States. This is stated in a statement published on the official website of BTA Bank. On July 31, 2023, Judge John G. Költle, Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, reportedly ruled in favor of BTA Bank JSC against Triadou SPV SA for over $193 million. The court’s decision follows a December 2022 jury verdict that held Triadou liable for embezzlement and illicit enrichment. “In addition to the jury’s verdict, the judge, after studying the case…

With two weeks left before NATO’s forthcoming summit in Vilnius next month, Al-Monitor has learned Turkey is upping its demands for the alliance’s defense strategy, requesting that critical waterways connecting the Black Sea to the Aegean be referred to as the “Turkish Straits” rather than the “Straits.” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also continues to pressure Sweden to crack down on alleged Kurdish terrorist sympathizers as a precondition for ratifying the Nordic country’s addition to the alliance. In a phone call with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg on Sunday, Erdogan said that Ankara was engaging constructively with Sweden but that the latter’s stiffening of…

Bitget continues to execute on its commitment to expand globally. On Monday, the crypto exchange formally entered Turkey with a dedicated website – Bitget TR. Turkey is a fast-growing crypto market Its new website aims at offering localized services to the crypto enthusiasts in Turkey. The transcontinental country is rapidly growing in terms of crypto adoption. The launch of Bitget TR enables us to provide localized, convenient, and compliant crypto services to users in Turkey. Last month, Bitget had successfully registered as a Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) in Poland (read more). TokenInsight names it among the top four centralised exchanges in…

UNICEF said Thursday it is deeply concerned by reports of the Taliban pushing out international organizations from Afghanistan’s education sector and ordering them to hand over their activities to local nongovernmental groups. It’s the latest restriction on NGOs operating in the country after the ban imposed in December on Afghan female staff, allegedly because they weren’t wearing the Islamic headscarf, or hijab, correctly and weren’t complying with gender segregation in the workplace. In April, the ban was extended to the U.N. A WhatsApp voice note, purportedly from a senior education official in Kabul, says all international organizations have a one-month…

Recently, Kyrgyzstan, a former Soviet republic, hosted a momentous summit between the European Union and Central Asia. The event brought together the presidents of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, alongside a delegation from Turkmenistan, with the presence of European Council President Charles Michel. Notably, this summit followed a historic meeting just two weeks prior, which united the leaders of the five Central Asian republics with Chinese President Xi Jinping. This development is significant as it occurs amid China’s growing influence in the region, traditionally under Russian influence. Beijing has been seizing opportunities created by the Russia-Ukraine war and the strained relations…

The World Bank has just released its latest Global Economic Prospects report. The flagship report, which is issued twice a year, in January and June, examines developments, risks, and prospects related to the global, regional, and domestic economies. According to the report, in 2022, growth in Europe and Central Asia (ECA) plummeted to 1.2 percent—the slowest growth among the six EMDE regions. Excluding Russia and Ukraine, growth in ECA still weakened to 4.8 percent. The slowing of growth was broad-based, including most of the region’s economies, reflecting disruptions from the war in Ukraine, reduced business and consumer confidence, a surge…

Turkey’s President Tayipp Erdogan presses for dialogue aimed at Turkey’s accession to the European Union The Turkish President has said dialogue is needed to promote Turkey’s accession to the European Union. President Tayipp Erdogan has been speaking about the necessity of promoting dialogue for Turkey’s accession to the European Union. Ankara opened talks on the issue with Brussels 18-years-ago, but they have been at a virtual standstill for a long time. Now though, Mr. Erdogan insists it is necessary to increase contacts at all levels in the direction of Turkey’s full membership to the EU – which he said, has…

Turkey is preparing to take command of NATO forces in Kosovo. This will take place as part of a planned rotation in the autumn after the worst clashes in the region in a decade. Turkey, which has the second-largest military in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization after the United States, will take over KFOR from Italy in October. “The transfer of powers has been under consideration for some time, but the final decision was made only recently,” notes Bloomberg. The Turkish Ministry of Defense and NATO representatives have not yet commented on the information. Yesterday it was decided to extend…