Turkish First Lady meets MPs, Somali diaspora in London

Turkish First Lady Emine Erdoğan met with representatives of the Global Somali Diaspora Organization and members of the U.K. parliament Wednesday following a NATO summit in London, the Turkish Presidency said in a statement.

Erdoğan met with members of the House of Lords, Conservative Baroness Sayeeda Warsi and Liberal Democrat Lord Qurban Hussain as well as Labour member of parliament Yasmin Qureshi and shadow minister Naz Shah at the Turkish embassy in London.

Multiculturalism and the refugee crisis were discussed during the meeting.

PKK terrorism a ‘real threat’ to Turkey, says UK PM

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Wednesday the terrorist threat from the PKK to Turkey was recognized during a quartet meeting with Turkish, French and German leaders.Speaking at a press conference following the NATO summit in London, Johnson said he met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel in a “good” meeting on the sidelines of the summit on Tuesday.“We discussed the great complexity of the situation in northern Syria,” Johnson said.Turkey urged to lead fight against all discriminationTrump calls Canada’s Trudeau ‘two-faced’NATO reiterates commitment to fight against terrorismJohnson said they “clearly recognized the huge pressure Turkey faces” from 4 million refugees it is accommodating and “the terrorist threat from the PKK.”“That must be acknowledged a real threat that Turkey faces,” the premier urged.Johnson said Turkey’s plans in northern Syria must be understood and “we must avoid any misunderstandings between allies within NATO.”“We have agreed to continue to those talks,” he added.Macron says quartet London summit on Syria ‘very useful’‘Two-faced’ Trudeau offers no apology to TrumpUS senator slams Macron on Daesh fighters commentsTurkey on Oct. 9 launched Operation Peace Spring to eliminate YPG/PKK terrorists from northern Syria east of the Euphrates River in order to secure Turkey’s borders, aid in the safe return of Syrian refugees, and ensure Syria’s territorial integrity.Under two separate deals with the U.S. and Russia, Turkey paused the operation to allow the withdrawal of YPG/PKK terrorists from the planned Syria safe zone.Ankara wants YPG/PKK terrorists to withdraw from the region so a safe zone can be created to pave the way for the safe return of some 2 million refugees.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 women, children and infants.Erdoğan condemns associating Islam with terrorism‘Turkey’s borders are NATO’s borders’

NATO reiterates commitment to fight against terrorism

All NATO members are committed to fight terrorism, NATO’s secretary general said on Wednesday.“All Allies remain committed to the fight against ISIS and our training mission in Iraq and the training mission in Afghanistan,” Jens Stoltenberg told a press conference after the NATO leaders’ summit in London.He reiterated that an attack on any member state will be seen as an attack on all members.“We stand together, all for one, and one for all. Our commitment to Article 5, the collective defense clause of our alliance, is ironclad,” said Stoltenberg.The meeting also discussed Russia and issues related to arms control, said the NATO chief.“We are committed to strong deterrence and defense, while remaining open to meaningful dialogue with Russia,” he said.“NATO is responding to Russia’s deployment of intermediate-range, nuclear capable missiles in a defensive and coordinated way. And we remain committed to strengthening effective arms control, disarmament, and non-proliferation,” he added.EU Commission aims at honest conversations with TurkeyTurkey urged to lead fight against all discrimination-China, Afghanistan, S-400sStoltenberg said that the alliance also discussed the rise of China for the first time.“Leaders agreed we need to address this together as an Alliance. And that we must find ways to encourage China to participate in arms control arrangements,” he said.He also said that the Alliance closely follows and supports peace talks in Afghanistan.”We believe that we need political negotiation, a solution in Afghanistan,” he added.On Turkey’s purchase of Russian S-400 defense systems, the NATO chief said that the S-400 will not be integrated into NATO systems and will “stand alone.””That’s a natural Turkish decision. Many allies have expressed concerns, I also expressed my concerns about the consequences of that decision,” Stoltenberg said. “What I can say is that a Russian air defense system S-400 will never be integrated into NATO.”Trump calls Canada’s Trudeau ‘two-faced’PKK terrorism a ‘real threat’ to Turkey, says UK PMIn April 2017, when its protracted efforts to buy an air defense system from the U.S. proved fruitless, Turkey signed a contract with Russia to acquire the S-400 shield.Opposing deployment of the Russian system, U.S. officials claimed that they would be incompatible with NATO systems and would expose its F-35 jets to possible Russian subterfuge.Turkey, however, stressed that the S-400 would not be integrated into NATO systems, and poses no threat to the alliance or its armaments.-Baltics, terrorist YPG/PKKA defense plan for the Baltics have been adopted, but proposals to designate the YPG/PKK group as terrorist were not discussed extensively, said Stoltenberg.”Today we have agreed to the updated plan for the Baltic countries and Poland. So I welcome that. And it shows that we are able to also move forward and update and revise plans, including the defense plans, for the Baltic countries and Poland as we do today,” he said.”It’s well known that there are different views among NATO allies on how to designate YPG and PYD, the Kurdish groups in Syria that’s publicly known. It was not addressed specifically in the meeting today, but it is an issue which has been discussed, among NATO allies, and it’s widely known that there are different views on that,” he added.”But we all agree on the importance of not jeopardizing the gains we made in the fight against terrorism,” he emphasized.‘Two-faced’ Trudeau offers no apology to TrumpUS senator slams Macron on Daesh fighters commentsNATO leaders have decided to meet again in 2021,” said Stoltenberg.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 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants. The YPG/PYG is the PKK’s Syrian offshoot.Reluctant to back NATO defense plans for Poland and the Baltics ahead of the summit, Turkey took issue with the alliance’s failure to recognize the threat it faces in northern Syria from the YPG/PKK terror group along its southern border.”NATO must act in a way that will meet the concerns of all allies. What is wanted for the Baltics should be wanted for us too,” Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said last week.Turkey on Oct. 9 launched Operation Peace Spring to eliminate YPG/PKK terrorists from northern Syria east of the Euphrates River in order to secure Turkey’s borders, aid in the safe return of Syrian refugees, and ensure Syria’s territorial integrity.Under two separate deals with the U.S. and Russia, Turkey paused the operation to allow the withdrawal of YPG/PKK terrorists from a planned Syrian safe zone.Ankara wants YPG/PKK terrorists to withdraw from the region so a safe zone can be created to pave the way for the safe return of some 2 million refugees.Erdoğan condemns associating Islam with terrorism‘Turkey’s borders are NATO’s borders’

Macron says quartet London summit on Syria ‘very useful’

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Wednesday the quartet London meeting with Turkish, British and German leaders was “very useful.”“I’m very happy that we had a very useful meeting yesterday with British Prime Minister, Chancellor Merkel and President Erdoğan, Macron told a press conference after the NATO leaders’ summit in London.The meeting, which helped clarify various issues, also “allowed us … to reaffirm our priority in fighting IS [Daesh], and our common commitment to the refugee issue and a political solution to the Syrian conflict,” the French leader said, in remarks translated into English.Trump calls Canada’s Trudeau ‘two-faced’PKK terrorism a ‘real threat’ to Turkey, says UK PMTurkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Tuesday met French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, both in London for a two-day NATO summit, alongside host British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, at 10 Downing Street, the residence of the prime minister.The leaders discussed latest developments in Syria and exchanged views on Turkey’s operation targeting the terrorist YPG/PKK in northern Syria.The quartet meeting “started a very useful dialogue and clarified certain misunderstandings with Turkey,” Macron said.NATO reiterates commitment to fight against terrorism‘Two-faced’ Trudeau offers no apology to TrumpHowever, the French leader reiterated his opposition to classifying terrorist PKK’s Syrian offshoot YPG as a terror group.“We’re combatting the PKK and those groups that are fighting against Turkey directly. But we’re not equating these different political and military groups to each other. So, we disagree on this. And that has not been changed,” said Macron.However, he added: “When … certain groups do have terrorist intentions on Turkish soil against the Turkish country, [for us] there’s no ambiguity about the fact that we will fight against those groups,” he added.Turkey on Oct. 9 launched Operation Peace Spring to eliminate YPG/PKK terrorists from northern Syria east of the Euphrates River in order to secure Turkey’s borders, aid in the safe return of Syrian refugees, and ensure Syria’s territorial integrity.Under two separate deals with the U.S. and Russia in mid-Oct., Turkey paused the operation to allow the withdrawal of YPG/PKK terrorists from the planned Syria safe zone.Ankara wants YPG/PKK terrorists to withdraw from the region so a safe zone can be created to pave the way for the safe return of some 2 million refugees.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 women, children and infants.Erdoğan condemns associating Islam with terrorism‘Turkey’s borders are NATO’s borders’

Erdoğan said Turkey gives the best answer to rising xenophobia worldwide by hosting the most refugees in the world.

During her meeting with the representatives of the Global Somali Diaspora Organization, Somalia’s future was discussed.

Praising Turkey’s support for Somalia’s development, Erdoğan said Turkey aims to make Somalia a country that can stand on its own feet.

“We talked about the future of the sister country Somalia. It is very important that the young Somalian people in the diaspora be sensitive to the problems of their country,” Erdoğan said early Thursday on Twitter.

Emine Erdoğan arrived Tuesday in London to accompany Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the NATO summit, which marked the organization’s 70th anniversary.

US senator slams Macron on Daesh fighters comments

U.S. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham took aim at French President Emmanuel Macron for his “cavalier” remarks on European Deash/ISIS fighters.”Very disturbed by the cavalier remarks made by President Macron about how the number of European ISIS fighters in Syria is a small problem in the grand scheme of things,” Graham said on Twitter.Graham’s rebuke came a day after U.S. President Donald Trump clashed with Macron over the repatriation of Daesh/ISIS terror group fighters currently held in northeastern Syria.Trump calls Canada’s Trudeau ‘two-faced’PKK terrorism a ‘real threat’ to Turkey, says UK PMSpeaking to reporters during a NATO leaders summit in London, Trump criticized Europe’s reluctance to take back its nationals, saying foreign fighters detained in Syria “are mostly from Europe.”He then turned to Macron and asked if the French president would “like some nice ISIS fighters?””I can give them to you. You can take every one you want,” Trump said before Macron quickly rebuffed the U.S. president, saying “let’s be serious.””A very large number of fighters you have on the ground are fighters coming from Syria, Iraq and the region,” Macron said. “It’s true that you have foreign fighters coming from Europe, but this is a tiny minority of the overall problem that you have in the region.”NATO reiterates commitment to fight against terrorismMacron says quartet London summit on Syria ‘very useful’Graham said there are hundreds of European Daesh fighters imprisoned in Syria and said the Paris and Nice attacks in France were carried out by “a handful of ISIS fighters.”In 2015, a coordinated armed attack took place in Paris, killing 130 people and wounding 368 others. Daesh claimed responsibility for the attack.In Nice, a French-Tunisian man drove a truck into crowds celebrating France’s National Day in Nice in 2016, killing 84 people.”President Trump is right to insist Europeans come up with a legal system based on the reality we are fighting a war — not a crime,” said Graham.”It is time for NATO to look at a detention system to deal with enemy combatants rather than using the traditional criminal justice system (which is ill-equipped to fight a war.),” he added.Erdoğan condemns associating Islam with terrorism‘Turkey’s borders are NATO’s borders’Turkish First Lady meets MPs, Somali diaspora in London

Erdoğan condemns associating Islam with terrorism

Turkey’s president on Wednesday condemned those who use the word ‘Islam’ as an adjective to describe terrorism.“Islam is a religion of peace,” Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said during an event at a venue in east London organized by the AK Party’s UK branch presidency where he and First Lady Emine Erdogan met representatives of the Turkish community following a NATO summit in London.Underlining that racism, discrimination, anti-Semitism and hostility towards Islam have recently increased in Europe, Erdoğan said far-right movements are mostly targeting Muslims and the Turkish community.“The last European Parliament elections have once again demonstrated that identity politics is becoming increasingly dominant in Europe,” he said, adding the media and some politicians have deepened these prejudices with their irresponsible statements.PKK terrorism a ‘real threat’ to Turkey, says UK PMNATO reiterates commitment to fight against terrorismErdoğan also touched on Turkey’s fight against terrorism.“Those who think they can discipline Turkey with terrorism and blackmail are embarrassed after failing to achieve their target.”He added that Turkey is “independent in its foreign policy” and does not seek approval of operations for its own security.Turkey will not leave the Operation Peace Spring area in northern Syria until it is cleared of terrorists, he underscored.Turkey launched Operation Peace Spring on Oct. 9 to eliminate YPG/PKK terrorists from northern Syria east of the Euphrates River in order to secure Turkey’s borders, aid in the safe return of Syrian refugees and ensure Syria’s territorial integrity.Under two separate deals with the U.S. and Russia, Turkey paused the operation to allow the withdrawal of YPG/PKK terrorists from a planned Syrian safe zone.Ankara wants YPG/PKK terrorists to withdraw from the region so a safe zone can be created to pave the way for the safe return of some 2 million refugees.Macron says quartet London summit on Syria ‘very useful’US senator slams Macron on Daesh fighters commentsIn 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 women, children and infants.Erdoğan also underlined that Turkey currently hosts more than four million Syrians who took refuge within its borders.Syria has been locked in a vicious civil war since early 2011 when the Bashar al-Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests with unexpected ferocity. Since then, hundreds of thousands of people are believed to have been killed and millions more displaced by the conflict.He also criticized the EU for failing to fulfill its pledge to financially support Turkey for refugees it hosts.On bilateral relations between Turkey and the U.K., Erdoğan said the deep-rooted cooperation between the two countries is developing day by day and is getting stronger by acquiring new dimensions.He stressed that the bilateral trade volume between Turkey and the U.K. reached $18.6 billion in 2018.‘Turkey’s borders are NATO’s borders’Turkish First Lady meets MPs, Somali diaspora in London

‘Turkey’s borders are NATO’s borders’

Multiple threats Turkey faces from international terrorist groups should be considered threats against NATO as well, the country’s communications director reiterated early Thursday following a NATO summit in London.“We must be on the same page about something as simple as identifying a terror organization,” Fahrettin Altun said on Twitter.Altun stressed that some of Turkey’s allies have supported, promoted and legitimized the PKK/YPG terror group, which recruits children, conducts ethnic cleansing and forces the migration of civilians.Altun underlined that the PKK/YPG must be treated for what they are: a “murderous terrorist organization” and a “threat to regional and international security.”PKK terrorism a ‘real threat’ to Turkey, says UK PMNATO reiterates commitment to fight against terrorismPraising Turkey’s anti-terror operation in northern Syria, Altun said that close to 400,000 Syrians have returned to their country thanks to Operation Peace Spring.“Our military operations are not only about fighting terrorists but establishing the conditions for the safe return of Syrians and ensuring stability in the region,” he said.Turkey launched Operation Peace Spring on Oct. 9 to eliminate YPG/PKK terrorists from northern Syria east of the Euphrates River in order to secure Turkey’s borders, aid in the safe return of Syrian refugees and ensure Syria’s territorial integrity.Under two separate deals with the U.S. and Russia, Turkey paused the operation to allow the withdrawal of YPG/PKK terrorists from a planned Syrian safe zone.Macron says quartet London summit on Syria ‘very useful’US senator slams Macron on Daesh fighters commentsAnkara wants YPG/PKK terrorists to withdraw from the region so a safe zone can be created to pave the way for the safe return of some 2 million refugees.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 women, children and infants.Altun also underlined that NATO needs a strategy to address the “increasingly complex challenges of our time.”“We often find issues of terrorism, refugees, regional strategy all wrapped up together to pose security threats to our alliance,” Altun said, adding this reality must be recognized for a stronger alliance.Altun also shared data about Turkey’s NATO defense spending.Turkey’s defense spending has reached 1.89% of its GDP with a 53% increase over the past five years, according to data he shared.“We’ll reach 2% by 2024 as was agreed in Wales Summit,” Altun said.He also stressed that Turkey has 1,200 service members participating in various NATO missions.Erdoğan condemns associating Islam with terrorismTurkish First Lady meets MPs, Somali diaspora in London