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Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan tells Al Jazeera the only ‘takeover’ in Syria was ‘the will of the Syrian people’. Turkiye’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has denied a claim by incoming United States President Donald Trump that the toppling of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad was an “unfriendly takeover” by Turkiye. In an interview with Al Jazeera broadcast on Wednesday, the …

Foreign Minister

In the final days leading to his ouster, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad complained to Iran's foreign minister that Turkey was actively supporting Sunni rebels in their offensive to topple him, two Iranian officials told Reuters this week. Iran had backed Assad in Syria's long civil war and his overthrow was widely seen as a major blow to the Iran-led "Axis …

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is pressing ahead with efforts to unify Middle East nations in support of a peaceful political transition in Syria. Middle East latest: Blinken urges Mideast nations to support a peaceful Syrian political transition He is meeting on Friday with Turkey's foreign minister after talks with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to try to bring Turkey …

Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan emphasises importance of national unity and sovereignty after fall of Bashar al-Assad government. Doha, Qatar – Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has said the opposition takeover in Syria should not pose a threat to its neighbours as he stressed that help was needed to reconstruct the country. Speaking during a news conference at the Doha Forum …

ANKARA, Turkey — The recent rapid advance by opposition fighters in Syria shows that Syrian President Bashar Assad must reconcile with his own people and hold talks with the opposition, the Turkish foreign minister said Monday. At a joint news conference in Ankara with his Iranian counterpart, Hakan Fidan said Turkey and Iran, which support opposing sides in Syria’s civil …

SKOPJE, North Macedonia — Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Thursday his country hopes to boost its trade with North Macedonia to $2 billion a year, or roughly double the current volume with the Balkan country. Fidan said following talks in the North Macedonian capital with North Macedonia’s Foreign Minister Timcho Mutsunski that Ankara wants to establish a “strategic council …

ANKARA, Turkey — The foreign ministers of Greece and Turkey agreed on Tuesday to revive high-level contacts between their countries and seek “new approaches” to problems as part of efforts to improve ties between the two NATO allies who are at loggerheads over a string of decades-old disputes. Discussions between Greece’s Giorgos Gerapetritis and Turkey’s Hakan Fidan were held in …

Turkey says PKK is a threat to Iraqi security, ignoring Baghdad’s complaints about Ankara’s air attacks on Iraqi soil. Turkey expects the government in Iraq to officially recognise the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or the PKK, as a “terrorist” organisation, mirroring Ankara and its Western allies, its foreign minister says. “Sinjar, Makhmour, Qandil, Sulaimaniyah, and many other Iraqi districts have been …

ANKARA, Turkey — Turkey’s foreign minister said Tuesday that Swedish authorities’ failure to prevent Quran-burning protests in their country is raising security concerns and questions about Sweden’s credentials for possible NATO membership. But Hakan Fidan said Turkey would still approve Sweden’s membership in the military alliance if Stockholm “completes its homework” and presses ahead with efforts to address Turkey’s concerns. …

An internationally respected former banker gets top economy job, powerful intelligence chief is named foreign minister. Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has named former economy chief and internationally respected ex-banker Mehmet Simsek as treasury and finance minister as he unveiled his new cabinet. Hakan Fidan, Erdogan’s intelligence chief and a former soldier, was named as the new foreign minister replacing …