Celik claimed that this motion would not advance dialogue or solutions regarding the matter and claimed that the motion would not provide an opportunity for the normalisation of Turkish-Armenian relations.

(…)

In response to a question on whether the Greek Cypriot side would launch an initiative in the EU following tensions regarding the exploration for oil in the Mediterranean, Minister Celik said:

"We certainly are discussing these matters. It is clear that the Greek Cypriot side is wrong, as is the unilateral stance taken by the EU. The approval of the Greek Cypriot side and the Turkish Cypriot side, which both own the common resource, is necessary for there to be explorations in the Eastern Mediterranean. The EU made a mistake by allowing the Southern Cypriot Greek Administration, which had not resolved its border issues or disputes with the Turkish Cypriots, to become an EU member. As you may well know, the areas that it has declared as its exclusive economic zone are in conflict with Turkey's continental shelf".

[05] The new "government" is planning to complete the construction of Gary Robb's unfinished houses in occupied Amaranta Valley

"Speaker of Parliament Teberruken Ulucay told Cyprus Today they would take the final steps on an amendment to citizenship laws which would give ministers power to sell off drug convict Robb's TRNC assets. The measure has been in place since March 31 last year, but could not be enforced without adoption of a new regulation", the paper writes. "[…] The new government will take all essential steps for the conclusion of this legal measure in a bid to end the problems of the home buyers", said Ulucay, adding that the issue would be now taken up by the new "interior minister" Aysegul Baybas Kair.

(CS)

[06] The Revival Party started an aid selecting campaign for the families of the persons who were "convicted" for the January 22 events

The leader of the women's branch of YDP Nurcan Ciftci stated that aid will be offered to the families of the "convicted" who are in need.

(CS)

[07] Erdogan promises to honor little girl with the Turkish flag if she is martyred; He continued his threats against the USA

According to a report by the Ahval news website, among the party members' cheers of "Chief! Take us to Afrin," President Erdogan invited a little girl dressed as a soldier to the podium. "If she is martyred, we will honor her with the flag, God willing," Erdogan said.

With 90% of Turks supporting a Turkish military operation in the Kurdish-controlled Afrin region of Syria, Erdogan has been using a gradually more nationalistic tone in his rallies.

Turkey will have three elections in a row in the upcoming year and a half. Pro-government columnist Abdulkadir Selvi argued that support for Erdogan's governing party had increased to nearly 50% since the Afrin operation was launched.

(…)

Also, Turkish daily Hurriyet Daily News (26.02.18) report that President Erdogan on Feb. 25 accused the U.S. of "betraying" Turkey for its support to the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a group dominated by the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), saying Ankara never "betrayed its allies."

Referring to the U.S. forces' collaboration with the YPG militia in Syria, during a speech in the southeastern province of Gaziantep Erdogan said: "Those coming from 11,000 kilometers away, those paying their [YPG] salaries, if you are our ally, do what an alliance requires, and if you are not, tell us so. We have taken steps with our allies and have not betrayed them. And we will not have respect for those who have betrayed us."

The Turkish President made the comments while addressing a huge crowd in the province ahead of the sixth ordinary provincial congress of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) in Gaziantep.

Erdogan also accused the U.S. of "standing behind" the Fethullahist Terrorist Organization (FETO), widely accused of masterminding a failed coup attempt in Turkey in 2016. "Do we have another state other than the Republic of Turkey? Where is the parallel state [referring to the FETO]? In Pennsylvania [where FETO leader Fethullah Gulen is based]. Who stands behind him [Gulen]? You there [in the U.S.] are hiding the one who undertook the coup from your strategical partner. If you are not giving him to us, I cannot explain this to my nation. So, what you should do is give this FETO coup plotter back to this country," he said.

Erdogan said also that there would be no stepping back in the fight against FETO and those found guilty would continue to pay a "heavy" price for what they did, including being given aggravated life imprisonment sentences.

Turkish authorities previously said that all procedures had been completed on the part of Turkey regarding Gulen's extradition and Ankara was waiting for the U.S. to launch the relevant process.

Erdogan also touched upon some countries' ongoing support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in his speech, saying "how it is possible that this man is being looked after."

"Assad is a murderer. Isn't he the one that has killed nearly one million of his citizens? Isn't he the one who, besides chemical weapons, killed his own citizens with conventional weapons? We have never stood by oppressors. We have never oppressed," he claimed.

Erdogan added that Turkey's ongoing "Operation Olive Branch" in Syria's Afrin district was undertaken to protect locals from oppression. "We have gone to Afrin for this reason, and we'll continue to stand against the oppressors," he said.

He said the number of militants so far "neutralized" in the operation currently reached 2,021 but vowed it will keep on increasing. "Until no terrorist is left there; we hopefully will expel all of the terrorists there and will hand those lands to their owners," he said.

(…)

[08] Yildirim: "No one should make a mistake in the Aegean and Mediterranean seas"

"No one should make a mistake [about that]," Y?ld?r?m added.

Referring to Turkey's operation in Afrin, he claimed that 350,000 people who have taken refuge in Turkey will return to their homes in Syria's Afrin region after the end of the operation.

He further claimed that with the ongoing "Operation Olive Branch," Turkey has not only protected its own territorial integrity but has also made important contributions to eliminate instability in the region.

He guaranteed Syrian refugees would return to their homes after the region has been cleared of Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) militants.

"Around 350,000 Afrin people, whom we have been hosting in Turkey, will return to their soil and will continue to live their lives in peace there," he said.

Y?ld?r?m said further that Turkey has not only provided security for people in the region and along borders, as well as territorial integrity, but it has also contributed to the annihilation of instability in the region.

"With the Euphrates Shield operation, which was carried out last year, an area more than 2,000 square kilometers was cleared from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD), the People's Protection Units (YPG) and the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) terrorist organizations. Today, Syrians who have previously been forced to leave their homes are able to return to their own land. As of today, 140,000 people have settled in this region. However, the number of children who have continued school there is only 160,000," Y?ld?r?m said.

(…)

[09] Bozdag: "The Operation Olive Branch will continue as planned"

"When we look at the UN Security Council Resolution, we see that the fight against terror organizations is outside its scope. Therefore, it will not affect Turkey's ongoing operation," Bozdag told reporters in central Yozgat province.

Turkey on Jan. 20 launched Operation Olive Branch to remove YPG/PKK-Daesh terrorists from Afrin, north-western Syria.

According to Turkish General Staff, the operation aims to establish security and stability along Turkish borders and the region as well as to protect the Syrian people from the oppression and cruelty of terrorists.

(…)

[10] "An early election on the Turkish horizon?"

"There have been a number of developments in Turkish politics, which have led political commentators to expect the possibility of a snap election in 2018.

President Tayyip Erdogan has repeatedly said all three elections would be on time in 2019—the municipal elections towards the end of March and the presidential and parliamentary elections in early November. Despite this however, there have still been speculations.

The following is a summary of developments that have caused commentators to suspect a snap election.

• Election alliance: The election alliance between Erdogan's ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Parti) and Devlet Bahceli's Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) is now official. The two parties have submitted a joint draft to the Turkish Parliament for changes in the election law, of which opposition parties have criticized for creating an extra advantage in the calculation of seats that can be won.

Taking the example of the MHP, smaller parties on the Islamist/nationalist front, like the Greater Unity Party (BBP), want to join the alliance in hopes of obtaining a few seats on the AK Parti list, which would be impossible for them to obtain otherwise. The acceleration of inter-party traffic makes observers believe Erdocan might want to take advantage of the opportunity as leverage.

• Afrin operation: Turkey's military operation in Syria—with the indirect support of Russia—against the U.S.-backed People's Protection Units (YPG), which it has launched as it sees it as the extension of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), with whom it has been at war for decades, has fostered the rising tide of nationalism in the country. The operation nowadays is the most popular issue in speeches by Erdogan, who knows well that it could be difficult to prolong the enthusiasm at the same level for a long time. The social democratic main opposition Republican People's Party's (CHP) leader, Kemal K?l?cdaroglu, said he threw his support behind Turkey's anti-terror operation. But both Erdogan and other AK Parti officials have been trying to show the CHP falling in line with the Kurdish problem-focused Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), which strongly opposes the operation. That is the antagonism factor trying to be generated.

• Populist economy: After many years, the government has decided to give financial and material incentives to farmers who want to breed livestock and import beef at the same time to curb rising prices in the market, provide tax incentives to industrials who would employ extra workers (even temporary ones), give long-term job guarantees to contracted workers in sub-contracting companies and public agencies (involving nearly one million people) and launch huge construction and engineering projects, which could keep the economy going and produce new (regardless of being temporary) jobs despite the burden the recent ones have put on the Treasury. Such populist moves in the past have always been associated with nearing snap elections, being another justification for speculations for an early election.

All these might be relevant factors for any country, not only Turkey, to go to early elections.

But the dominant factor for Erdogan is likely to be whether or not the alliance he has formed would lose key municipalities, AK Parti itself would lose its majority in Parliament and he would secure 50% plus one vote to get re-elected. Otherwise, the elections will go ahead as scheduled". TURKISH AFFAIRS SECTION

(AK / AM)

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