Category: 2022

Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said Azerbaijan does not oppose Turkey’s dialogue efforts with Armenia and that the country actually supports it.

“Azerbaijan is not disturbed about normalization efforts between Turkey and Armenia. On the contrary, they support it and Ankara conducts normalization efforts in coordination with Baku,” Çavuşoğlu told a live broadcast on TRT Haber Thursday.

The foreign minister continued by saying that Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian has realized that isolation and occupation have not benefited the country. He also noted that he told his American counterpart Anthony Blinken that the United States should support dialogue efforts, as the Armenian diaspora abroad puts pressure on Armenia to avoid normalization.

“Both Armenia and Azerbaijan want comprehensive peace,” he said.

Despite being neighboring countries, Turkey and Armenia have seen many difficulties in their diplomatic relations since Yerevan’s declaration of independence in 1991.

The two countries have long been divided by a range of issues – from Armenia’s refusal to recognize their shared border to its occupation of Nagorno-Karabakh and the 1915 events between the Ottoman Empire and Armenians.

The bilateral relations, however, have gained a new dimension toward normalization recently, with Turkish and Armenian special envoys scheduled to meet in Moscow on Jan. 14 to lead dialogue between Ankara and Yerevan.

Turkey was one of the first countries to recognize Armenia’s independence on Sept. 21, 1991, after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

It sent humanitarian aid to Armenia, which was struggling with serious economic problems after declaring its independence, and helped Yerevan integrate with regional organizations, the international community and Western institutions.

Turkey also invited Armenia to the Black Sea Economic Cooperation as a founding member.

However, the bilateral relations deteriorated after Armenia’s occupation of Nagorno-Karabakh, internationally recognized as Azerbaijani territory.

Turkey ended direct trade with Armenia in 1993 and the border between the two countries was closed.

Following the war over Nagorno-Karabakh, Turkish-Armenian relations have entered a new phase, with Erdoğan saying Turkey is ready for dialogue with Armenia.

Addressing Azerbaijan’s Parliament on Jan. 16, 2021, Erdoğan said peace and stability in the Caucasus will benefit the entire world, not just countries of the region.

Meanwhile, the foreign minister also criticized France for openly embracing Islamophobia and the silence of other Western countries regarding the issue.

“Islamophobia has become state policy in France,” Çavuşoğlu said, as he also criticized the European Commission for remaining silent.

Muslims living in France have recently expressed concern about the rise of anti-Muslim sentiment in upcoming elections.

In November, France also blocked a campaign launched by the Council of Europe against anti-Muslim hate speech, promoting diversity among women and their freedom to wear the Muslim headscarf.

Anti-Muslim hatred has significantly risen in Europe in recent years. Far-right extremism and xenophobia have fueled Islamophobia in Western countries, where terrorist attacks by Daesh and al-Qaida, as well as a migrant crisis, are used as excuses to legitimize those views. France, home to the largest Muslim minority in Europe, estimated at 5 million or more out of a population of 67 million, took the helm of Islamophobic efforts to silence members of the minority group. Critics denounced Macron for trying to galvanize far-right citizens to vote for him in the 2022 April presidential elections.

Macron’s anti-Muslim rhetoric sparked a wave of anti-Muslim feelings among far-right groups. The number of Islamophobic incidents in France rose sharply last year. According to the National Observatory of Islamophobia, there were 235 attacks on Muslims in France in 2020, up from 154 the previous year, a 53% jump. Most of the attacks took place in the Ile-de-France (Greater Paris), Rhones-Alpes and Paca regions of the country. Attacks on mosques jumped 35% in the same year. A global coalition of 25 nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) asked the European Commission to investigate France for its state-sponsored support of Islamophobia.

The French bill was criticized worldwide because it targets the Muslim community and imposes restrictions on almost every aspect of their lives. It allows intervening in mosques and the associations responsible for their administration as well as controlling the finances of associations and NGOs belonging to Muslims. It also restricts the education choices of the Muslim community by preventing families from giving children home education. The bill also prohibits patients from choosing doctors based on gender for religious or other reasons and makes “secularism education” compulsory for all public officials.

Amid continuing tensions over the situation surrounding Ukraine, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met separately with French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Thursday.

Blinken spoke with Stoltenberg about the coordination of the trans-Atlantic response to ongoing Russian threats against Ukraine.

“Secretary Blinken reaffirmed the United States’ commitment to close cooperation and consultation with Allies and partners,” State Department spokesperson Ned Price said in a statement. “He underscored the U.S. readiness to impose swift, severe costs on Russia, should it pursue further military aggression against Ukraine.

“Secretary Blinken and Secretary General Stoltenberg discussed diplomatic efforts to urge Russia to de-escalate and engage in meaningful and reciprocal dialogue, as well as United States and Allies’ force posture adjustments to fortify the Alliance’s Eastern Flank,” said the statement.

During his call with the top French diplomat, Blinken “stressed the importance of continuing to support Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and ensuring Russia understands the high costs it would incur if it were to invade Ukraine further.”

The two diplomats also discussed ongoing efforts by the Minsk Group co-chairs to help Armenia and Azerbaijan resolve all outstanding issues related to or resulting from the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

“Secretary Blinken and FM Le Drian reviewed ongoing developments in the Sahel region of Africa. Secretary Blinken also raised the importance of NATO’s engagement with Asia-Pacific partners.

“He noted France’s leadership role in ending the COVID-19 pandemic and discussed additional areas for cooperation on that effort,” said Price.

ANKARA

Turkish forces have “neutralized” a total of 316 terrorists since the beginning of the year in 18 domestic and cross-border operations, Turkiye’s Ministry of National Defense said on Thursday.

Turkiye conducted five large and 13 medium-scale anti-terrorism operations since Jan. 1, ministry spokeswoman Maj. Pinar Kara told reporters in the capital Ankara.

Kara added at the press conference that the country’s security forces had neutralized 33,584 terrorists in Turkiye, Iraq, and northern Syria since July 24, 2015.

In 2022, a total of 94 people were caught and 2,831 others were prevented from illegally crossing Turkiye’s border from Iran, she said, adding that 296 people were caught trying to illegally cross Turkiye’s borders in January alone.

These 296 included 28 terrorists, of whom 12 were members of the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the group behind the 2016 defeated coup in Turkey, Kara said.

Turkish security forces also seized 2,500 packs of cigarettes, 7 kilograms (15.4 pounds) of drugs, and 76 various firearms during the same period, Kara added.

On planned terror attacks that Turkish forces successfully thwarted last month, Kara said 272 terrorists, including members of the Daesh/ISIS terror group and PKK/YPG, had been neutralized.

Turkish authorities use the term “neutralize” to imply the terrorists in question surrendered or were killed or captured.

In its more than 35-year terror campaign against Turkiye, the PKK — listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the US, and the EU — has been responsible for the deaths of at least 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants.

In its fight against Daesh/ISIS, Turkiye became one of the first countries to declare it a terrorist group in 2013.

Azerbaijan and Libya

On developments in Azerbaijan, Kara said that in January, a total of 5,236 square meters (56,360 sq feet) of land in the region had been cleared of mines to support the Azerbaijani army in areas liberated from Armenian occupation, adding that training in mine-clearing was ongoing.

During the 44-day conflict for the long-occupied region of Nagorno-Karabakh, Azerbaijan liberated several cities and over 300 settlements and villages that were occupied by Armenia for almost 30 years.

Prior to that, about 20% of Azerbaijan’s territory was under illegal occupation.

The fighting ended with a Russian-brokered agreement on Nov. 10, 2020 which was seen as a victory for Azerbaijan and a defeat for Armenia.

On Libya, Kara said Turkiye had so far trained a total of 8,500 Libyan forces and that training was ongoing for 1,500 others. She added that so far, 5,300 mines had been destroyed in Libya, as well.

On Nov. 27, 2019, Ankara and Tripoli signed two separate memoranda of understanding; one on military cooperation and the other on maritime boundaries of countries in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Greece, irregular migrants

Criticizing Greece over its “inhumane practices” against irregular migrants, Kara said Athens was ruthlessly trying to push back migrants, including women and children, in the Aegean Sea.

Kara’s remarks came after a total of 19 migrants were found frozen to death near the two countries’ mutual border earlier this month, stripped of their belongings, including clothes and shoes, before being pushed back to Turkiye by Greek border officials.

Greece, calling the incident a “tragedy,” denied involvement, with Migration and Asylum Minister Notis Mitarachi saying on Twitter that any suggestion that Greek forces had pushed the victims back would be “patently false.”

Turkish officials have severely criticized Athens over its treatment of migrants, accusing it of disregarding the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

F35 fighter jets

About ongoing talks with the US on F-35 fighter jets, sources at the National Defense Ministry said that following an initial meeting in Ankara on Oct. 27, the Turkish side is expecting an invitation from the US for a follow-up meeting this month.

The sources said that efforts on the supply and modernization of the F-16 fighters continued and that the second High-Level Defense Group Meeting between Turkish and the US defense authorities was in the planning stage.

Turkiye and the US agreed to continue talks to resolve their dispute on the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program, the Turkish Defense Ministry had said last October.

According to a statement, Turkish and US officials held a meeting in Ankara, in which they also discussed financial issues.

In 2019, Washington announced that it was taking Turkiye out of the F-35 program over Ankara’s purchase of Russia’s S-400 air defense system.

Turkey, however, stressed that the S-400s would not be integrated into NATO systems and pose no threat to the alliance or its armaments.

Ankara also repeatedly proposed setting up a commission to clarify the issue.

NATO meeting in Brussels

The sources also said that Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar, who had tested positive for COVID-19 last Sunday, was in “very good” condition.

They added that Akar was expected to attend a NATO meeting slated for Feb. 16-17 in Brussels.