Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) President Tufan Erhürman called on Greek Cypriot leader Nikos Christodoulides to unconditionally accept a rotating presidency, saying he would immediately join United Nations-mediated talks if the principle were recognized.

Speaking during a televised program, Erhürman said he was ready to attend a trilateral meeting with Christodoulides and U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, provided the Greek Cypriot side accepted political equality without linking the rotating presidency to security arrangements or guarantees.

“Let him accept the rotating presidency unconditionally, and I will come immediately,” Erhürman said, adding that he had conveyed the proposal through Guterres’ personal envoy, Maria Angela Holguin, but received no response.

Erhürman criticized the lack of progress on seven confidence-building measures raised by Guterres, noting that Christodoulides had instead presented 19 new proposals.

He also explained why a trilateral meeting had not taken place in New York, saying he had informed the U.N. envoy of his willingness to participate if there was a realistic prospect of agreement on two or three concrete issues.

“I don’t want meetings just for show. I don’t want photo opportunities. I want to get things done,” he said.

The Turkish Cypriot leader stressed that negotiations should deliver tangible results rather than merely resume without a clear path toward a settlement.

“I negotiate to achieve a solution, not simply for the sake of negotiating,” he said.

Erhürman reaffirmed his commitment to pursuing a results-oriented process, emphasizing the importance of confidence-building measures and his four-point framework for future negotiations.

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A strong and resilient partnership between Türkiye and Canada is essential to addressing shared threats and seizing new opportunities amid mounting geopolitical uncertainty, growing humanitarian challenges and an increasingly complex global security environment, Türkiye’s Directorate of Communications said Thursday.

The statement followed the launch of a strategic partnership between President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney during the latter’s visit to Ankara, marking a new phase in bilateral relations built on 83 years of diplomatic ties.

The directorate said the partnership would fundamentally deepen cooperation between the two NATO allies, supporting shared objectives of expanding political dialogue, boosting economic growth and trade, advancing technological development and strengthening collective security.

The two countries, which reaffirmed their commitment to shared values including human rights, individual freedoms, democracy and the rule of law, agreed to pursue closer cooperation across a broad range of strategic sectors.

According to the statement, the partnership reflects a commitment to unlocking the full potential of bilateral relations by expanding trade and investment, strengthening cooperation on energy projects and natural resources, promoting defense and security collaboration and bringing governments and societies closer together.

To translate these commitments into concrete results, Erdoğan and Carney launched a three-year action plan structured around four pillars: trade, investment and innovation; energy and climate cooperation; defense and security; and government-to-government dialogue and people-to-people ties.

The leaders reaffirmed their intention to deepen cooperation in accordance with a previously signed declaration of intent on defense cooperation.

They also agreed to strengthen coordination in support of peace and security across the Euro-Atlantic region and beyond, with particular attention to Ukraine, the South Caucasus and the Middle East, including Gaza.

The statement welcomed the signing of a memorandum of understanding on defense sector partnerships between Türkiye’s Presidency of Defense Industries (SSB) and Canada’s Department of Foreign Affairs.

Building on the earlier declaration of intent, the memorandum is designed to facilitate the expansion of defense industry partnerships and support continued discussions on additional opportunities for cooperation in areas of mutual interest.

The agreement represents another step toward closer collaboration between the defense sectors of the two NATO allies.

Beyond military and defense industry cooperation, Erdoğan and Carney emphasized the importance of launching dialogue to strengthen mutual legal assistance in criminal matters and cooperation on extradition.

The two countries also aim to institutionalize regular diplomatic engagement while strengthening connections between the people of Türkiye and Canada.

The leaders agreed to establish an annual Türkiye-Canada Strategic Dialogue to provide a platform for reviewing bilateral priorities and advancing cooperation.

They also committed to continuing annual meetings of the Joint Economic and Trade Committee, alongside political-military consultations and counterterrorism consultations.

The two governments pledged to strengthen cooperation on consular affairs and migration while exploring measures that could facilitate travel and mobility between their countries.

The statement also highlighted plans to encourage cultural exchanges and closer engagement between Turkish and Canadian diaspora communities, reflecting a broader effort to strengthen relations beyond government institutions.

Erdoğan and Carney agreed that their foreign ministers would oversee implementation of the three-year action plan, ensuring that commitments made under the strategic partnership translate into practical cooperation.

According to the directorate, the roadmap is intended to deepen bilateral relations, promote international security and support the development of prosperous and environmentally sustainable economies.

The leaders emphasized that stronger cooperation would help both countries respond more effectively to shared challenges while creating new opportunities for businesses, investors and citizens.

Carney thanked the Turkish government for its hospitality during what the statement described as the first visit to Türkiye by a Canadian head of government.

Türkiye also welcomed an invitation for Erdoğan to visit Canada at a mutually convenient date, signaling the two governments’ intention to maintain high-level engagement as they work to implement their new strategic partnership.

The directorate stressed that the partnership comes at a time when greater international cooperation is increasingly important in confronting security threats, economic uncertainty and humanitarian challenges.

By strengthening their political, economic and security ties, Türkiye and Canada aim to establish a more resilient relationship capable of addressing common challenges while taking advantage of emerging opportunities in an evolving global landscape.

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Turkish authorities arrested 34 suspects, including the current and former mayors of Adana’s Çukurova district, in a corruption investigation involving alleged bribery, procurement irregularities and bid-rigging, judicial sources said Friday.

The arrests came as a separate investigation into alleged tender fraud at Milas Municipality in southwestern Muğla province led to 20 suspects, including the district’s mayor, being referred to court.

In Adana, a court ordered the arrest of Çukurova Mayor Emrah Kozay, former Mayor Soner Çetin and three deputy mayors, among 34 suspects detained pending trial. The remaining 15 suspects, including another deputy mayor, were released under judicial supervision.

The investigation, launched by the Adana Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, centers on allegations of irregularities in municipal tenders and direct procurement procedures between 2024 and 2026.

Prosecutors allege that municipal officials improperly exploited exemptions under Türkiye’s Public Procurement Law to facilitate purchases through a municipality-affiliated company.

The investigation also involves allegations that contractors were required to pay bribes to receive payments for completed work and that certain municipal employees collected salaries without reporting for duty.

Authorities are investigating suspected criminal organization activities, bribery, aggravated fraud and bid-rigging.

A three-member panel of experts examined procurement records from 2024 through 2026, producing a report that, alongside other evidence, prompted coordinated operations by provincial gendarmerie units on Oct. 19.

Of the 51 suspects initially targeted, 49 were detained. Authorities are continuing efforts to locate the remaining two.

Çukurova Mayor Kozay had previously announced his resignation from the Republican People’s Party (CHP) and said he would continue his political career under the New Party (YP).

Separate probe in Muğla

Meanwhile, prosecutors in Muğla launched a separate investigation into allegations that fraudulent documents were used to obtain work experience certificates for public procurement contracts involving Milas Municipality.

Police detained 35 suspects, including Milas Mayor Fevzi Topuz and his son, identified by the initials D.T., during simultaneous operations across 13 provinces on Oct. 20.

Twenty suspects were referred to court following police questioning, while the remaining 15 were released.

Investigators allege that contracts worth approximately TL 2.58 billion (approximately $52 million) involved work falsely documented as completed.

According to information obtained from the Public Procurement Authority, eight companies allegedly used fraudulent work experience certificates to participate in 25 tenders with a combined value of approximately TL 3.71 billion.

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Mustafa Sarıgül, a larger-than-life figure in Turkish politics, is now embroiled in investigations targeting his close circle. Soon after the arrest of his two sons in a fraud and money laundering probe, the lawmaker for the main opposition New Party (YP) saw his personal bodyguard, Ömer B., detained on Thursday along with four other suspects.

The detention was linked to an investigation into the Sarıgül family, including the lawmaker’s ex-wife. However, media reports suggest there may be more to the investigation into Ömer B., who was reportedly the man seen in a video that surfaced online two years ago. The video, which showed B. having sex with Mustafa Sarıgül, was “fake,” according to the lawmaker, who shared a report by independent investigators verifying the footage’s inauthenticity. The head of the firm that conducted the verification was also among those detained in the investigation into allegations that the Sarıgül family set up companies in Türkiye and abroad to launder money. The Sabah newspaper reported on Thursday that the firm had asked Sarıgül for $200,000 to prepare a fake report claiming the sex video was not authentic.

Ömer, Sarıgül’s younger son, was the first to be detained in the money laundering investigation, while his other son, Emir, has not turned himself in for days amid claims that his father used his parliamentary immunity to hide him in his own home.

Sarıgül alternated between business and politics throughout his career and made a name for himself as Türkiye’s youngest lawmaker in the 1987 elections. He rose to further prominence as mayor of Şişli, an upscale Istanbul district, from 1999 to 2014. After a brief stint leading a political movement, he rejoined the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) in 2013, years after unsuccessfully challenging CHP leader Deniz Baykal in intra-party elections. Baykal stepped down in 2010 following a separate sex video scandal.

Sarıgül left the CHP again and established a new party in 2020. He returned to the party ahead of the 2023 general elections and was elected to represent his hometown of Erzincan in Parliament. He joined the YP after it was founded last July by former CHP Chair Özgür Özel. His latest stint in the CHP made him familiar to younger generations, as Sarıgül once again shot to fame with bizarre social media videos in which he is often seen slapping nearby objects and people in alternating fits of excitement and anger.

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President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan told journalists on Wednesday that he would soon visit the Syrian capital Damascus.

He said preparations were underway for the landmark visit, but the date had yet to be determined. It will be the first such visit by Erdoğan since revolutionary forces led by Ahmed al-Sharaa ousted the Baathist regime in 2024.

Türkiye is among the biggest supporters of the new administration in Damascus and cooperates with it in nearly every field from defense to education as the post-Baathist country strives to erase the traces of years of civil war.

Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and the head of the National Intelligence Organization (MIT) were among the first high-ranking officials to visit Syria after the revolution, and since then, numerous official visits have been held between the two countries, along with an exchange of ambassadors in the post-war era.

Syria was also on the agenda of Erdoğan’s address to lawmakers of his Justice and Development Party (AK Party) earlier on Wednesday. He recalled the capture of Mihraç Ural, a senior terrorist originating from southern Türkiye, who was among the perpetrators of a notorious massacre in Syria’s Banyas in 2013 that targeted civilians opposing the Baathist regime.

Syrian authorities have captured Ural, also a suspect in the 2013 Reyhanlı bombings that killed 53 people in southern Türkiye, earlier this month. Erdoğan said on Wednesday that the capture was the work of “secret heroes” of MIT and Syrian intelligence. According to earlier media reports, Syria’s General Intelligence Directorate detained Ural as he attempted to escape across the border. Ural fled Türkiye for Syria in 1982 after being imprisoned over his involvement in illegal organizational activities. Following the outbreak of the Arab Spring and anti-government protests in Syria, Ural reactivated the Popular Front for the Liberation of the Sanjak of Iskenderun-Syrian Resistance, a sectarian-based militant organization, in early 2012.

Erdoğan told the party meeting that he raised the voice of the oppressed when the Banyas massacre happened, “when the cries of children were everywhere.”

“When the people of Syria wondered when they would be spared, we told them that Allah was with them and those who have been patient would achieve victory,” quoting an Arabic saying that is also believed to be a hadith by the Prophet Muhammad.

Erdoğan stressed that he was speaking out against the crimes of the Baathist regime at a time when “those who lecture Türkiye, both at home and abroad, on democracy, the rule of law and human rights had fallen silent.”

“We wholeheartedly believe, as the late (poet) Sezai Karakoç so eloquently put it, that ‘victory grows with every defeat.’ In those days, when oppression, cruelty and barbarism surrounded us, we said, ‘Whatever they do is in vain; there is a decree from the heavens,” he said, quoting Karakoç again, from a poem Erdoğan often invokes in his speeches.

“Allah did not let us down before either our nation or the oppressed people of Syria. Almighty Allah granted our Syrian brothers and sisters a magnificent victory,” he said.

Erdoğan said the Syrian people had achieved an extraordinary victory on Dec. 8, 2024, one that would be remembered for years to come and passed down from generation to generation, from heart to heart. He said that, following years of oppression, they were witnessing the gradual return of peace, tranquility and stability to Syria despite Israel’s severe provocations. Under the resolute leadership of al-Sharaa, he added, the Syrian people were building their common future in unity and solidarity.

“We believe that a brand-new chapter will open in Syria once the integration process in the north is completed,” Erdoğan said. “As Türkiye, we will continue to stand by Syria at every stage where our support is needed, and we are striving to fulfill our responsibilities in this process to ensure the welfare and peace of the Syrian people.”

Erdoğan also pointed to significant developments in Syria that, he said, should serve as a lesson, particularly for tyrants and murderers. Stressing that the cries for justice of the oppressed had not gone unanswered and that justice, however slowly, was being served, Erdoğan continued: “Wherever they flee, the criminals who take pleasure in killing children are being tracked down in the lairs where they hide and eliminated one by one. The time has come to hold to account those who threaten Türkiye, those who spilled the blood of 248 innocent people in Banyas and 53 of our citizens in Reyhanlı, and those vile individuals who struck heroic poses over the bodies of Syrian children,” he said.

“My brothers and sisters, have no doubt: The time will come for others to answer for their actions, too. We are deeply pleased that justice will ultimately be served, even if belatedly and even at the cost of the lives of hundreds of thousands of oppressed Syrians,” he added.

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Justice Minister Akın Gürlek highlighted the plight of Palestinians at an international summit by the OECD in Istanbul on Wednesday.

Gürlek said OECD countries must speak out forcefully to defend the rights of 1.5 million people displaced in Gaza, calling for a global justice system that would put an end to vandalism by Israeli settlers, who are backed by the state and cannot even tolerate Palestinian-owned olive trees, a universal symbol of peace.

Speaking at the 2026 OECD Global Roundtable on Equal Access to Justice in Istanbul, Gürlek welcomed the OECD’s efforts to bring participants together around the principle that justice is fundamental to economic development. Recalling the International Justice Summit held in Istanbul on Oct. 8-9, Gürlek said participants from different countries had discussed their shared responsibility to ensure that justice services, with human dignity at their core, are delivered fairly and without delay. He said the summit had produced highly beneficial results.

Gürlek recalled that Palestinian Justice Minister Sharhabil al-Zaim, who had been invited to the meeting but was not allowed to leave the country by the Israeli government, was unable to attend. He said the incident had once again demonstrated to the international public the Israeli government’s disregard for the universal justice system.

Gürlek said the people of Palestine and Gaza were those most in need of achieving the goal of access to justice for all, one of the main topics of the gathering. He stressed that this need could not be separated from the principles of peace and development that had guided the OECD’s establishment.

Referring to the organization’s origins, Gürlek said the OECD was an important international platform that had made significant efforts to promote global development and social prosperity. He noted that it had particularly contributed to strengthening Europe’s position in the global economy and helping the continent serve as a model through its development policies.

He said Europe needed the OECD’s effective presence more than ever, citing youth movements in France, discontent caused by the rising cost of living and its social repercussions across Europe, years of war and tensions in Eastern Europe, the rise of the far right, growing risks related to energy costs and economic stagnation as major developments putting pressure on the global economy. Gürlek stressed that these developments were increasing social unrest and anxiety about the future while putting at risk the universal values embraced by developed societies. At a time when many humanitarian values were struggling to find practical expression, he said, the situation increased the likelihood of more serious problems and negatively affected people’s expectations regarding access to justice.

Gürlek said Türkiye had joined the OECD as a founding member and had sincerely supported international peace in every field, including the economic and political spheres, and would continue to do so.

“We attach great importance to the fundamental purposes for which international organizations are established. As the Republic of Türkiye, we fully understand the importance of sincerely contributing to these collective cooperation efforts for global peace and a global justice order,” he said.

Emphasizing that one of the most important pillars of global peace was the effective functioning of a universal legal system that protects human dignity, Gürlek said well-functioning justice systems were essential to maintaining social order, sustaining economic activity and ensuring security.

He said countries in an increasingly globalized world needed stronger cooperation in every field. “Therefore, global stability requires shared development models, trade relations, secure logistics routes, cultural exchanges, the equitable distribution of natural resources, the convergence of knowledge and technology on common ground and, most importantly, the proper and timely implementation of the global justice system,” he said. “When the global justice system has all the necessary infrastructure and rights are protected through a universal approach that recognizes no borders, it will become a vital lifeline sustaining global peace.”

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