Politics
Turkish FM discusses regional developments with Kuwaiti counterpart
Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan spoke by phone with Kuwait’s foreign minister, Sheikh Jarrah Al Ahmad Al Sabah, on Thursday to discuss regional developments and the latest situation surrounding a temporary cease-fire, according to Turkish diplomatic sources.
The sources said the two officials exchanged views on ongoing tensions in the region and recent efforts aimed at maintaining the cease-fire and preventing further escalation.
No further details of the conversation were immediately disclosed.
Fidan has continued an intense round of telephone diplomacy over the past weeks with multiple counterparts, as well as regional and international officials, aiming to end the conflict since it broke out on Feb. 28 following the U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran.
Moreover, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has recently held a series of calls with more than 20 world leaders to support a cease-fire in the Iran conflict and push for lasting regional stability.
He also spoke with leaders from the Gulf and Muslim world, including Qatar’s emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Erdoğan also held talks with Kuwait’s Emir, Sheikh Mishal Al Ahmad Al Sabah, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, Iraqi Kurdish Regional Government President Nechirvan Barzani, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Sudan’s Sovereignty Council head Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, Oman’s Sultan Haitham bin Tariq, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto and Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.
The calls were part of an intensive diplomatic effort to prevent further escalation following Israeli and U.S. strikes on Iran and Tehran’s retaliation, and to ensure the cease-fire evolves into a sustainable peace process.
Şahin Biba, a candidate of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party), was elected as the acting mayor of Türkiye’s fourth-largest city, Bursa, on Thursday, days after his predecessor was arrested on charges of corruption.
A municipal assembly member, Biba secured 61 votes in the third round of the election in the northwestern province. The vote was marred by riots instigated by members of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP). Biba succeeds Mustafa Bozbey of the CHP. Authorities banned entry to the city hall during the election as assembly members cast their vote, but CHP officials attempted to force their way into the building, confronting riot police. Some 200 people broke a glass door leading to the second floor of the building after making their way into the building through a parking garage.
Speaking after the election, Biba called “everyone to respect the democratic process and the public will be reflected in the election.”
“You have to respect the will of the majority,” he said, pointing out that the People’s Alliance of the AK Party and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) retained it at the assembly.
Bursa has been a traditional stronghold of the AK Party since 2004. Bozbey, formerly a member of the Democratic Left Party (DSP), which governed the city before the start of the lengthy AK Party tenure, won the 2024 elections. He was detained along with dozens of others on charges of running a criminal organization, bribery, money laundering and zoning violations. After his arrest, he was fired from the office, necessitating a by-election.
Türkiye on Wednesday said it detained nearly 200 suspects linked to the Daesh terror group in nationwide raids, a day after three armed attackers launched an extended gun battle with police outside the Israeli consulate in Istanbul.
Justice Minister Akın Gürlek posted on X that officers had arrested 198 suspects in a simultaneous operation in 34 provinces against “the terrorist organization Daesh”.
A gunman was killed and two others wounded in Tuesday’s shootout with police outside the consulate, with two officers lightly wounded.
Twelve of those arrested have been placed in pre-trial detention, including the two wounded gunmen, who were hospitalized, according to the justice ministry.
No group has claimed responsibility for Tuesday’s shootout.
Turkish media reports said the gunman who was killed was a 32-year-old man linked to Daesh.
The interior ministry said he had ties to a “terrorist organization”, and that the two wounded gunmen were brothers with links to drug trafficking.
Türkiye strongly condemned Israel’s intensifying attacks on Lebanon, warning they are worsening the humanitarian situation and undermining efforts to achieve regional peace and stability, the Foreign Ministry said Tuesday.
In a statement, the ministry said the Israeli strikes have caused significant loss of life and continue despite a recently achieved cease-fire in the region. Lebanon’s civil defense agency said at least 254 people were killed in Israeli attacks, while the country’s health ministry said 837 others were injured.
The ministry criticized the Israeli government for undermining international efforts aimed at securing lasting peace and stability.
Türkiye reaffirmed its support for Lebanon’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, stressing the need to preserve the country’s stability.
The ministry also called on the international community to take immediate action to end Israel’s occupation of Lebanese territory and ensure the protection of civilians.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has held a series of calls with more than 20 world leaders to support a cease-fire in the Iran conflict and push for lasting regional stability.
Erdoğan’s diplomatic outreach included talks with U.S. President Donald Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, as well as key leaders from Europe, the Gulf and international institutions.
Among those contacted were French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
He also spoke with leaders from the Gulf and Muslim world, including Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen were also among those contacted, reflecting coordination with Western allies.
Erdoğan also held talks with Kuwait’s Emir Sheikh Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, Iraqi Kurdish Regional Government President Nechirvan Barzani, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Sudan’s Sovereignty Council head Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, Oman’s Sultan Haitham bin Tariq, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto and Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.
The calls were part of an intensive diplomatic effort to prevent further escalation following Israeli and U.S. strikes on Iran and Tehran’s retaliation, and to ensure the cease-fire evolves into a sustainable peace process.
Türkiye’s Foreign Ministry on Wednesday urged Greece to reverse persistent violations of the rights of the Turkish minority in Western Thrace, criticizing Athens for refusing to recognize the muftis (Muslim clerics) elected by the minority and for continuing to appoint religious leaders.
In a written statement, the ministry said Greece was disregarding the rights and freedoms of the Turkish minority guaranteed under the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne by not recognizing elected muftis. It also objected to what it called the imposition of state-appointed muftis under the guise of an “election process,” first in Didymoteicho and now in the regions of Rhodope and Xanthi.
“Such practices are unacceptable,” the statement said, calling on Greek authorities to abandon what it described as a “wrong course” and to respect the will of the minority community.
The ministry also said it was bringing the issue once again to the attention of the international community, stressing that Greece’s failure to recognize the religious leaders chosen by an officially recognized minority undermines international commitments. It added that ending what it called “repressive practices” against the minority would positively affect bilateral relations.
Separately, the Western Thrace Turkish Minority Advisory Board (BTTADK) also criticized the Greek government for extending the mufti appointment process to Komotini and Xanthi following earlier steps in Didymoteicho. The group said the process was carried out without consultation with minority representatives or institutions.
The advisory board argued that the practice violates both democratic principles and international agreements, including the 1913 Treaty of Athens and the Treaty of Lausanne. It said the long-standing dispute, unresolved for nearly four decades, has caused deep frustration within the minority.
Muftis and foundation administrators in Western Thrace are currently appointed by the Greek state, a system opposed by many members of the minority, who argue they should be allowed to elect their own religious leaders.
Greece’s Western Thracian Turkish community often complains of double standards and continuing inequalities in the country, namely socioeconomic discrimination, lack of equal access to quality education for children of minorities or political rights.
The issue also looms over Turkish-Greek relations, which have been strained for decades over several disputes regarding territorial claims in the Aegean.
Last month, speaking at a joint news conference with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan also said that he conveyed to Mitsotakis Türkiye’s expectation that the Turkish minority in Western Thrace fully benefit from their religious freedoms and educational rights, calling these protections the “human dimension” of relations that must be safeguarded with historic responsibility.
He added that while longstanding disputes in the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean are complex, they are “not unsolvable” within the framework of international law, and said the two leaders share a common view that diplomacy is the most constructive path forward.
Authorities on Thursday detained two members of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) on charges of corruption and fraud.
Ümit Erkol, the CHP chair for the capital Ankara branch, was detained in an investigation into corruption in the western city of Izmir, a CHP stronghold. Ömer Eşki, mayor of Izmir’s Bornova district, was also detained on charges of fraud and forgery. Eşki was facing an investigation for putting a suspect on the municipality’s payroll, awarding the suspect a no-show job.
The probe that netted Erkol centered on a building cooperative in Izmir that was reportedly entangled in corruption. Izmir’s former mayor, Tunç Soyer, and dozens of others, including municipal bureaucrats and the CHP’s former chair for Izmir, were arrested last year in the same probe. Soyer was acquitted of one of the charges in the case, but remained in jail as he faces other charges of corruption.
More than 20 mayors governing CHP municipalities have been detained or arrested in the past two years on charges of corruption, along with dozens of municipal bureaucrats.
The CHP claims the arrests and detentions are politically motivated, while the government denies any intervention in the judicial processes. So far, the most high-profile name arrested in corruption investigations was Ekrem Imamoğlu, mayor of Istanbul. Shortly after his arrest in March 2025, the CHP declared him as its future presidential candidate, confirming rumors that Imamoğlu would run against incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
The party’s chair, Özgür Özel, however, appears to be taking on a bet he may lose on Imamoğlu. Earlier this week, Özel told a parliamentary group meeting of the CHP that the arrested mayor “will not deserve presidential candidacy if anyone can prove he enriched himself after taking office.” Imamoğlu is already ineligible to run for president as his university diploma was revoked on charges of forgery.
Nevertheless, the CHP has confidence that he will be acquitted of the charges of corruption. A report published by the Sabah newspaper on Thursday shows Özel’s challenge to authorities to prove Imamoğlu’s corruption may backfire. The report, based on the findings in the case against the former mayor, indicates Imamoğlu likely accumulated inexplicable wealth after taking office in 2019.
A 2025 report by the Financial Crimes Investigation Board (MASAK) included in the case shows that three villas worth about TL 2.23 billion ($50 million) were sold for TL 15 million to a company owned by Imamoğlu, by businessperson Ali Nuhoğlu, a suspect in the Imamoğlu corruption case. The report also includes the acquisition of 117 properties by Imamoğlu’s privately run construction company during his tenure as Istanbul mayor. The investigation could not find the source of cash paid for the acquisition between December 2020 and December 2023, raising suspicions that the cash was collected through bribes Imamoğlu and his alleged criminal network acquired, according to the investigators.
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