عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
World

Turkey Hopes to Launch New Round of Talks with Greece

Turkish drilling vessel Yavuz is escorted by Turkish Navy frigate TCG Gemlik (F-492) in the eastern Mediterranean Sea off Cyprus (File Photo: Reuters)
Turkish drilling vessel Yavuz is escorted by Turkish Navy frigate TCG Gemlik (F-492) in the eastern Mediterranean Sea off Cyprus (File Photo: Reuters)
TT
TT

Turkey Hopes to Launch New Round of Talks with Greece

Turkish drilling vessel Yavuz is escorted by Turkish Navy frigate TCG Gemlik (F-492) in the eastern Mediterranean Sea off Cyprus (File Photo: Reuters)
Turkish drilling vessel Yavuz is escorted by Turkish Navy frigate TCG Gemlik (F-492) in the eastern Mediterranean Sea off Cyprus (File Photo: Reuters)

Turkey has announced plans to hold a new round of talks with Greece in Ankara to reduce tension in the eastern Mediterranean and the Aegean Sea.

Turkey’s Defense Minister, Hulusi Akar, said Friday that Turkish and Greek officials will meet in Ankara in the coming days to address issues that have led to rising tensions.

Akar said that his country will not neglect its rights in the Aegean and the eastern Mediterranean, stressing that “Cypriots are our brothers.”

“We are ready to do whatever it takes to protect the rights and interests of our Cypriot brothers there.”

Turkey and its armed forces will not neglect their rights and the rights of Northern Cyprus, said Akar, adding that any solution that excludes Ankara and the Turkish side of the divided island is doomed to fail.

In response, Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias accused the Turkish leadership of seeking to return to the days of the “Ottoman empire,” noting that his country asked the European Union to impose sanctions on Turkey if it continues its violations in the eastern Mediterranean and the Aegean Sea.

Dendias indicated that his country does not refuse to negotiate with Turkey but there currently isn’t a path for negotiation, and Athens cannot negotiate under threat.

The FM was responding to Ankara's announcement that it could pause energy-exploration operations in the eastern Mediterranean for a while pending talks with Greece.

In a move that confirms Ankara’s aim to avoid any clash with Greece, the Turkish ship, Barbaros Hayreddin Pasa, arrived off the coast of Northern Cyprus to continue exploration activities.

The vessel will support ships Tanux-1 and Apollo Moon conduct seismic research activity in accordance with international law in Zone F, which falls within sectors 2 and 3, which Cyprus has defined as part of its exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

The European Union opposes Turkey's exploration activities off the coast of Cyprus, its member state, and believes these activities are illegal which could lead to the imposition of a symbolic sanctions package on Ankara if it continues its violations.

Meanwhile, Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn said he believes that a Turkish accession to the EU is impossible within the next 15 to 20 years.

Asselborn told the German daily, Die Welt, that the significant violations of human rights in Turkey are the reason why a Turkish accession to the EU in the near future seems far from reality.

However, the FM stated that the entry negotiations should not be completely halted, adding that the last municipal elections seem to prove a significant presence of a democratic movement, noting that he does not wish to take people’s hope away.

Negotiations between Turkey and the EU started in 2005, but they have been frozen since 2012.

Most Viewed

 
 
World

Iran Rejects Trump Claims of US Control over Hormuz as 'Lies'

An Iranian woman walks next to an anti-US billboard at the Enghelab square in central Tehran, Iran, 13 August 2026. Tensions between Iran and the US remain high as opposing claims persist over shipping control in the Strait of Hormuz. EPA/ABEDIN TAHERKENAREH
An Iranian woman walks next to an anti-US billboard at the Enghelab square in central Tehran, Iran, 13 August 2026. Tensions between Iran and the US remain high as opposing claims persist over shipping control in the Strait of Hormuz. EPA/ABEDIN TAHERKENAREH
TT
TT

Iran Rejects Trump Claims of US Control over Hormuz as 'Lies'

An Iranian woman walks next to an anti-US billboard at the Enghelab square in central Tehran, Iran, 13 August 2026. Tensions between Iran and the US remain high as opposing claims persist over shipping control in the Strait of Hormuz. EPA/ABEDIN TAHERKENAREH
An Iranian woman walks next to an anti-US billboard at the Enghelab square in central Tehran, Iran, 13 August 2026. Tensions between Iran and the US remain high as opposing claims persist over shipping control in the Strait of Hormuz. EPA/ABEDIN TAHERKENAREH

Iran's military on Thursday rejected as "lies" remarks by US President Donald Trump claiming control of the Strait of Hormuz, saying the strategic waterway was fully under Iranian control.

"The false claims of the United States that ships are passing through the Strait of Hormuz normally ... are nothing more than lies and fabrications," said Ebrahim Zolfaghari, the spokesperson for Iran's central military command, Khatam-al Anbiya.

"The Strait of Hormuz is, as in the past, under the complete management and control of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and no commercial ship or tanker without the permission and supervision of the powerful Iranian armed forces has had and will have the possibility of safe passage through this strait," he said in a video carried by state television.

Iran has kept control of Hormuz, a vital energy conduit, since the outbreak of the war in the Middle East on February 28, requiring vessels to obtain permission and pay transit fees before using the waterway.

In a Wednesday Truth Social post, Trump claimed that the US "has total control over the Strait of Hormuz. I THINK WE WILL KEEP IT!"

"Our Naval Blockade is being called, by everyone, 'A WALL OF STEEL,' and there is nothing Iran can do about it," he added.

On Thursday, the head of Iran's Basij forces under the Revolutionary Guards also said that the strait was under Iranian control.

"Today, you see that the Strait of Hormuz is under the management and control of the Islamic republic, and our country continues on its path in complete security," said Hossein Taeb according to state television.

Iran's top diplomat Abbas Araghchi on Thursday said the US makes miscalculations in regard to the waterway.

"The US has long miscalculated due to intelligence failures. Case in point: The war on Iran. Now, an even bigger miscalculation on the Strait of Hormuz," he said on X.

Iranian parliamentarian and member of the national security commission Behnam Saeedi said the strait is closed to US and Israeli ships.

"Ships belonging to the Zionist regime will not have the right to pass through the Strait of Hormuz under any circumstances, whether in war or peacetime," he told state TV, adding that "US military ships will also be barred from passing through the Strait".

Iran and Oman have been in talks to establish a new route through the strait, but negotiations have not yet been finalized.

Tehran, however, says even if the talks produce a new route, that would not on its own open the waterway unless the US meets Iran's demands.

World

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt Will Leave at the Month’s End

FILE - White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt watches as President Donald Trump speak to reporters while in flight on Air Force One to Joint Base Andrews, Md., Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, File)
FILE - White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt watches as President Donald Trump speak to reporters while in flight on Air Force One to Joint Base Andrews, Md., Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, File)
TT
TT

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt Will Leave at the Month’s End

FILE - White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt watches as President Donald Trump speak to reporters while in flight on Air Force One to Joint Base Andrews, Md., Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, File)
FILE - White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt watches as President Donald Trump speak to reporters while in flight on Air Force One to Joint Base Andrews, Md., Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, File)

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt will leave the administration at the end of the month to spend more time with her family, President Donald Trump announced Wednesday.

Leavitt, 28, is the youngest person to hold the role. She was a press aide during Trump's first term and has been one of the most visible advocates of his “Make America Great Again” movement. Trump did not outline any plans for who might replace her, The Associated Press said.

Meanwhile, Trump said he slipped away from Air Force One after a trip last month in Türkiye because the Secret Service and military wanted him on a “different plane” due to a threat he insisted did not scare him.

He downplayed the extraordinary nature of the subterfuge involved in his flight, which saw him stow away in an airport catering container to sneak onto another plane while Air Force One was sent into the sky, essentially as a decoy.

World

Colombia Enters ‘Final Phase’ of Quake Search as Toll Hits 265

This aerial view shows heavy machinery used by rescuers in the search for survivors amid the rubble of a collapsed building after an earthquake in Pereira, Colombia on August 12, 2026. (AFP)
This aerial view shows heavy machinery used by rescuers in the search for survivors amid the rubble of a collapsed building after an earthquake in Pereira, Colombia on August 12, 2026. (AFP)
TT
TT

Colombia Enters ‘Final Phase’ of Quake Search as Toll Hits 265

This aerial view shows heavy machinery used by rescuers in the search for survivors amid the rubble of a collapsed building after an earthquake in Pereira, Colombia on August 12, 2026. (AFP)
This aerial view shows heavy machinery used by rescuers in the search for survivors amid the rubble of a collapsed building after an earthquake in Pereira, Colombia on August 12, 2026. (AFP)

Rescuers in Colombia were making last-ditch efforts to locate earthquake survivors early Thursday, as the critical 72-hour window for rescue operations neared its end.

The magnitude 7.4 quake, the strongest to hit Colombia this century, has killed 265 people, injured more than 3,500 and left almost 500 missing, according to local authorities.

In cities such as Cali and Pereira, emergency crews worked through a third night with their bare hands, cranes and sniffer dogs, stopping not to rest but to listen for signs of life.

Thursday morning will mark 72 hours since the quake, a period when survivors are considered most likely to be found alive beneath collapsed buildings.

Cali resident Martha Perez said she felt "helpless" as two relatives were thought to still be trapped under rubble.

"We will hold on to (hope) until the very end," Perez told AFP on Wednesday night.

"As you can see, all of us here -- the entire city of Cali -- are hoping to find more survivors," volunteer rescuer Fernando Loaiza said.

Cali Mayor Alejandro Eder said Wednesday that rescue efforts were "entering the final phase."

Colombia's newly installed president Abelardo de la Espriella has declared the disaster an "economic emergency" and announced three days of national mourning.

"We will do what is necessary," he said in a statement, vowing to "emerge again as a country and as a society."

More than 11,000 dwellings have been destroyed and thousands of families have been rendered homeless, according to official figures.

- Holding onto 'hope' -

In Pereira, crews focused on a collapsed bakery where they believe a street vendor trapped since Monday's earthquake may still be alive beneath the rubble.

Rescuers using equipment that detects vibrations said they had picked up possible signs of life from Pablo Loaiza, prompting anxious relatives to gather near the wreckage.

"They tell us it could be him," said his 16-year-old niece, Sara Loaiza. "My heart is about to burst out of my chest."

Relatives said the trapped man appeared to respond when rescuers asked him to knock twice, then three times from beneath the rubble, drawing applause from those gathered at the scene.

"Every half hour we make everyone be quiet to see if we can find people alive," volunteer rescuer Johana Sanchez told AFP.

"So far, three people have been pulled out alive and three dead."

Many have already spent consecutive nights outdoors, either because their homes were damaged or because they feared aftershocks.

In the town of Roldanillo, Yuliana Mendez picked through the wreckage of the beauty products store where she worked, one of many businesses damaged in the disaster.

"It's like starting over from scratch," she said.

In Pereira's Providencia neighborhood, residents hauled furniture and household items from damaged buildings. Among them was lawyer Ana Paulina Crosthwaite, whose apartment block was left unsafe by the quake.

"We're in a state of shock," she told AFP. "We're not prepared to tell our children that we have to pack whatever we can and start a new life."

Many Colombians have mobilized to help, bringing water, food and supplies to affected neighborhoods, while long lines formed outside blood donation centers.

"It's about wanting to help your community, your city and your country," said blood donor Ferney Cabrera.

The United States announced $15.5 million in emergency aid to Colombia, and the European Union pledged two million euros ($2.3 million).