Turkey urges US and North Korea to 'act reasonably'
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu
'Showdown over nuclear weapons is not a children's game,' Turkish FM says
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Friday called on the U.S. and North Korea to act with reason after both countries issued mutual threats of attack, prompting fears of possible nuclear warfare.
On Tuesday, U.S. President Donald Trump threatened North Korea with "fire and fury" if Pyongyang’s authoritarian regime threatened his country.
On Thursday, North Korea’s state-run KCNA news agency cited officials claiming that America’s regional military strategy and sanctions risked inviting "a shameful defeat and final doom".
Mevlut Cavusoglu, speaking to reporters during a visit to Antalya, said: "A showdown over nuclear weapons is not a children's game."
Turkey hopes rising US, North Korea tension will not lead to nuclear clash
"The countries should start acting reasonably as soon as possible," he stressed.
On Friday, President Donald Trump further ratcheted up his rhetoric against North Korea, warning the U.S. military was prepared to strike the country.
"Military solutions are now fully in place, locked and loaded,should N orth Korea act unwisely," Trump tweeted before retweeting Pentagon photos of B1 bombers.
"Hopefully Kim Jong Un will find another path!" he added, in reference to the country's authoritarian leader.
The UN Security Council last week passed a resolution imposing new sanctions on North Korea for its intercontinental ballistic missile testing and violations of UN resolutions.
Cavusoglu strongly condemned the nuclear tests and said Turkey supported the UN decision.
POLITICS
Libyan military commander Haftar visiting Russia
General Khalifa Haftar, commander in the Libyan National Army (LNA)
Libyan military commander Khalifa Haftar was due to arrive in Moscow on Saturday ahead of a meeting with Russia's foreign minister, RIA news agency reported, citing a Russian negotiator.
Haftar is expected to meet Sergei Lavrov on Monday, Lev Dengov, head of the Russian contact group on Libya, told RIA. It was not immediately clear what the pair would be discussing.
At the end of July, Haftar and Libya's Prime Minister Fayez al-Serraj committed during talks in France to a conditional ceasefire and to elections, but a Italian naval mission aimed to help the country curb migrant flows has fuelled tension this month.
Haftar's self-styled Libyan National Army controls much of eastern and southern Libya.
It has rejected a U.N.-backed government in Tripoli that is struggling to assert authority over an array of armed factions which have been competing for control since the 2011 fall of Muammar Gaddafi.
Haftar has held talks with Russian officials before and in January he was given a tour of a Russian aircraft carrier in the Mediterranean.
The head of the U.N.-backed government visited Moscow in March, and the Kremlin said then it wanted to help repair the damage it said had been done by Western involvement in the country.
POLITICS
Turkish entrepreneurs perform Friday prayers at Al-Aqsa
Turkish entrepreneurs perform Friday prayers at Al-Aqsa
Move comes after President Erdoğan urges Muslims to visit Al-Aqsa, support Palestinians
A delegation from MUSIAD, Turkey’s Independent Industrialists and Businessmen's Association, visited Israeli-occupied East Jerusalem on Friday, where delegation members performed Friday prayers at the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
MUSIAD Chairman Abdurrahman Kaan told Anadolu Agency that the visit to the iconic mosque was intended to “show solidarity with our Palestinian brothers”.
Slamming Israel for its frequent violations against Palestinian Muslims in Jerusalem, Kaan said, “We stand up with our brothers; that's why we are here.”
“We have seen the violations firsthand and refuse to accept this tyranny against our first qibla,” he added in reference to the Al-Aqsa, which for Muslims represents the world’s third holiest site after Mecca and Medina.
“We must provide the drop of oil on the shore that will bring the Al-Aqsa Mosque from darkness and into the light and protect the values of our shared culture,” Kaan asserted, calling on Muslims around the world to visit the revered site.
Kaan also urged Muslim entrepreneurs to invest in the region with a view to creating employment opportunities for the Palestinian community.
Hundreds of Turkish businesspeople took part in Friday’s visit to the holy site.
Following recent clashes at the Al-Aqsa Mosque complex that left at least 20 people dead, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan urged Muslims worldwide to visit the site and show their support for Jerusalem’s Palestinian Muslims.
POLITICS
Turkey will defend its southern border: PM
Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım
We will not tolerate efforts to form artificial state at borders we share with Iraq and Syria, says PM Binali Yıldırım
Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım said on Friday that Turkey will not allow the existence of an "artificial state" at its southern border.
Speaking to reporters in Ankara after Friday prayers, Yıldırım said that Turkey will defend its borders against any threat.
“We will not tolerate any efforts to form an artificial state at our borders, particularly the borders we share with Syria and Iraq.”
“Under no circumstances, we will hesitate to respond in the future, as we did in the past, if we face an attack on our sovereignty and security,” he added.
Necessary measures taken along border with Syria's Idlib: Turkish PM
The PKK has been conducting armed violence in the southeastern part of Turkey since 1984. More than 40,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in the three-decade long conflict.
The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the European Union and the United States.
Speaking about a recent interview by Turkey’s main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu to a German newspaper, he said, “Kılıçdaroğlu should stop saying Turkey is unsafe.”
In his interview, the opposition leader had said that German citizens should stop traveling to Turkey as it is unsafe, a charge he later denied.
Turkish entrepreneurs perform Friday prayers at Al-Aqsa
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