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3 weeks ago | 
middleeasteye.net | Ragip Soylu |Oscar Rickett
Recent drone strikes in Sudan have revealed an escalating rivalry between the United Arab Emirates and Turkey, which are backing opposing sides in a war that has been raging since April 2023. Officials in Sudan’s army-backed government have been watching the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) flying military cargo planes in and out of Nyala airport in South Darfur for months.
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1 month ago | 
middleeasteye.net | Ragip Soylu |Sean Mathews
The Trump administration has lobbied Turkey and Israel to establish a deconfliction mechanism in Syria to prevent potential accidents, a US official and a regional source told Middle East Eye. Tensions between the two countries have escalated since the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s government in Syria in December.
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2 months ago | 
middleeasteye.net | Sean Mathews |Ragip Soylu
Turkey and Israel have held talks over the establishment of a deconfliction line in Syria to avoid any misunderstandings and prevent potential clashes between their militaries, two western officials have told Middle East Eye. Last week, Israeli air forces carried out several air strikes in Syria, targeting military sites - including Hama Air Base and the Tiyas Airbase (also known as T4) - where Turkey had been planning to deploy soon.
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2 months ago | 
middleeasteye.net | Sean Mathews |Ragip Soylu
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been lobbying US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to block the sale of F-35 warplanes to Turkey, citing concerns over Ankara’s growing influence in Syria, three sources, including two senior western officials, told Middle East Eye. Netanyahu raised the F-35 issue during multiple calls with Rubio in March and April, the two western officials said. A third source familiar with the matter confirmed that Netanyahu had pressed Rubio on the arms sale.
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2 months ago | 
middleeasteye.net | Ragip Soylu |Elis Gjevori
Turkey is approaching a breakthrough integration deal signed between Syria's new government and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) with cautious optimism, Middle East Eye understands. According to the agreement signed by President Ahmed al-Sharaa and SDF commander Mazloum Abdi Sahin, all civil and military institutions in northeastern Syria will be integrated into the administration of the Syrian state, including border crossings, the airport, and oil and gas fields.
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Feb 26, 2025 | 
middleeasteye.net | Ragip Soylu |Oscar Rickett
Turkey supplied several drones to Sudan’s army last year, and they have been used to achieve important advances against the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in areas such as Khartoum and el-Obeid, multiple sources with knowledge of the matter told Middle East Eye. Since the civil war in Sudan began in April 2023, Ankara and other regional countries such as Egypt have backed army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan against the paramilitary RSF, led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, also known as Hemeti.
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Feb 20, 2025 | 
middleeasteye.net | Ragip Soylu |Marco Carnelos |Jonathan Steele
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov plans to visit Turkey next week as part of his regional tour, sources familiar with the matter told Middle East Eye. Lavrov is expected to be in Ankara on 24-25 February, according to one of the sources. Earlier this week, Lavrov informed the Duma, the lower house of Russia's parliament, that there would be high-level talks with the Syrian government next week, which could indicate a visit by the Russian foreign minister to Syria as well.
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Feb 19, 2025 | 
middleeasteye.net | Ragip Soylu |Jonathan Steele
Turkey supports Ukraine’s bid for Nato membership and understands the importance of security guarantees, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told Turkish media on Wednesday. On Tuesday, Zelensky met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara, while US officials met with their Russian counterparts in Riyadh, sidelining Kyiv and the EU as the Ukraine war approaches its third anniversary. “Erdogan understands the importance of Ukraine’s Nato membership,” Zelensky said.
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Jan 21, 2025 | 
middleeasteye.net | Alex MacDonald |Ragip Soylu
At least 66 people have been killed and 51 injured in a fire at a ski resort in central Turkey with survivors blaming the tragedy on negligence. The fire at a hotel in Kartalkaya, which apparently had no alarm system, broke out in the middle of the night on Tuesday. Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya, who visited the scene, said "the fire is now under control and cooling operations" are continuing.
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Jan 17, 2025 | 
middleeasteye.net | Ragip Soylu
The new Syrian government’s decision to raise customs duties on products imported from Turkey by up to 300 percent has sparked anger among Turkish exporters and stirred public discontent this week. The interim government, established after the collapse of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad’s government last month, announced plans to unify customs duties across its borders, which previously had different rates for Turkey and Arab countries.
