On Wednesday, the Turkish Coast Guard rescued 47 irregular migrants from drowning off the coast of Muğla Province, southwest of the country.

It stated in a statement that the migrants were on boats off the coast of the Marmaris and Daca regions of Muğla, and it turned out that the Greek authorities pushed them towards Turkish territorial waters.

The statement explained that among those rescued were 8 children, in addition to a Turkish citizen who was about to leave the country illegally.

After being transported to land, the irregular migrants were handed over to the Immigration Department in Muğla to complete their legal procedures.

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The state of Edirne in northwestern Turkey attracts Bulgarian and Greek tourists to celebrate Christmas and spend the New Year holidays.

Tourists flock to the border city with Bulgaria and Greece and shop in the markets and commercial centers.

Many tourists have made hotel reservations to spend Christmas and New Year’s holidays in Edirne.

In his speech, the head of the Edirne Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Sezay Ermak, explained that the city is witnessing movement on the occasion of Christmas and New Year.

He said: “Many groups from Greece and Bulgaria come to Edirne. They have booked their places in our hotels. They celebrate Christmas on December 24th and likewise want to welcome the New Year there.”

Ermak added, “The occupancy rate in hotels is close to 100 percent and the restaurants are full.”

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Head of the Turkish Presidency’s Communications Department, Fahrettin Altun, said that the Athens Declaration on friendly and good-neighborly relations between Turkey and Greece opened a new page in their relations.

This came in a video message in which he participated on Tuesday in the Turkish-Greek Media and Academy Forum, organized in cooperation between the Turkish Studies Endowment and the Greek Institute of International Affairs (IGA) in the capital, Athens.

Altun touched on the official visit made by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Athens on December 7, and said: “I believe that we have opened a new page in our relations thanks to the Athens Declaration on friendly relations and good neighborliness.”

He expressed his belief that the joint will of the two countries will create many cooperation opportunities that will be beneficial to them and the region on the basis of mutual trust.

He continued: “We believe that Turkey does not have insurmountable problems with our close neighbors such as Greece, with which we share a common history and similar culture.”

Altun pointed out that there are many opportunities and possibilities to increase bilateral cooperation in many fields such as economy, trade, transportation, energy, health, technology, education, and youth, and that he is very happy about that.

He stressed that the channels of communication between the two countries are open, noting that media professionals, academics, and representatives of non-governmental organizations have a great duty and responsibility to keep them open.

He stated that it is a great task and responsibility for media professionals, academics and representatives of non-governmental organizations to keep communication channels open between the two countries.

“In recent years, many ethical principles and many established rules in the field of communication and media have been attempted to be removed from the agenda and discredited,” he added.

He called for building a new approach in the field of communications and media and standing by the truth against such attempts.

On December 7, Turkey and Greece signed the “Athens Declaration on Friendly and Good Neighborly Relations” during Erdogan’s visit to Athens.

The announcement stated: “Turkey and Greece decide to hold ongoing and constructive consultations on political dialogue, a positive agenda, and confidence-building measures.”

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The Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs rejected the unfair allegations and criticism contained in the European report, especially regarding political standards and the chapters on judicial authority and fundamental rights.

This came in a statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday, commenting on the European Commission’s report on Turkey for the year 2023.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry reminded the European Union that policies based on universal values should be valid not only for Ukraine, but for all parts of the world, including the Middle East.

The statement added: “Although the Turkey Report for 2023 is the twenty-fifth report prepared by the Commission for our country, the fact that the European Union adheres to its unfair and biased approach towards Turkey is worrying for the future of our continent, which faces many threats.”

It continued: “We completely reject the baseless allegations and unfair criticism, especially regarding political standards and the chapter on judicial authority and fundamental rights.”

It added: “Despite all our efforts, Chapter 23 on judicial authority and fundamental rights, and Chapter 24 on justice, freedom and security, have not been opened since 2009 due to political obstruction by a member state.”

It stressed that “making unfair allegations against our country on many issues in the field of fundamental rights, which are controversial even among Member States, is a manifestation of the European Union’s dishonest approach and double standards.”

The statement added: “It is inconsistent to obstruct the current high-level dialogue and cooperation mechanisms with the candidate state Turkey on foreign policy, regional developments, security, defense and sectoral issues, and then claim that our compliance with European Union policies in these vital areas has decreased.”

It continued: “Similarly, while it is claimed that Turkey has not fulfilled its obligations related to the Customs Union and that this constitutes an obstacle to bilateral trade relations, the politicization and obstruction of modernization negotiations that would allow these obstacles to be overcome remain one of the similar contradictions in the Union.” “European”.

The statement stated: “We consider the European report’s inclusion of criticism of our country and its confirmation that Turkey’s position towards the war between Hamas and Israel completely contradicts the position of the European Union, as a compliment to us.”

It explained: “The European Union, which is in the wrong place in history in the face of a civilian massacre that has re-emerged from the darkness of the Middle Ages in the twenty-first century, must be reminded that policies based on universal values, international law and humanitarian principles must not be valid for Ukraine or any other region in the world.” “Not only Europe, but all over the world, including the Middle East.”

Regarding the issues of the Eastern Mediterranean, Cyprus and the Aegean Sea contained in the report, the statement said: “As always, the reflection of the illegal, unrealistic and extremist Greek/Roman theses, and the continuation of the exclusionary position that ignores the right policies of our country and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, and ignoring the rights of Cypriots.” “The Turks represent the EU’s biased and unfair position under the guise of solidarity.”

It stressed that the formula for resolving the Cyprus issue is two parties on the island, three guarantors, and the United Nations, and that the role of the European Union in the past stages did not go beyond monitoring with the approval of the parties, and it did not have an opinion in any way.

It continued: “It must realize that the European Union’s statements, which represent an unconditional defense of the Romanian theses regarding a possible solution in Cyprus, have no value or binding force in the eyes of Turkey and the Turkish Cypriot side, and that they harm rather than serve the solution path.”

It pointed out that the European report mentioned that the development of the Turkish economy and its ability to face competitive pressures and market forces within the Union, as well as the fact that Turkey has harmonized its legislation with the European Union, is an indicator of the firm policies followed by Ankara regarding compliance with European Union standards in many areas.

The statement indicated that there is a need to strengthen relations between Turkey and the European Union in all fields more than ever before, and that this fact is recognized by the European Union itself.

It went on to say: “We are always open to establishing our relations with the European Union on solid foundations, and enhancing our cooperation in line with our common interests, provided that we work in a spirit of cooperation and dialogue instead of unilateral and unfair criticism.”

It stressed the importance of the European Union showing its solidarity with Turkey during the difficult times it went through during the earthquake disaster.

The statement called on the European Union to remove the obstacles hindering Turkey’s accession process, assume more responsibilities and fulfill the requirements of the principle of preserving agreements.

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Kostas Frangoiannis, Greek Deputy Foreign Minister in charge of economic diplomacy, said that they intend to build a bridge on the border with Turkey to facilitate crossings between the two countries.

He added in his interview with the newspaper “Parapolitika” that they avoid touching on sensitive topics in Athens’ relations with Ankara.

He pointed to the development of bilateral relations between the two countries through 29 different fields, most notably transportation, environment, tourism and trade.

He reported that important steps had been taken to strengthen bilateral cooperation during the first three years of launching the positive agenda between the two countries, especially with regard to reviving tourism, trade facilitation, and protecting civilians.

Frangoiannis also pointed out that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis stressed, during their recent meeting in New York, the continuation of the positive agenda between the two countries.

He stressed that the common goal of the two countries currently is to conclude agreements and memorandums of understanding on some topics during the upcoming summit on December 7 in the Greek region of Thessaloniki.

In the context of continuing the positive agenda between Ankara and Athens, the latter intends – according to Frangoiannis – to build a bridge on the border between the two countries at the “Ipsala” crossing by next year 2024.

He explained that the aim of building the bridge is to facilitate transportation and crossing operations on the Turkish-Greek border.

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The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) on Wednesday congratulated the Republic of Turkey on the occasion of Victory Day, corresponding to August 30 of each year.

The NATO Allied Land Command, Landcom, published a congratulatory message on the “X” platform, which it began in Turkish, saying, “Eid Mubarak.”

It added in English: “We thank Turkey for hosting the command headquarters. Turkey has participated in many NATO operations and maneuvers since its accession in 1952. Turkey and NATO are stronger and safer together.”

Today, Ankara commemorates the victory over the Allied forces and the invading Greek forces on August 30, 1922, which is considered a national holiday in Turkey and the Turkish Republic of Cyprus.

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Turkish Coast Guard crews rescued 80 irregular migrants off the coast of Çanakkale Province, in the west of the country, after pushing them from the Greek side towards Turkish territorial waters.

The Coast Guard command teams in the northern Aegean region monitored two rubber boats off the coast of the “Aywajik” district in Çanakkale, according to Coast Guard sources.

The sources indicated that a boat from the Coast Guard was directed to the site and rescued the Afghan migrants who were on board the two boats, after the Greek forces pushed them towards the Turkish territorial waters.

The post Turkey.. 80 migrants rescued off the coast of Çanakkale appeared first on Move 2 Turkey.

The Greek Foreign Ministry thanked Turkey for sending 3 planes to help Athens put out the ongoing forest fires.

The Greek Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Saturday: “Thank you to Turkey for its support and assistance to Greece” in fighting forest fires.

For his part, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said in a tweet: “We would like to express our gratitude to Turkey for sending two firefighting planes and a helicopter to help us fight forest fires. Thank you, Turkey.”

It is noteworthy that Turkey, on the instructions of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, sent two amphibious planes and a helicopter to Greece to help it fight the ongoing forest fires.

On Saturday morning, the three planes and their 9 crews arrived at Athens International Airport, Eleftherios Venizelos, to participate in extinguishing the fires.

Since Monday, Greece has been witnessing the outbreak of multiple forest fires in different regions of the country.

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The European media devoted ample space to the victory of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the second round of the presidential elections that took place on Sunday, according to preliminary results.

European newspapers covered the speeches of the Turkish president in Istanbul and the capital, Ankara, as well as the celebrations of the voters who voted for Erdogan.

British Press: The Turkish President announces his victory

The BBC said that President Erdogan was able to read voters better than analysts and opinion poll companies.

While “Sky News” dealt with the congratulatory telegrams sent by world leaders to President Erdogan after his victory, a sign of Turkey’s pivotal role in world politics.

In turn, “The Guardian”, “The Independent”, “Financial Times” and “The Daily Telegraph” published different news about Erdogan’s victory in the second round of the presidential elections.

German press: “Erdogan forever”

The newspaper “Spiegel” published a story under the title “Erdogan forever”, which included comments on his victory in it and how the Turkish-European relations will be during the next stage.

Under the headline “Erdogan is the undisputed winner,” Die Welt newspaper wrote that the Turkish president’s goal has always been to reach the peak and that his supporters have achieved his goal.

The newspaper pointed out that the opposition had the opportunity to defeat Erdogan, but underestimated his popularity among the masses.

As for the “Bild” newspaper, it published a picture of the former soccer player, Masoud Ozil, next to the Turkish president, and a sign to a post by the former expressing his joy at the latter’s victory.

French Press: Erdogan’s supporters celebrate with joy that deafens the opponents’ ears

In a story titled “Erdogan Forever,” the newspaper “Liberation” drew attention to the celebrations of thousands of supporters of Erdogan’s re-election, with the joy of deafening the ears of the opposition.

The newspaper “Le Monde” published a story under the headline “Mr. Ankara as president for the third time,” in which it pointed out that Erdogan had assumed power since 2003.

Ouest France also headlined, “Erdogan retains power.”

Dutch press: Erdogan stresses in his speech on “unity”

The Dutch public broadcaster NOS devoted space to President Erdogan’s speech, in which he emphasized “unity” by saying, “No one lost today, they won 85 million. Our nation and democracy have won.”

It also covered the celebrations of the Turks in the Netherlands and the congratulatory messages sent by world leaders to President Erdogan.

In turn, the newspaper “NRC” highlighted the words of President Erdogan, in which he said that “the winner is only Turkey.”

Spanish press: Erdogan succeeds in his re-election after 20 years in power

El Pais newspaper published a story under the headline “Erdogan succeeds in re-election after 20 years in power.”

The newspaper devoted the first two pages to the Turkish elections, noting that Erdogan’s first goal after his victory is economic reform.

El Mundo newspaper noted that President Erdogan’s third term had begun with his victory in the presidential elections.

Italian press: “Turkey begins again with Erdogan”

The newspaper “La Repubblica” published a story under the headline “Turkey chooses Erdogan again,” in which it referred to President Erdogan’s victory despite the disaster of the earthquake, economic problems, and the unification of the opposition.

As for El Messagiro newspaper, it published a headline under the headline “Turkey begins again with Erdogan,” in which it pointed out the Turkish people’s lack of confidence in the opposition’s recipe.

Greek, Bulgarian, Belgian and Swiss newspapers and the media of the Balkan countries also covered Erdogan’s victory in the second round of the presidential elections.

In the second round of the presidential elections, Erdogan won 52.16 percent of the vote, compared to 47.84 percent for opposition candidate Kemal Kilicdaroglu, according to the Supreme Elections Commission.

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Greek Defense Minister Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos expressed his desire for continued rapprochement in Turkish-Greek relations.

In a statement to the Greek newspaper Ta Nea, Panagiotopoulos said that he enjoyed “excellent hospitality and a sincere and positive family atmosphere” during his visit to Turkey last Tuesday.

Panagiotopoulos stated that he met Defense Minister Hulusi Akar to improve the atmosphere of bilateral relations.

Panagiotopoulos noted that Tuesday’s visit was the first by a Greek defense minister to Turkey in 20 years.

And he indicated that during his meeting with Akar, the need to calm tensions at the negotiating table and limit maneuvers outside the predetermined international maneuvers was discussed.

The Greek minister stressed that it is possible to increase cooperation between the two countries in combating problems such as climate change, fires and earthquakes.

He pointed out that the catastrophe of the earthquake that struck Turkey on February 6 created a “window of opportunity” with regard to bilateral relations, stressing by saying: “We need to take advantage of this opportunity.”

Panagiotopoulos visited the Turkish state of Hatay last Tuesday at the invitation of his counterpart Akar.

On February 6, two earthquakes of magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 struck southern Turkey and northern Syria, followed by thousands of violent aftershocks, resulting in thousands of deaths and great destruction.​​​​​​​​​​​

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