NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said, security concerns raised by Turkiye in its opposition to Finland’s and Sweden’s NATO membership bid are legitimate. He added, this is about terrorism, it’s about weapons exports.

'Turkiye's concern on Finland, Sweden membership are legitimate,' says NATO chief

Disclaimer: A number of claims and counterclaims are being made on the Ukraine-Russia conflict on the ground and online. While WION takes utmost care to accurately report this developing news story, we cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, photos and videos.

Disclaimer: A number of claims and counterclaims are being made on the Ukraine-Russia conflict on the ground and online. While WION takes utmost care to accurately report this developing news story, we cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, photos and videos. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Wednesday (June 8) backed Russia's calls to lift sanctions on the country which were imposed on Moscow by the Western countries in the aftermath of the Russia-Ukraine war. Just like Ukraine, Russia is also a major wheat supplier. However, the exports have been hit by the sanctions, causing an impact on the global supply chain, and threatening a global food crisis. Sanctions have also impeded the export of Russian grain and fertiliser. ALSO READ | China to offer $15,000 to citizens for national security breach tip-offs Russia has demanded the removal of sanctions in return for unblocking Ukraine's Black Sea ports. Responding to that, Cavusoglu called the demands for an end to sanctions to help grain onto the world market "legitimate". "If we need to open up the international market to Ukrainian grain, we see the removal of obstacles standing in the way of Russia's exports as a legitimate demand," he said. WATCH | After Russia-Syria air strike simulation drills, Turkey gears up for offensive × ALSO READ | Iran turns off two surveillance cameras belonging to UN nuclear watchdog: Report While speaking during a joint news conference with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Cavusoglu further said: "Various ideas have been put out for the export of Ukrainian grains to the market and most recently is the UN plan (including) a mechanism that can be created between the UN, Ukraine, Russia and Turkey. We see it as reasonable," he added. "Of course both Ukraine and Russia must accept it." Lavrov said that Moscow was ready to ensure the safe passage of vessels from Ukraine. "We are ready to ensure the safety of ships that leave Ukrainian ports. We are ready to do this in cooperation with our Turkish colleagues," Lavrov during the presser. Meanwhile, Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio warns that "millions" of people could die of hunger unless Russia unblocks exports of Ukrainian grain to ease global shortages. "I want to say clearly, we expect clear and concrete signals from Russia, because blocking grain exports means holding hostage and condemning to death millions of children, women and men," he says after a virtual meeting with Turkey and Lebanon among other countries, alongside G7 president Germany and the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation. WATCH WION LIVE HERE You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.

Ukraine war: Turkiye backs Russian demand for grain exports

US and European acquiescence in Turkey's long-standing refusal to honour Kurdish ethnic, cultural, and political rights has come home to roost with Turkish opposition to Finnish and Swedish NATO membership.

The opposition has sparked debates about Turkey's controversial place in the North Atlantic defense alliance.

Turkey’s detractors point to its problematic military intervention in Syria, relations with Russia, refusal to sanction Moscow, and alleged fuelling of tension in the eastern Mediterranean, calling the country’s NATO membership into question.

Its defenders note that Turkey, NATO’s second-largest standing military, is key to maintaining the alliance’s southern flank. Also, Turkey’s geography, population size, economy, military power, and cultural links to a Turkic world make it a critical link between Europe and Asia. In addition, Turkish drones have been vital in Ukraine's war with Russia, while Turkey has been a mediator in the conflict, albeit with limited success.

Also Read | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/russian-foreign-minister-visits-turkey-to-discuss-ukraine-grain-exports-486080">Russian foreign minister visits Turkey to discuss Ukraine grain exports</a>

Kurdish rights hardly figure in the debates, and if they do, only as a prop for taking Turkey to task for its slide into authoritarianism.

An ethnic group spread across southeastern Turkey, northern Iraq, northern Syria, and western Iran, Kurds are seen at best as assets in the fight against the Islamic State and at worst a threat to Turkish security and territorial integrity. Turkey's estimated 16 million Kurds account for up to 20 per cent of the country's population.

Turkey, or Turkiye as it wants to be known going forward, has used the security argument to make its agreement to Swedish and Finnish NATO membership dependent on the two Nordic countries effectively accepting its definition of terrorism as including any national expression of Kurdish identity.

Turkey has demanded that Sweden and Finland extradite 33 people, some of whom are Swedish or Finnish nationals, because of their alleged support for the Kurdish Workers Party (PKK) or exiled preacher Fethullah Gulen, whom President Recep Tayyip Erdogan holds responsible for a failed military coup in 2016.

Turkey accuses the two Nordic countries of allowing the PKK to organize on their territory. Alongside the United States and the European Union, Turkey has designated the PKK as a terrorist organisation. The PKK has waged a decades-long insurgency against Turkey in which tens of thousands have been killed.

Turkey also wants Sweden and Finland to support its military operation against the People's Protection Units (YPG), a US-backed Syrian Kurdish group that played a crucial role in defeating the Islamic State. Turkey asserts that the YPG is an extension of the PKK.

Mr. Erdogan recently announced that Turkey would launch a new military operation to extend the Turkish armed forces' areas of control in Syria to a 30-kilometer swath of land along the two countries shared border. The offensive would target the YPG in the towns of Tel Rifaat and Manbij and possibly Kobani, Ain Issa, and Tell Tamer.

Watch | Ankara renews military offensive threats; Russia warns Turkiye against Syrian offensive

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Past US and European failure to stand up for Kurdish rights, as part of Turkey's need to meet the criteria for NATO membership that include "fair treatment of minority populations," has complicated the fight against the Islamic State, stymied Kurdish aspirations beyond Turkey's borders and enabled repression of Kurdish rights in Turkey.

More immediately, the failure to hold Turkey accountable for its repression of Kurdish ethnic and political rights within the framework of the Turkish state has enabled Ankara to establish Turkish policies as a condition for NATO membership even if they violate NATO membership criteria.

Those policies include defining the peaceful expression of Kurdish identity as terrorism and the rolling back of Kurdish language and cultural rights since the collapse in 2015 of peace talks with the PKK. Turkey lifted the ban on Kurdish languages and the word Kurd in 1991. Until then, Kurds were referred to as ‘mountain Turks.’

The governor of the southeastern Turkish province of Diyarbakir, widely seen as a hub of Kurdish cultural and political activity, forced this writer under treat of death to leave the region for using the word Kurd rather than mountain Turk in interviews in the 1980s.

Kurdish language programs in universities have dwindled in recent years amid administrative hurdles, while Kurdish parents complain of pressure not to enroll their children in elective Kurdish courses.

Also Read | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/russia-walks-out-of-security-council-meeting-after-eu-blames-kremlin-for-looming-food-crisis-485958">Russia walks out of Security Council meeting after EU blames Kremlin for looming food crisis</a>

Most Kurdish-language services and activities created by local administrations were terminated by government-appointed trustees who replaced dozens of Kurdish mayors ousted by Ankara for alleged links to the PKK. Many of the ousted mayors and other leading Kurdish politicians remain behind bars.

The failure to take Turkey to task early on takes on added significance at a time when NATO casts the war in Ukraine as a battle of values and of democracy versus autocracy that will shape the contours of a 21st-century world order.

For his part, US President Joe Biden has sought to regain the moral high ground in the wake of the Trump presidency that broke with American liberalism by declaring “America is back” in the struggle for democratic and human rights.

Mr. Biden and Europe’s problem is that their credibility rides on cleaning up at home and ensuring that they are seen as sincere rather than hypocritical.

That’s a tall order amid assertions of structural racism on both sides of the Atlantic; controversy over gun ownership in the United States; preferential arrangements for Ukrainian refugees as opposed to non-Europeans and non-whites fleeing war, persecution, and destruction; and foreign policies that treat violations of human and political rights differently depending on who commits them.

The obvious place to start is at home. Kurds could be another starting point, with Finnish and Swedish NATO membership on the front burner. Meeting Turkish demands regarding perpetrators of political violence is one thing; acquiescing in the criminalization of legitimate Kurdish political and cultural expression is another.

That may be a tough bargain to drive home in Ankara. However, it would offer a compromise formula that could serve everyone’s interest and help Turkey solve a problem that promises to be one of the Middle East’s multiple exploding powder kegs.

(Disclaimer: The views of the writer do not represent the views of WION or ZMCL. Nor does WION or ZMCL endorse the views of the writer.)

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US and European acquiescence in Turkey's long-standing refusal to honour Kurdish ethnic, cultural, and political rights has come home to roost with Turkish opposition to Finnish and Swedish NATO membership.

US and European acquiescence in Turkey's long-standing refusal to honour Kurdish ethnic, cultural, and political rights has come home to roost with Turkish opposition to Finnish and Swedish NATO membership. The opposition has sparked debates about Turkey's controversial place in the North Atlantic defense alliance. Turkey’s detractors point to its problematic military intervention in Syria, relations with Russia, refusal to sanction Moscow, and alleged fuelling of tension in the eastern Mediterranean, calling the country’s NATO membership into question. Its defenders note that Turkey, NATO’s second-largest standing military, is key to maintaining the alliance’s southern flank. Also, Turkey’s geography, population size, economy, military power, and cultural links to a Turkic world make it a critical link between Europe and Asia. In addition, Turkish drones have been vital in Ukraine's war with Russia, while Turkey has been a mediator in the conflict, albeit with limited success. Also Read | Russian foreign minister visits Turkey to discuss Ukraine grain exports Kurdish rights hardly figure in the debates, and if they do, only as a prop for taking Turkey to task for its slide into authoritarianism. An ethnic group spread across southeastern Turkey, northern Iraq, northern Syria, and western Iran, Kurds are seen at best as assets in the fight against the Islamic State and at worst a threat to Turkish security and territorial integrity. Turkey's estimated 16 million Kurds account for up to 20 per cent of the country's population. Turkey, or Turkiye as it wants to be known going forward, has used the security argument to make its agreement to Swedish and Finnish NATO membership dependent on the two Nordic countries effectively accepting its definition of terrorism as including any national expression of Kurdish identity. Turkey has demanded that Sweden and Finland extradite 33 people, some of whom are Swedish or Finnish nationals, because of their alleged support for the Kurdish Workers Party (PKK) or exiled preacher Fethullah Gulen, whom President Recep Tayyip Erdogan holds responsible for a failed military coup in 2016. Turkey accuses the two Nordic countries of allowing the PKK to organize on their territory. Alongside the United States and the European Union, Turkey has designated the PKK as a terrorist organisation. The PKK has waged a decades-long insurgency against Turkey in which tens of thousands have been killed. Turkey also wants Sweden and Finland to support its military operation against the People's Protection Units (YPG), a US-backed Syrian Kurdish group that played a crucial role in defeating the Islamic State. Turkey asserts that the YPG is an extension of the PKK. Mr. Erdogan recently announced that Turkey would launch a new military operation to extend the Turkish armed forces' areas of control in Syria to a 30-kilometer swath of land along the two countries shared border. The offensive would target the YPG in the towns of Tel Rifaat and Manbij and possibly Kobani, Ain Issa, and Tell Tamer. Watch | Ankara renews military offensive threats; Russia warns Turkiye against Syrian offensive × Past US and European failure to stand up for Kurdish rights, as part of Turkey's need to meet the criteria for NATO membership that include "fair treatment of minority populations," has complicated the fight against the Islamic State, stymied Kurdish aspirations beyond Turkey's borders and enabled repression of Kurdish rights in Turkey. More immediately, the failure to hold Turkey accountable for its repression of Kurdish ethnic and political rights within the framework of the Turkish state has enabled Ankara to establish Turkish policies as a condition for NATO membership even if they violate NATO membership criteria. Those policies include defining the peaceful expression of Kurdish identity as terrorism and the rolling back of Kurdish language and cultural rights since the collapse in 2015 of peace talks with the PKK. Turkey lifted the ban on Kurdish languages and the word Kurd in 1991. Until then, Kurds were referred to as ‘mountain Turks.’ The governor of the southeastern Turkish province of Diyarbakir, widely seen as a hub of Kurdish cultural and political activity, forced this writer under treat of death to leave the region for using the word Kurd rather than mountain Turk in interviews in the 1980s. Kurdish language programs in universities have dwindled in recent years amid administrative hurdles, while Kurdish parents complain of pressure not to enroll their children in elective Kurdish courses. Also Read | Russia walks out of Security Council meeting after EU blames Kremlin for looming food crisis Most Kurdish-language services and activities created by local administrations were terminated by government-appointed trustees who replaced dozens of Kurdish mayors ousted by Ankara for alleged links to the PKK. Many of the ousted mayors and other leading Kurdish politicians remain behind bars. The failure to take Turkey to task early on takes on added significance at a time when NATO casts the war in Ukraine as a battle of values and of democracy versus autocracy that will shape the contours of a 21st-century world order. For his part, US President Joe Biden has sought to regain the moral high ground in the wake of the Trump presidency that broke with American liberalism by declaring “America is back” in the struggle for democratic and human rights. Mr. Biden and Europe’s problem is that their credibility rides on cleaning up at home and ensuring that they are seen as sincere rather than hypocritical. That’s a tall order amid assertions of structural racism on both sides of the Atlantic; controversy over gun ownership in the United States; preferential arrangements for Ukrainian refugees as opposed to non-Europeans and non-whites fleeing war, persecution, and destruction; and foreign policies that treat violations of human and political rights differently depending on who commits them. The obvious place to start is at home. Kurds could be another starting point, with Finnish and Swedish NATO membership on the front burner. Meeting Turkish demands regarding perpetrators of political violence is one thing; acquiescing in the criminalization of legitimate Kurdish political and cultural expression is another. That may be a tough bargain to drive home in Ankara. However, it would offer a compromise formula that could serve everyone’s interest and help Turkey solve a problem that promises to be one of the Middle East’s multiple exploding powder kegs. (Disclaimer: The views of the writer do not represent the views of WION or ZMCL. Nor does WION or ZMCL endorse the views of the writer.) You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here. WATCH WION LIVE HERE ×

Double standards haunt US and Europe in NATO dispute with Turkey

Turkiye has eased all entry requirements for visitors, Turkiye Tourism Board said on Monday (June 6). The country&nbsp;expects to receive a large number of Indian travellers this year, as reported by PTI.&nbsp;

As per the statement given by the authorities, earlier Indian citizens were required to provide either an RT-PCR test report or a vaccination certificate. However, Indian travellers no longer have to give proof of vaccine, negative RT-PCR test results or proof of recovering from the sickness.&nbsp;

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/photos/what-is-behind-turkeys-syria-incursion-threats-485142#high-tension-485135">What is behind Turkey’s Syria incursion threats?</a>

Turkiye’s tourism industry generated about $25 billion in revenue in the year 2021, up 103 per cent since the onset of the pandemic and the number is expected to be higher this year.&nbsp;

As per the statement, the country welcomed 52 million tourists in the pre-pandemic year of 2019 and generated a revenue of $34.5 billion in tourism earnings.&nbsp;

Watch |&nbsp;Gravitas Global Headlines: Inflation in Turkiye hits highest level since 1998

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Last year, as per the tourism authority, the country was announced as one of the top destinations for Free Independent Travelers (FTI) and Meeting, Incentive Travel, Conferences and Events (MICE) travellers from around the world with more than 30 million international visitors. &nbsp;Amongst these, 50,000 were Indian travellers, this was regarded as a significant number with consideration of the pandemic.&nbsp;

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/photos/countries-that-have-changed-their-names-as-turkey-becomes-turkiye-484695">Countries that have changed their names as Turkey becomes ‘Türkiye’</a>

Turkiye has high expectations to welcome a higher number of Indian travellers than before, with both Turkish and Indigo airlines restarting their direct international flights from India.&nbsp;

The country expects its visitors' graph to match the levels of 2019 by the end of 2022, as the demand for international demand is rising and people are willing to travel internationally and explore new countries and destinations.&nbsp;

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You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us <a href="https://www.wionews.com/content-contribution-registration-form">here</a>.

(With inputs from agencies)

Turkiye has eased all entry requirements for visitors, Turkiye Tourism Board said on Monday (June 6). The country expects to receive a large number of Indian travellers this year, as reported by PTI.

Turkiye has eased all entry requirements for visitors, Turkiye Tourism Board said on Monday (June 6). The country expects to receive a large number of Indian travellers this year, as reported by PTI. As per the statement given by the authorities, earlier Indian citizens were required to provide either an RT-PCR test report or a vaccination certificate. However, Indian travellers no longer have to give proof of vaccine, negative RT-PCR test results or proof of recovering from the sickness. Also read | What is behind Turkey’s Syria incursion threats? Turkiye’s tourism industry generated about $25 billion in revenue in the year 2021, up 103 per cent since the onset of the pandemic and the number is expected to be higher this year. As per the statement, the country welcomed 52 million tourists in the pre-pandemic year of 2019 and generated a revenue of $34.5 billion in tourism earnings. Watch | Gravitas Global Headlines: Inflation in Turkiye hits highest level since 1998 Last year, as per the tourism authority, the country was announced as one of the top destinations for Free Independent Travelers (FTI) and Meeting, Incentive Travel, Conferences and Events (MICE) travellers from around the world with more than 30 million international visitors. Amongst these, 50,000 were Indian travellers, this was regarded as a significant number with consideration of the pandemic. Also read | Countries that have changed their names as Turkey becomes ‘Türkiye’ Turkiye has high expectations to welcome a higher number of Indian travellers than before, with both Turkish and Indigo airlines restarting their direct international flights from India. The country expects its visitors' graph to match the levels of 2019 by the end of 2022, as the demand for international demand is rising and people are willing to travel internationally and explore new countries and destinations. WATCH WION LIVE HERE You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here. (With inputs from agencies)

Turkiye eases COVID-19 restrictions for Indian tourists

There's global shortage of wheat due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, export restrictions and rising food prices. In a recent news, Turkiye has rejected 60,000-tonnes of wheat shipment from India. Meanwhile, Indian government is in touch with Turkiye authorities.

Turkiye says no to 60,000-tonnes of wheat shipment from India

Ankara is advancing its Syrian motive as Turkiye President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said we will clean 2 North Syrian cities of terrorists.

Erdogan renews threats of military offensive in Syria

Turkey has officially changed its name to Turkiye. Meanwhile, the United Nations has agreed to recognise the change while giving an approval on Thursday and said change will be immediate.

Turkey changes name to Turkiye; UN recognises the new name

The process to change Turkey’s name into “Türkiye” started back in December last year after a memorandum from president Recep Tayyip Erdogan and on Thursday, it received the seal of approval from the United Nations. Following the official request from the country, the UN has decided to change the name of Turkey at the organisation. UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric announced that the letter written by Turkish foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu addressed to Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was received on Wednesday and he made it clear that the change of the name became valid from the moment that the official letter was received.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/shanghai-residents-spent-2-months-locked-up-but-china-bans-media-from-calling-it-a-lockdown-484410">Shanghai spent 2 months 'locked' up, but media can't call it a 'lockdown'</a>

Earlier, on Tuesday, Cavusoglu said that an official letter requesting a change of name has been sent to the UN and other major bodies around the world. “Together with our Directorate of Communications, we have been successful in preparing a good ground for this,” said the letter according to Associated Press.

The current government has been trying hard for the name Turkey to be changed to “Türkiye” (tur-key-YAY) as it is spelled and pronounced in Turkish. The name actually dates back to 1923 as the country was called “Türkiye” right after its independence before changing it to Turkey.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/russia-controls-about-20-per-cent-of-ukraine-says-president-volodymyr-zelensky-484449" hreflang="en">Russia controls 'about 20 per cent' of Ukraine, says president Zelensky</a>

Currently, according to the new directive, “Made in Türkiye” is being used instead of “Made in Turkey” on exported products and the name change has also taken place on official documents.

Turkey’s English-language state broadcaster TRT World also explained the decision saying that the word “turkey” shows “a muddled set of images, articles, and dictionary definitions that conflate the country with Meleagris – otherwise known as the turkey, a large bird native to North America – which is famous for being served on Christmas menus or Thanksgiving dinners” on Google.

The process to change Turkey’s name into “Türkiye” started back in December last year after a memorandum from president Recep Tayyip Erdogan and on Thursday, it received the seal of approval from the United Nations.

The process to change Turkey’s name into “Türkiye” started back in December last year after a memorandum from president Recep Tayyip Erdogan and on Thursday, it received the seal of approval from the United Nations. Following the official request from the country, the UN has decided to change the name of Turkey at the organisation. UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric announced that the letter written by Turkish foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu addressed to Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was received on Wednesday and he made it clear that the change of the name became valid from the moment that the official letter was received. Also read | Shanghai spent 2 months 'locked' up, but media can't call it a 'lockdown' Earlier, on Tuesday, Cavusoglu said that an official letter requesting a change of name has been sent to the UN and other major bodies around the world. “Together with our Directorate of Communications, we have been successful in preparing a good ground for this,” said the letter according to Associated Press. The current government has been trying hard for the name Turkey to be changed to “Türkiye” (tur-key-YAY) as it is spelled and pronounced in Turkish. The name actually dates back to 1923 as the country was called “Türkiye” right after its independence before changing it to Turkey. Also read | Russia controls 'about 20 per cent' of Ukraine, says president Zelensky Currently, according to the new directive, “Made in Türkiye” is being used instead of “Made in Turkey” on exported products and the name change has also taken place on official documents. Turkey’s English-language state broadcaster TRT World also explained the decision saying that the word “turkey” shows “a muddled set of images, articles, and dictionary definitions that conflate the country with Meleagris – otherwise known as the turkey, a large bird native to North America – which is famous for being served on Christmas menus or Thanksgiving dinners” on Google.

Turkey To Become ‘Türkiye’? United Nations approve request for name change

Reports suggest that Turkey is going to register its new name Türkiye at the United Nations in the coming weeks. The foreign ministry and other state agencies have already made the change, though not everyone is happy with it. Ghadi Francis tells you more in this report in The West Asia Post.

The West Asia Post: Turkey announces a name change

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