Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said that he would like to see the United States withdraw its troops from Iraq and Syria because he does not consider their presence useful to regional peace. 

Asked by CBS News’ Margaret Brennan in an interview on Saturday if he would like to see US troops leave, Erdoğan responded in the affirmative. He used the US withdrawal from Afghanistan to make his case that their presence did not make the region more safe. 

“I would want them to get out of Syria and Iraq,” Erdogan said. Instead, he believes that the local governments should be left to “make up their own minds” about security within their own borders.

Erdoğan has long been at odds with US administrations since the start of the civil war in Syria and during the Islamic State’s (ISIS) insurgency in neighbouring Iraq. The particular sticking point between the two NATO allies has been the US partnership with the Syrian Kurdish militants who it has supported in pushing ISIS out of their strongholds.

Turkey accuses the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) of being an extension of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) that it has fought against since 1984. The US recognises the PKK as a terrorist group since 1997, but it has downplayed any ongoing connection between it and the YPG fighters it supports. 

Since 2016, Erdoğan has launched three Turkish military interventions into Syria to drive the YPG away from its border. The most recent offensive in October 2019, codenamed Operation Peace Spring, was conducted after a conversation between Erdoğan and former President Donald Trump. The US Congress and other international allies criticised the US choice to withdraw suddenly, and it quickly backtracked. 

Erdoğan denies that he warned Trump that US troops were at risk of coming under fire if they were not pulled out. He also said that he has not asked President Joe Biden to pull US troops out of Syria. 

In Syria, Turkey has also competed and cooperated with American rivals like Russia and Iran, who back Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad. After the Peace Spring operation, Erdoğan secured a deal with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin that established a safe zone along the Syrian border that includes joint Russian-Turkish patrols. 

At the same time, Russia and Turkey have clashed through their proxies in the northwest province of Idlib. Turkey fears that a regime offensive into the last rebel held province will prompt a new wave of Syrian refugees across its borders, but Russia has supported several regime assaults on Turkish proxies. 

Moscow has repeated complaints that Ankara has failed to uphold its end of the ceasefire by disarming militants with the al-Qaeda affiliated Hayat Tahrir al-Sham terrorist group. 

It secured a new ceasefire with Russia after blunting a Syrian regime offensive in March 2020. Erdoğan is set to visit Sochi on September 29 for his first in-person meeting in over a year with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin to discuss the situation in Idlib. 

Asked whether he could guarantee no human rights abuses would take place if it interceded again in Syria after a hypothetical US drawdown, Erdoğan repeated his previous position that Turkey would remain in Syria for as long as other powers did the same. 

“We will never remain where we are not wanted,” he insisted. On the human rights question, Erdoğan did not answer it directly but pointed to the construction of homes in its occupied territories in northern Syria as being to the benefit of displaced refugees. 

Turkish policies in Syria have been criticized by the US State Department and United Nationsfor their displacement of local Kurds from their homes in favour of Syrian Arabs. This has been labeled an ethnic cleansing by several observers.

The Greater Washington DC Armenian community have joined the AYF Ani chapter in front of the Azerbaijani embassy demanding justice for the Artsakh and Armenian people, the immediate release of over 200 Armenian POWs, and sanctions against Turkey and Azerbaijan for war crimes, reports the Armenian National Committee of America.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Friday said that recent talks with US President Joe Biden were disappointing, which led his country to seek closer ties with Russia.

Speaking after Friday prayers in Istanbul, Erdoğan maintained that he and Biden had failed to accommodate their differences at a meeting during his visit to New York for the UN General Assembly this week.

“We have never experienced this situation with any US leader before. As two NATO countries, we need to be in a different [better] position,” he told journalists.

The Turkish president criticized U.S. support for Kurdish militants in Syria who were instrumental in fighting the Islamic State group, but Erdoğan government sees the US allies as another terrorist organisation, one that has no difference from Islamic State (ISIS) militants.

“Instead of fighting terrorist organizations, the U.S. is providing much more support to them than expected. It gives them considerable amount of weapons, tools and vehicles,” he said.

Ankara accuses the Kurdish militants in north-eastern Syria of being an extension of its decades-long foe, the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which has waged a 37-year insurgency against Turkey.

The PKK is recognised as a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the European Union and the United States for its insurgency against the Turkish state.

In the meantime, Erdoğan is scheduled to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Black Sea resort of Sochi on Sept. 29, where the leaders are expected to focus on the situation in Syria, and particularly in northwest province Idlib

Russia is the main ally of the Syrian government as Turkey endorses groups that have sought to topple Syrian President Bashar Assad.

Erdoğan said he would seek to upgrade relations with Moscow “much further” when he meets Putin.

“The Syrian regime poses a threat in the south of Turkey. I expect from Putin and Russia a different approach,” he said.

“We need to fight together in the south,” he added.

“I can’t really say that the Turkish-American relations are healthy at the moment,” the Turkish president told journalists on Thursday. What is more, Erdoğan claimed that in his 19 years in power he “worked well” with U.S. presidents George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Donald Trump. However, he added, “I can’t say that we had a good start with Mr. Biden.”

“Hraparak” newspaper writes. We have already written that the Independence Day concert was going to have a completely different program beforehand, in a really “colorful” and “tashi-tushi” style. However, on the one hand, the public uprising, on the other hand, the refusal of many performers to participate changed the plans of the organizers. By the way, the initial script of the concert was made in early August.

The representatives of “Domino Production” created a luxurious, colorful portfolio and visited the potential participants, presenting their offer. According to the preliminary program, Serzh Tankian and his group, Arthur Meschyan, Ruben Hakhverdyan, Tigran Hekekyan “Little Singers” were to take part in the celebration. However, a few days later it turned out that Tankyan’s group would not come.

Tankyan promised to at least come alone, then said that he could not do it alone. Meschyan also refused to participate, saying that his voice was not in good condition. Hekekyan rejected the offer on the spot. Hakhverdyan regretted much later. And it was decided to fill the absence of celebrities with classical music and technical effects. However, it is not clear what the more than $ 2 million was spent on and who provided it, if the allegations that it is not from the state budget are true. ” More details in today’s issue of the newspaper. Details: https://shabat.am/en/article/264475/Serjh-Tankyann-u-Artur-Meschyany

The House of Representatives has passed numerous amendments for the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), including one that requires U.S. State Department to prepare a report on Turkish ultranationalist group Grey Wolves, to decide whether to designate the group as a terrorist organisation.

According to the final amendment, US State Department’s report will study “on the activities of the Grey Wolves organisation (Bozkurtlar & Ülkü Ocakları) undertaken against U.S. interests, allies and international partners, including a review of the criteria met for designation as a foreign terrorist organization.”

The Grey Wolves’ origin can be found in the youth wing of today’s National Movement Party (MHP). The Grey Wolves have been linked to criminal violence across Turkey, primarily against leftist groups during the 1970s. MHP is currently in the ruling coalition, which is led by the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s Justice and Development Party.

The news is first reported by the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA), a pro-Armenian lobbying and advocacy group, which has been working to pass the amendment. 

The U.S. Senate is expected to consider its version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) over the next month, and if the Senate adapts the amendment with the rest of the NDAA budget, the bill will go to President Joe Biden’s desk. 

A determination as to whether the Grey Wolves meet the criteria for designation as a foreign terrorist organisation will be made according to the report, which should be prepared within 180 days, the amendment requires. If the Secretary of State concludes that Grey Wolves does not meet the condition to be designated as a terrorist organisation, the amendment asks the Department to detail its reasoning.

U.S. Representative Dina Titus proposed an amendment last week to the Fiscal Year 2022 NDAA to ban the group. France similarly announced last year that it would ban the Turkish ultranationalist group, after Austria’s barring of the Grey Wolves sign in 2018. The Turkish Foreign Ministry condemned those decisions and asked both countries to reverse them.

Lawmakers from the two opposition factions in the Armenian parliament on Friday decided to boycott a parliament sitting in protest against a government-drafted bill that would merge many cities and villages into bigger communities.

The bill proposes amendments to the laws “On Administrative-Territorial Division of the Republic of Armenia” and “On Local Self-Government”.

Ahead of the debates, Armenia faction secretary Artsvik Minasyan stated the draft law runs counter to Armenia’s Constitution and the decision of the Constitutional Court.

He said the opposition would ask the president to challenge its legality in the top court.

The opposition MP also blamed the government for setting “wrong priorities” amid the security challenges facing the country.

“For 12 days already, we have demanded a discussion with the participation of the National Security Service director, foreign and defense ministers and other senior officials. These days we are seeing a tense border situation, not only ‘flirting’ with Erdogan, but also Aliyev’s latest statements clearly indicate that we are dealing with security issues that are a priority for our state,” the MP said.

Minasyan announced his faction’s decision not to take part in the “illegal” debates.

Secretary of the I’m Honored faction Hayk Mamijanyan also joined the Armenia faction in boycotting the debates, claiming the bill on new administrative units is “politically motivated” and is actually aimed at removing “undesirable” local government officials from office.

Afterwards, the opposition lawmakers left the parliament sessions hall. 

According to a decision of the competent Artsakh authorities, a minute’s silence will be observed in Artsakh on September 27, at 11am, to pay tribute to the victims of the 44-day war unleashed by Azerbaijan last year.

At 10:30am on the same day, a requiem mass will be held at all churches of Artsakh for the repose of souls of the heroes who fell for the defense of the homeland, the Artsakh presidential office said.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has reaffirmed his country’s readiness to start negotiations on a peace agreement with Armenia, calling on Yerevan to choose between cooperation and territorial claims, TASS reports.

“As the [Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh)] conflict is over, Azerbaijan has already announced its readiness to embark upon the border delimitation and demarcation between Azerbaijan and Armenia, and to start negotiations on peace agreement with Armenia, based on mutual recognition of sovereignty and territorial integrity of each other. Such an agreement would turn our region into the region of peace and cooperation. However, we have not yet seen any positive reaction from Armenia regarding our proposal,” Aliyev said Thursday in his address at the 76th session of the UN General Assembly in New York.

According to him, transport projects can become one of the spheres serving peace and cooperation. The Azerbaijani president noted that in this context, “the Zangazur [i.e., Zangezur] corridor connecting mainland Azerbaijan with its inseparable part Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic,” will create new opportunities for the region.

Aliyev stressed that “Azerbaijan has created a new reality in the Southern Caucasus region which has to be taken into account by all.” According to him, “Armenia has to make a choice between regional cooperation and illegal and baseless territorial claims against its neighbors.”

The Armenian National Committee of America, Western Region (ANCA-WR) condemns in the strongest terms the vile act of vandalism against the St. Peter Armenian Apostolic Church in Van Nuys.

During the night of September 22, 2021, eight stained glass windows of the church were broken and the sign of a neighboring church on the property was vandalized. No one has been harmed, and the church reports that the LAPD is actively investigating this incident, while the parish priest and parish council are taking immediate measures to secure and protect the church.

“We call on the Los Angeles Police Department and other relevant law enforcement agencies to undertake a swift and thorough investigation to bring those responsible to justice,” remarked ANCA-WR Executive Director Armen Sahakyan. “This act of vandalism is especially concerning as we recently marked one year since the Armenophobic hate crimes that took place in San Francisco.”
ANCA-WR will continue to engage all tools at its disposal to protect the interests and ensure the safety and wellbeing of our community and its institutions.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has said that there is no Kurdish issue in Turkey, claiming that his Justice and Development Party (AKP) government had “already solved this issue,” CNN Turkish reported on Thursday.

Erdoğan’s comments came after Turkey’s main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu said in a recent documentary that he believed his party could negotiate with the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) to resolve the Kurdish issue and HDP should be the main addressee to solve the problem, instead of Abdullah Öcalan, the leader of the PKK, imprisoned in Turkey’s northwest.

Turkish President told reporters in the newly opened Turkish House (“Türkevi”) in New York that Turkey has no Kurdish problem and that his party had “already resolved this issue.”

“There is no such problem in Turkey. We have already resolved this issue and overcome it. If there are those who believe in unity, solidarity, brotherhood, let them come and continue the path all together,” Erdoğan is cited as saying by CNN Turkish.

Erdoğan’s statement came after main opposition leader’s new stance on the Kurdish issue has led to a heated debate in Turkish politics.

Speaking in a documentary, Kılıçdaroğlu said that the HDP was the only “legitimate” interlocutor for the solution. The HDP, Turkey’s second-largest opposition party, is accused of being a hotbed for the outlawed PKK, a charge the group denies. The party is currently facing a closure case over terror links amid a years-long government crackdown on the party.

Kılıçdaroğlu said that the state “cannot deal with an illegitimate body such as İmralı” to solve the issue in a reference to the island where Abdullah Öcalan, the leader of the PKK, is jailed.

In the meantime, HDP’s co-chair Mithad Sancar said that he viewed positively recent remarks by Kılıçcdaroğlu who recognized the HDP as the key actor in finding a solution to Turkey’s Kurdish problem.

“Kılıçdaroğlu’s remarks could create a positive effect on account of reviving a discussion that should have been left behind, but has been suppressed for some time,” Sancar said.

“If the priority is a political solution, then we believe the main address for it should be the Turkish Grand Assembly,’’ the HDP co-chairman said.

“As such, all actors of the Kurdish problem should be included.’’

Since 1984, Turkey has been locked in a struggle against the PKK, a Kurdish militant group that is considered a terrorist organisation by Ankara, the United States and the European Union.