On Wednesday the Turkish prime minister Ahmet Davutoglu accused Russia of “ethnic cleansing” in northern Syria. “Russia is trying to make ethnic cleansing in northern Latakia to force (out) all Turkmen and Sunni population who do not have good relations with the regime,” Davutoglu said during a news conference in Istanbul. “They want to expel them, they want to ethnically cleanse this area... 

Turkish media outlets are concerned that Russia is beefing up its military presence around the country following the shootdown of a Russian bomber over Syrian airspace, according to Hurriyet Daily News. In particular, it says, “Russia sent 14 helicopters to Armenia and deployed them to the Erebuni Air Base near the capital Yerevan on December 8.Seven of these helicopters are armored Mi-24 attack... 

Syria has announced plan to export more than 700,000 tons of citrus fruits to Russia after Moscow banned imports of Turkish fruit and vegetables in response to the downing of its bomber plane over Syria. A senior Syrian government official said on Tuesday that the measure aims to “fill the gap” left by Moscow’s ban on Turkish agricultural products, AFP reported. “We are preparing... 

Iran’s Expediency Council Secretary Mohsen Rezaie has said that Tehran was ready to provide the Turkish government with necessary information regarding Daesh and their oil trade, Iranian media reported. “Iranian military advisors in Syria have taken photos and filmed all the routes used by ISIL’s oil tankers to Turkey. If the Turkish authorities are unaware of the Daesh oil sales in... 

The Iraqi government has demanded that Ankara withdraw the more than 100 Turkish forces that entered Iraq with tanks and artillery for alleged “training” of troops near Islamic State-occupied Mosul. Baghdad stressed the unsanctioned move was a breach of its sovereignty. The Iraqi foreign ministry said in a statement early on Saturday that the Turkish troops were acting in violation of the country’s... 

The Russian Defense Ministry has released evidence which it says unmasks vast illegal oil trade by Islamic State and points to Turkey as the main destination for the smuggled petrol, implicating its leadership in aiding the terrorists. The Russian Defense Ministry held a major briefing on new findings concerning IS funding in Moscow on Wednesday. According to Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov,... 

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin says Turkey will repent “more than once” the downing of a Russian fighter jet near the Syrian-Turkish border, stating that Moscow will not turn a blind eye to Ankara’s “aiding of terrorists.” Addressing Russian lawmakers in his annual state of the nation on Thursday, Putin said Russia still cannot comprehend why the downing took place,... 

On November 25, Russia sent the most powerful vessel of the Black Sea Navy, the Moskva cruiser, to the coastal area of Syria’s Latakia Province. The cruiser is equipped with Fort air defense system that is similar to Russia’s renowned S-300 anti-aircraft complex. Soon afterwards, Turkey sent two of its submarines, Dolunay and Burakreis, to the same area to watch the Russian vessel. How... 

Russia is now equipping its Su-34 fighters with air-to-air missiles in preparation for potential dogfights with NATO over Syria. “Today, Russian Su-34 fighter-bombers have made their first sortie equipped not only with high explosive aviation bombs and hollow charge bombs, but also with short- and medium-range air-to-air missiles,” Russian Air Force spokesman Igor Klimov told RT. “The planes... 

Russia has received additional intelligence confirming that oil from deposits controlled by Islamic State is moved through Turkey on an industrial scale, said Vladimir Putin. President Recep Erdogan said he will resign if this is confirmed. Moscow has grounds to suspect that Turkey shot down a Russian Su-24 on November 24 to secure illegal oil deliveries from Syria to Turkey, Putin said on the sidelines... 

Are Russia and Turkey on the verge of going to war? In remarks that were almost entirely ignored by the western media, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov accused the Turkish government of being “secret allies” with ISIS on Friday. And on Monday, the Russians announced that they would be attempting to seal the border between Syria and Turkey, and we also learned that the Russians have been... 

3 Turkish officers, involved in the inspection of an intelligence agency’s weapons-filled trucks, destined for Syrian terror groups, have been arrested on treason and espionage charges. Meanwhile journalists who broke the news face similar charges. A few days after the trucks were bombed, the Turks have claimed that the convoy was allegedly carrying only humanitarian aid for Syrians. On Saturday,... 

The daunting prospect of millions of Turks moving to Britain arose after EU leaders tabled a deal in exchange for help stemming the flood of migrants into Europe. They are offering the huge country £2billion in cash, visa-free travel for its citizens and speeded up membership talks if it clamps down on people trafficking and migration across its borders. The deal was expected to be signed off by... 

Turkey strives for a resurgence of the Ottoman Empire. Republican presidential candidate Marco Rubio told Fox News earlier this week if push comes to shove the United States must side with Turkey in a confrontation with Russia. “They are a member of the NATO alliance,” Rubio said, “and if we were not to come to Turkey’s defense in any instance, it would undermine the NATO alliance and that... 

“The president is mobilized, fully mobilized, mobilized to the extent that circumstances demand,” Vladimir Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said on Saturday. “The circumstances are unprecedented. The gauntlet thrown down to Russia is unprecedented. So naturally the reaction is in line with this threat,” he told Russia’s “News on Saturday” TV program. In addition to placing S-400...