MEDIA TRACKING FOR 22 SEPTEMBER, 2022

Today's Top Stories

Download today's full report as a PDF 

 

HEADLINES

 

Russia and Ukraine have exchanged 200 prisoners of war as a result of Turkey’s mediation and diplomatic efforts with the leaders of the two countries, according to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.  (All digital media outlets reported)

 

President Erdogan called for the lifting of US steel and aluminum tariffs imposed in 2018, which he said would significantly contribute to joint efforts between the two nations. (NTV)

 

Russian President Vladimir Putin has declared a partial military mobilization campaign.  Putin accused the West of engaging in "nuclear blackmail", adding: "I'm warning the West: We have many nuclear weapons with which to respond. This isn't a bluff." (Hurriyet)

 

The world responds to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s partial mobilization effort. “The decision points to a huge strategic mistake on Putin’s part,” NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg said. The United States and Britain viewed the decision as a sign that the war was not going according to Putin’s plan. Ukrainian President Zelenskyy ruled out the possibility of Russia using nuclear weapons. The President of the Council of Europe, Charles Michel, also reaffirmed the EU's strong support for Ukraine. (NTV)

 

The Defense Ministry said that 1 soldier was martyred and 2 wounded in clashes with members of the PKK in the Operation Claw-Lock region. (Milliyet)

 

Two people were killed and five injured after a firefighting helicopter crashed in Turkey’s southwestern Denizli province. The Russian helicopter involved in the crash was reportedly en route to assist with efforts to put out a forest fire in Mugla's Marmaris district.   (NTV)

 

Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Minister Murat Kurum said, "Our discount campaign is ready for home and business buyers who wish to pay back their debts early and get their title deeds without having to wait." (Karar)

 

The trial in which Istanbul Metropolitan Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu is accused of insulting the members of the Supreme Election Board has been adjourned. (T24)

 

Police in Turkey prevented a group of families known as Saturday Mothers from reading a statement outside Istanbul courthouse where a hearing was being held against some of the group members.

At least 14 people from the group, who were named after their relentless sit-ins on every Saturday since 1995 were detained including top officials from opposition parties and union members while journalists were beaten by the police. The detainees released later. (BirGun)

 

The US Federal Reserve raised its benchmark interest rate by 75 basis points for the third consecutive time. (All digital media outlets reported)

 

SUMMARIES

ERASMUS

 

CHP Kocaeli Deputy Tahsin Tarhan spoke in parliament on claims suggesting that students and teachers were seeking asylum in countries they had traveled to overseas under the Erasmus+ program, posing three separate parliamentary questions in relation to the matter.  Tarhan submitted parliamentary questions that were specifically directed to the foreign, interior and education ministers. (Gebzehaber.net)

 

Many Erasmus students are having to spend the night at train stations and sleep rough in the streets due to mounting home rent fees caused by Europe's high inflation and the energy crisis.  The ordeal some Spanish students have faced in finding affordable housing after they chose Italy for their European Union student exchange program has made headline news in Spain. (Sabah)

 

EUROPEAN MOBILITY WEEK

 

The Gaziantep Metropolitan Municipality has scheduled a list of various events to mark European Mobility Week, which is celebrated across the country every year between Sept. 16-22.  An electric test bus was loaned to the Festival Park, which played host to GastroAntep, one of the events marking the week's celebrations, which were carried out under the coordination of the Metropolitan Municipality's Directorate of Transport. An information stand was set up for visitors in the Festival Park, which also hosted competition and bicycle raffles. (Telegraf.net)

 

TURKEY, EU AND EU MEMBER STATES

 

FM Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Twitter, “Met with FM Annalena Baerbock of Germany in NY. Discussed visa issues, Aegean questions and the latest developments in Ukraine.”

 

EP-Parliamentary Joint Committee Co-Chair Sergey Lagodinsky said that unless there was substantial progress in the field of fundamental rights and democracy in Turkey, no progress would be made on issues such as visa liberalization. (DW Turkce)

 

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said, “Greece will not be bullied by anyone.” (Kathimerini)

 

Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias called on Turkey to return to the realm of logical reasoning as soon as possible. (Gercek News)

 

Karar columnist Mehmet Ocaktan wrote, "We do not have the luxury of turning our backs on the Western world. However, despite it going against the nature of things, we cannot give up on our bid to join Shanghai, which is seen as the "union of despotic countries". I believe that President Erdogan's rhetoric about joining in the Shanghai theater is another way of saying ‘Look, I'll leave you behind’ to the US and Europe, which have been trying to distance themselves from him.”

 

Yeni Safak columnist Yasin Aktay wrote, “Turkey, which has tied its interests to diversity in foreign policy over the years, is not giving up its EU membership bid by establishing a relationship with the Shanghai Organization.  By taking part in all non-EU collectives, Turkey can stand out as a stronger and more beneficial EU candidate.  Shanghai may make an additional contribution to economic relations with the EU, not as an alternative.”

 

The Russian Embassy in Southern Cyprus has described news reports of Russia beginning to schedule direct flights to Northern Cyprus as mere "speculation". (BirGun)

 

The foreign minister of the “Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC)” said it came as no "surprise" that Greek Cyprus had welcomed the United States' decision to lift its arms embargo on the Greek Cypriot administration, adding that it was a clear sign of the Greek Cypriot leadership's inability to abandon its policy of aggression towards the Turkish Cypriot people in its bid to destroy the “TRNC”. (Daily Sabah)

 

A European Union geographical indication application has already been filed for Ipsala rice.  (Hurriyet)

 

MIGRANTS & REFUGEES

 

Coast Guard units in Turkey’s western provinces rescued 255 illegal migrants after Greek authorities pushed them into Turkish territorial waters. (Anadolu Agency)

 

Two migrant smugglers have been arrested in the wake of a migrant disaster in the Aegean Sea that killed 6 people, including 5 children. Authorities determined that the organizers had been paid €1500 apiece for each migrant. (NTV)

 

The Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD) announced that 68,713 of the 86,481 briquette houses slated for construction at 284 different locations in Syria had been completed. (Sol Haber)

 

A Syrian medical student says he wants to serve Turkey as a doctor as a sign of his gratitude to the country over its willingness to welcome his family as they fled the war in Syria.  (Yeni Safak)

 

Muhammed Isa Abdullah, the co-owner of a Somalian restaurant in Ankara, was detained following a spate of racially motivated attacks. His lawyer spoke on the possibility of Abdullah being transferred to a repatriation center. (Duvar English)

 

Milliyet columnist Hakki Ocal wrote, “The Council of the European Union (the European Commission) pays Greece for every boat it manages 'to keep away from Greece's shores'.  These funds are paid out by the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex), which answers to the President of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.  Perhaps von der Leyen, a Belgian-born woman of German descent who speaks French as her native language, could get hold of a good translator to translate the following: The blood of Asim and Abdulvahap is on her hands.  Of course, she first needs to find out who Asim and Abdulvahap are."

 

RUSSIAN AGGRESSION AGAINST UKRAINE

 

Presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin hailed the exchange on Twitter, saying: "This exchange, which took place as a result of our President's extensive diplomatic efforts, is one of the most important outcomes of the peace diplomacy pursued by our country. Turkey always favors peace."

 

White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said on Twitter, “We thank Ukrainian President Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian government for including 2 US citizens in the prisoner exchange announced today. We thank the Crown Prince and Government of Saudi Arabia for facilitating the exchange. We look forward to our citizens being reunited with their families. I would like to thank the Turkish government for helping facilitate the exchange of prisoners between Ukraine and Russia, building on their leadership on the grain deal.”

 

Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak said on Twitter, “Commanders from Azovstal - Denys Prokopenko Redis, Serhiy Volynskyi Volyna, Svyatoslav Palamar, Denys Shleha, Oleh Khomenko - are already safe. It's a result of personal arrangements between @ZelenskyyUa and @RTErdogan. Many thanks to the President of Turkey.”

 

All flights from Moscow Airport to Turkey have been sold out for the next three days following the signing of a mobilization decree by Russia’s President ordering the deployment of 300,000 reservists. (Diken)

 

 

Ankara has expressed concern over Russia's plans to hold referenda in certain parts of Ukraine. (Hurriyet)

 

Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said that the decision by Russia to hold referendums showed “the seriousness of the situation” in Ukraine. (Anadolu Agency)

 

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz praised mediation efforts by the United Nations and Turkey, saying that they made grain exports from Ukraine possible and "deserve great respect." (Daily Sabah)

 

Eight more ships have left Ukrainian ports under the Istanbul grain export deal, the Defense Ministry said. (CNN Turk)

 

The New York Times carried a photo of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in its Wednesday issue, hailing his peace efforts amid the war between Russia and Ukraine. (A Haber)

 

UNGA

 

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met with Austrian counterpart Alexander Van der Bellen, Poland’s PM Andrzej Duda,  UK's new Prime Minister Liz Truss, US Senator James Risch, and Lebanon’s PM Najib Mikati on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.  

 

Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu  met with his Finnish counterpart on the sidelines of the 77th session of the UN General Assembly in New York.

 

An Astana format meeting on Syria between the foreign ministers of Turkey, Iran and Russia was held in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. (Anadolu Agency)

 

Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu stated that the fight against terrorism could not be won unless the factors helping terrorism thrive were addressed. (NTV)

 

INTERNATIONAL

 

Turkey’s trade volume with the US will reach $100 billion "in a short time" if the current momentum is kept "decisively," President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said. (Anadolu Agency)

 

Syria's former ambassador to Ankara, Nidal Kabalan, said that there had been some degree of progress in normalizing relations between Turkey and Syria, and that Damascus now expected Turkey to take more concrete steps to resolve the standoff. (BBC News Turkce)

 

Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid thanked President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for intel cooperation over Iranian attempts to target tourists in Istanbul this summer, as the pair met on the sidelines at the UN General Assembly. (Karar)

 

Turkish defense firm Baykar has delivered 20 of its pioneering armed drones to the United Arab Emirates this month and could sell more. (Daily Sabah)

 

The Turkish Foreign Ministry has expressed "concern" over the "politically motivated" sentencing of Crimean Tatar political figures. (Sabah)

 

DOMESTIC POLITICS

 

CHP leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu said that, contrary to rumors being fueled by certain media outlets, there was no crisis among the members of the roundtable of six. (Cumhuriyet)

 

In a statement, a company that erected billboards across the city ahead of CHP leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu's Elazig visit said, "Billboards were put up at request of political parties associated with the People's Alliance.” (Medyascope)

 

Future Party leader Ahmet Davutoglu recently visited with IYI Party leader Meral Aksener. Davutoglu said, "Now, the synergy and energy that make up the roundtable of six continues by getting stronger.” (Sozcu)

 

In a criticism of the Social Housing Project recently announced by President Erdogan, Felicity Party leader Temel Karamollaoglu said, “I'm afraid to say that calling the project 'social' does not make it so.  (Cumhuriyet)

 

On the closure case against the HDP at the Constitutional Court, Great Unity Party (BBP) leader Mustafa Destici said that "HDP should be closed without ever being opened again.” (Muhalif)

 

Google's auto-complete function has been adding the word 'cancel' to user searches for 'AKP membership' or 'AK Party membership', particularly over the last 3 months, according to a study of search trends over the last 12 months. (Cumhuriyet)

 

48.1% of the public say they would vote for CHP leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu, while 38.2% say they would cast a vote for AKP leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan if an election were held this Sunday, according to an Artibir poll. (T24)

 

Constitutional Court Chair Zuhtu Arslan said that interpretations of the constitution and legal statutes tended to draw on ideology and rights-based approaches, adding that the Constitutional Court had tended toward a 'rights-based' approach, particularly after 2012. (Gercek Gundem)

 

Emre Olur, who is known to be an adviser to mob boss Sedat Peker, has been arrested. (Halk TV)

 

The detailed ruling in the case concerning the 2019 attack on main opposition CHP leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu has been announced. Accordingly, the court ruled to commute the sentences of the assailants, citing 'concern for their future lives' and 'their show of good faith'. (Duvar English)

 

Turkey’s Constitutional Court has ruled that a prison administration’s refusal to provide an inmate with copies of the Evrensel daily did not constitute a rights violation. (Duvar English)

 

In an attempt to silence FOX reporter Yesim Karacagoglu during a function, Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag’s press adviser Bilal Cetin was heard telling Karacaoglu to "not ask questions" Cetin told the reporter that FOX TV would not have been allowed in under normal circumstances. (Cumhuriyet)

 

Turkey’s Communications Directorate is set to develop a Turkish language course for accredited international journalists residing in the country. (Anadolu Agency)

 

According to the Sanliurfa Bas Association's 'Report on Victims and Juveniles Driven to Crime', which studies the period between January 1, 2021 and July 1, 2022, the 18-month period saw 988 of the city's children, including 107 boys, become victims of sexual abuse.  (T24)

 

A wildfire is raging in the Turkish port town of Marmaris, a tourist destination on the Aegean Sea. (Aksam)

 

 

Turkey’s Karahantepe archaeological site will be the focus of an upcoming documentary by the US-based History channel. (Anadolu Agency)

 

The Qatari Embassy in Ankara has launched a publicity campaign to promote the FIFA World Cup that the Gulf nation will be hosting later this year.  (Anadolu Agency)

 

THE ECONOMY

 

Commenting on adjustments to the minimum wage, the Minister for Labor and Social Security Bilgin said, "We'll be raising wages again this coming December. We shall provide relief to our employees and workers who have been hurt by inflation."  (NTV)

 

Following a lengthy rally, Borsa Istanbul shares have been experiencing sharp declines over the last two weeks. Bank shares have begun plummeting after a sharp increase in value.  Two of Turkey's largest banks have initiated buybacks of their own shares in response to declining shares.  (Diken)

 

SECURITY NEWS

 

10 people have been detained in an operation against the Gulenist organization in Adana. (Hurriyet)

 

The National Intelligence Agency (MIT) has neutralized 6 PKK/KCK militants in the Gara and Metina regions of northern Iraq. (A Haber)

 

In a statement, the Defense Ministry said that 9 PKK/YPG militants had been neutralized in the Operation Peace Spring and Euphrates Shield zones in northern Syria. (Yeni Safak)

 

In a statement, the Defense Ministry revealed that a large cache of weapons and munitions belonging to terrorists had been seized during search and seizure operations in the Operation Claw-Lock region. (Haberturk)

 

The Interior Ministry has announced the seizure 12 kilograms of C4 explosives sent by the PKK/KCK/PYD/YPG terrorist organization members from Manbij through their collaborators to orchestrate an attack in Afrin.  (Aksam)

 

An anti-drug raid in Istanbul has resulted in the seizure 593-kilo shipment of marijuana. Three people have been taken into custody in connection with the incident. (ANKA News Agency)

 

WHAT IS EXPECTED?

 

Transport and Infrastructure Minister Adil Karaismailoglu will attend the groundbreaking ceremony for Siirt's Pervari Road.

 

The Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey (CBRT) Monetary Policy Committee will announce its decision on interest rates.

 

The Turkish Statistical Institute will announce its consumer confidence index figures for September.

 

Health Minister Fahrettin Koca will attend the Turkey-Azerbaijan Health Business Forum

 

Journalist Hayko Bagdat will face trial in Istanbul on charges of spreading terrorist propaganda.

 

Journalist Nuracan Yalcin will face trial in Diyarbakir on the charge of aiding a terrorist organization without being a member.

 

Journalists Cayan Demirel and Ertugrul Mavioglu will face trial in Batman on the charge of spreading terrorist propaganda.

Download today's full report as a PDF