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Added on the 25/01/2023 01:03:21 - Copyright : France 24 EN
Images of Turkish fighter jets taking off from a military base in Diyarbakir to carry out strikes against positions and targets of Kurdish fighters in northern Syria. According to a statement from the Ministry of Defence, "Turkey carried out air strikes this evening at 23:00 (20:00 GMT) in the regions of Tel Rifat, Cizire and Derik in northern Syria and destroyed 30 targets". Since Sunday evening, Ankara has been carrying out a campaign of drone bombings, which left at least nine people dead on Thursday, against PKK and YPG targets in Syria, in retaliation for the attack that wounded two policemen in Ankara on Sunday. IMAGES
NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg says he has convened a meeting between the leaders of Turkey and Sweden on the eve of a summit next week to push Stockholm's stalled membership bid. "On Monday, in Vilnius, I will convene a meeting with President Erdogan and Prime Minister Kristersson, as the next step in this process," Stoltenberg says after talks at NATO headquarters with foreign ministers from the two countries. SOUNDBITE
Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, asks the country's parliament to vote on Finland's application to joint the NATO defence alliance, saying "I wish that this decision will be good for our countries and our alliance". Erdogan's announcement comes as Finnish President, Sauli Niinistö, visits Ankara. SOUNDBITE
"About the NATO membership, we have to take it calmly and we have to wait for the elections in Turkey to take place" says Finnish President Sauli Niinisto. The comment comes after the Finnish Minister of Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto announced Finland has to consider joining NATO without Sweden, whose bid appears to grind to a halt after Ankara blasted Stockholm over anti-Turkey protests. "Keep your watch on the ball but don’t be a ball yourself," adds Niinisto. SOUNDBITE
On the last day of a NATO summit in Madrid, United States President Joe Biden says that the US "should sell" modern F-16 fighter jets to Turkey when asked by a journalist as to whether he offered them to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as a quid pro quo. "It's not in our interest not to do that", he adds. SOUNDBITE
Turkey signs a memorandum with Finland and Sweden supporting the invitation for the two Nordic countries to become members of NATO. IMAGES