«Υπό τη σκιά εξαιρετικά δυσάρεστων εξελίξεων σε ό,τι αφορά στη λειτουργία του νεοϊδρυθέντος Ελληνικού Διαστημικού Οργανισμού (ΕΛΔΟ) και τη δική μου συμμετοχή ως Προέδρου, αισθάνομαι την ανάγκη να ανακοινώσω δημοσίως την παραίτησή μου από το εν λόγω αξίωμα και να ενημερώσω με την αρμόζουσα υπευθυνότητα για τους λόγους που την κατέστησαν αναγκαία.
Με επιστολή μου στον κ. Υπουργό Ψηφιακής Πολιτικής, Τηλεπικοινωνιών και Ενημέρωσης στις 16/4/2018 παραιτήθηκα από την Προεδρία του ΕΛΔΟ μετά από μόλις 4 εβδομάδες παραμονής και 3 συνεδριάσεις του Διοικητικού Συμβουλίου. Οι λόγοι που με οδήγησαν στη δυσάρεστη αυτή απόφαση εκτιμώ ότι είναι μάλλον εύκολο να γίνουν κατανοητοί.
Προτεραιότητα για εμένα ήταν και παραμένει το καλό της χώρας. Η ανάγκη ίδρυσης διαστημικής υπηρεσίας στην Ελλάδα ήταν επιτακτική τα τελευταία 30 χρόνια και η κυβερνητική πρωτοβουλία επικροτήθηκε από την επιστημονική και τεχνολογική κοινότητα, καθώς και τους φίλους της Ελλάδος στο εξωτερικό.
Ομολογουμένως, η δομή και οι αρχές λειτουργίας του ΕΛΔΟ που αρχικά προτείναμε (άνοιξη του 2017) με την άτυπη ομάδα εργασίας στην οποία ήμουν συντονιστής κατόπιν προσκλήσεως του κ. Υπουργού, ήταν σύμφωνα με τα διεθνή πρότυπα. Κάποιες ατέλειες που είχαν επισημανθεί με σχετικό υπόμνημα στο νομοσχέδιο που τελικά απετέλεσε τον ιδρυτικό νόμο του ΕΛΔΟ (ν. 4508/2017), ήταν αντιμετωπίσιμες όπως με διαβεβαίωνε ο κ. Υπουργός. Ωστόσο, Υπουργικές Αποφάσεις που ακολούθησαν, (Υπ. Απ. 3095/2018, Αρ. ΦΕΚ 915, 15/3/2018) πρακτικά ακύρωσαν το λόγο ύπαρξης του ΕΛΔΟ, καθιστώντας τον μια μη αξιόπιστη γραφειοκρατική δομή που θα μπορούσε να γίνει υποχείριο οποιουδήποτε πολιτικού προϊστάμενου.
Δυστυχώς πολύ σύντομα μου έγινε σαφές ότι ο κ. Γ.Γ. Τηλεπικοινωνιών και Ταχυδρομείων έχει αναλάβει, υπό την ανοχή του κ. Υπουργού, το ρόλο του «Τσάρου του Διαστήματος» στην Ελλάδα, αν και δεν έχει καμία γνώση και εμπειρία σε αυτόν τον τομέα. Φαίνεται λοιπόν πως εγώ περισσεύω, εφόσον δεν δέχομαι να είμαι φερέφωνο κανενός.
Το παρόν νομικό πλαίσιο, όπως εφαρμόστηκε με τις πρόσφατες Υπουργικές Αποφάσεις, ακρωτηρίασε τον ΕΛΔΟ, μεταφέροντας τις αρμοδιότητές του, όπως η εκπροσώπηση της χώρας στον Ευρωπαϊκό Διαστημικό Οργανισμό, σε μη ειδικούς υπαλλήλους του Υπουργείου. Δυστυχώς, έτσι δημιουργούνται συνθήκες που υπονομεύουν τα «3Α» όπως συνηθίζω να λέω, Αξιολόγηση, Αξιοκρατία, Αριστεία, και καθιστούν τη συμμετοχή μου αδύνατη.
Εκτίμησή μου είναι ότι γίνεται προσπάθεια καθαρής χειραγώγησης του ΕΛΔΟ προς προκαθορισμένες κατευθύνσεις. Διέκρινα ξεκάθαρη διάθεση και συχνά επιμονή να προωθηθούν δράσεις χωρίς αξιολόγηση, χωρίς αξιοκρατία, μακριά από τα διεθνή πρότυπα, να υπηρετηθούν προσωπικές ατζέντες και να υπάρχει πλήρης έλεγχος από τη Γενική Γραμματεία.
Η πιο δυσάρεστη όμως έκπληξη ήταν ότι ο ΕΛΔΟ αποκλείστηκε με Υπουργική Απόφαση (3095/2018, Αρ. ΦΕΚ 915, 15/3/2018) από την αξιολόγηση και τη διαχείριση (κατανομή χρηματοδότησης) όλων των Διαστημικών Προγραμμάτων του Ευρωπαϊκού Διαστημικού Οργανισμού (περίπου 16 εκ. ευρώ), αρμοδιότητα η οποία πέρασε σε επιλεγμένους διοικητικούς υπαλλήλους της Γενικής Γραμματείας του Υπουργείου, αντίθετα σε κάθε διεθνή πρακτική και σε κάθε λογική. Η διαχείριση των προγραμμάτων του ΕΟΔ (ESA), στον οποίο η χώρα μας πληρώνει ετήσια εισφορά, ανήκει θεσμικά και ουσιαστικά στη Διαστημική Υπηρεσία κάθε χώρας. Η κρισιμότητα, η πολυπλοκότητα και το οικονομικό μέγεθος τέτοιων προγραμμάτων επιτάσσουν την ενασχόληση εξειδικευμένου και έμπειρου προσωπικού υψηλού κύρους, και γνώσεων.
Αυτός είναι ο μόνος τρόπος να υλοποιηθούν με αποτελεσματικότητα και ταχύτητα πολύπλοκα προγράμματα που απαιτούν εξειδικευμένη γνώση. Κάθε παρέκκλιση καθίσταται ύποπτη καθώς δημιουργεί συνθήκες αδιαφάνειας. Και το δηλώνω έχοντας υπάρξει ο μόνος που ηγήθηκε υλοποίησης διαστημικού προγράμματος που ολοκληρώθηκε με απόλυτη επιτυχία, συντομότερα και φθηνότερα του προβλεπόμενου, επιστρέφοντας μάλιστα χρήματα στη NASA.
Δυστυχώς, ο κ. Γ.Γ δεν περιορίσθηκε μόνο στη θεσμική απαξίωση του ΕΛΔΟ. Ενδεικτικά σας αναφέρω ότι ενώ το 'Ε.Κ.Ε.Φ.Ε. Δημόκριτος' μας πρόσφερε αρχικά γραφειακό χώρο για τη στέγαση του ΕΛΔΟ, και σε βάθος χρόνου τη δυνατότητα επέκτασης σε ανεξάρτητο κτήριο, ο κ. Γ.Γ. διαφώνησε, επιμένοντας να μας στεγάσει σε ένα διάδρομο του Υπουργείου, δίπλα στο γραφείο του για λόγους που φαντάζομαι πως γίνονται αντιληπτοί. Φαντασθείτε την εικόνα και την εντύπωση που θα δημιουργούσε σε επισκέπτες, αξιωματούχους του ΕΟΔ και ηγέτες Διαστημικών Υπηρεσιών άλλων κρατών, η περιπλάνηση σε διαδρόμους και γραφεία ενός πολυώροφου κτηρίου ανάμεσα σε εργαζόμενους οι οποίοι ουδεμία σχέση έχουν με το αντικείμενο του ΕΛΔΟ.
Αντιλαμβανόμενος ότι εγείρεται το εύλογο ερώτημα ύπαρξης πιθανών οικονομικών συμφερόντων, οφείλω να είμαι σαφής επ’αυτού. Όταν προαναγγέλλεται ένα πρόγραμμα 11 μικροδορυφόρων ύψους 23,9 εκατ. ευρώ (http://www.documentonews.gr/article/pappas-mikrodoryforoi-sthn-yphresia-ths-dhmosias-dioikhshs), περιμένει κανείς ότι υπάρχουν μελέτες με τους σκοπούς, τις προδιαγραφές, το σχέδιο κατασκευής υποδομών, κάποιο ρεαλιστικό χρονοδιάγραμμα, και κατάλληλο προσωπικό για την υλοποίησή του, ειδικά όταν συνοδεύεται από υποσχέσεις για ολοκλήρωση σε πολύ σύντομο χρόνο. Δυστυχώς αυτές οι συνθήκες δεν υπάρχουν, ενώ, όπως διαπίστωσα, ο ρόλος του ΕΛΔΟ στο πρόγραμμα, είναι τυπικός και προαποφασισμένος. Συμφέροντα οπωσδήποτε υπάρχουν στους εμπλεκόμενους οργανισμούς και εταιρίες, χωρίς αυτό να είναι κατ’ανάγκη κακό εφόσον τηρούνται οι συνθήκες διαφάνειας μιας ελεύθερης οικονομίας. Προϋπόθεση για την επιτυχία ενός τέτοιου προγράμματος είναι η διαφάνεια και αξιολόγηση από ειδικούς σε όλα τα στάδια υλοποίησης.
Όταν η αποκλειστική διοίκηση γίνεται από κάποια Γενική Γραμματεία και από προεπιλεγμένους κρατικούς υπαλλήλους, χωρίς καμιά εμπειρία σε διαστημικά προγράμματα, η προσπάθεια καθίσταται εξαρχής προβληματική, καθοριστικά αδιαφανής, με χωρίς ιδιαίτερη εμπιστοσύνη για την επιτυχή υλοποίηση ενός τέτοιου πολύπλοκου έργου.
Σημειώνω, ωστόσο, ότι δεν υπέπεσε κάτι ποινικά κολάσιμο στην αντίληψή μου, ούτε είναι δικός μου ρόλος να διερευνήσω κάτι τέτοιο. Θυμάμαι, όμως ότι στις ΗΠΑ, κατά τη διερεύνηση του σκανδάλου Watergate, η έκφραση που έγινε δημοφιλής ήταν το 'follow the money'.
Κλείνοντας τη δυσάρεστη, πλην όμως επιβεβλημένη περιγραφή, θα ήταν παράληψή μου να μην ευχαριστήσω τα υπόλοιπα (παραιτηθέντα και συνεχίζοντα) μέλη του βραχύβιου πρώτου Διοικητικού Συμβουλίου του ΕΛΔΟ για τη σύντομη συνεργασία μας. Αισθάνομαι όμως και την ανάγκη να διευκρινίσω γιατί επέλεξα να εμπλακώ στην όλη διαδικασία. Η αλήθεια είναι ότι αρχικά συζήτησα αναλυτικά τις απαιτούμενες προδιαγραφές για τη σωστή λειτουργία του Οργανισμού, και μου δόθηκαν πολλαπλώς προσωπικές διαβεβαιώσεις για την αξιοκρατική και σοβαρή λειτουργία του. Όταν κλήθηκα να υπηρετήσω τη χώρα μου από μία θέση που γνωρίζω πολύ καλά, θεώρησα πατριωτικό μου καθήκον να δεχθώ.
Ζήτησα και πήρα τις διαβεβαιώσεις που έπρεπε από τον κ. Υπουργό, οι οποίες όμως τελικά δεν τηρήθηκαν. Προσπάθησα να κάνω το καλύτερο δυνατόν, αξιοποιώντας τους καλύτερους. Δυστυχώς η προσπάθεια δεν ευοδώθηκε. Τα τελευταία 13 χρόνια ταξιδεύω και δίνω ομιλίες σε ολόκληρη την Ελλάδα, ενθαρρύνοντας μαθητές, φοιτητές, νέους ανθρώπους αλλά και συνεργάτες που βλέπω κάθε πρωί, να συνεχίζουν να προσπαθούν παρά τις δυσκολίες. Δεν θα μπορούσα να τους απογοητεύσω αποτελώντας εξαίρεση, αρνούμενος να βοηθήσω όταν ζητήθηκε από εμένα. Έχω χρέος απέναντι σε όσους κοιτώ στα μάτια και τους ζητώ να προσπαθούν. Αυτό το χρέος με ώθησε να στρατευτώ, το ίδιο χρέος με οδήγησε σε παραίτηση.
Με εκτίμηση,
Σ.Μ. Κριμιζής,
Ακαδημαϊκός
Επίτιμος Διευθυντής Διαστημικών Προγραμμάτων της ΝΑΣΑ, Πανεπιστήμιο
Johns Hopkins, ΗΠΑ
Τέως Πρόεδρος του Ελληνικού Διαστημικού Οργανισμού
Thursday, April 26, 2018
Wednesday, April 25, 2018
The Thucydides Trap
When one great power threatens to displace another, war is almost always the result -- but it doesn’t have to be.
BY GRAHAM ALLISON | JUNE 9, 2017, 10:21 AM
n April, chocolate cake had just been served at the Mar-a-Lago summit when President Donald Trump leaned over to tell Chinese President Xi Jinping that American missiles had been launched at Syrian air bases, according to Trump’s account of the evening. What the attack on Syria signaled about Trump’s readiness to attack North Korea was left to Xi’s imagination.
Welcome to dinner with the leaders who are now attempting to manage the world’s most dangerous geopolitical relationship.
The story is a small one. But as China challenges America’s predominance, misunderstandings about each other’s actions and intentions could lead them into a deadly trap first identified by the ancient Greek historian Thucydides. As he explained, “It was the rise of Athens and the fear that this instilled in Sparta that made war inevitable.” The past 500 years have seen 16 cases in which a rising power threatened to displace a ruling one. Twelve of these ended in war.
Of the cases in which war was averted — Spain outstripping Portugal in the late 15th century, the United States overtaking the United Kingdom at the turn of the 20th century, and Germany’s rise in Europe since 1990 — the ascent of the Soviet Union is uniquely instructive today. Despite moments when a violent clash seemed certain, a surge of strategic imagination helped both sides develop ways to compete without a catastrophic conflict. In the end, the Soviet Union imploded and the Cold War ended with a whimper rather than a bang.
Although China’s rise presents particular challenges, Washington policymakers should heed five Cold War lessons.
Lesson 1: War between nuclear superpowers is MADness.
The United States and the Soviet Union built nuclear arsenals so substantial that neither could be sure of disarming the other in a first strike. Nuclear strategists described this condition as “mutual assured destruction,” or MAD. Technology, in effect, made the United States and Soviet Union conjoined twins — neither able to kill the other.
Today, China has developed its own robust nuclear arsenal. From confrontations in the South and East China Sea, to the gathering storm over the Korean Peninsula, leaders must recognize that war would be suicidal.
Lesson 2: Leaders must be prepared to risk a war they cannot win.
Although neither nation can win a nuclear war, both, paradoxically, must demonstrate a willingness to risk losing one to compete.
Consider each clause of this nuclear paradox. On the one hand, if war occurs, both nations lose and millions die — an option no rational leader could choose. But, on the other hand, if a nation is unwilling to risk war, its opponent can win any objective by forcing the more responsible power to yield. To preserve vital interests, therefore, leaders must be willing to select paths that risk destruction. Washington must think the unthinkable to credibly deter potential adversaries such as China.
Lesson 3: Define the new “precarious rules of the status quo.”
The Cold War rivals wove an intricate web of mutual constraints around their competition that President John F. Kennedy called “precarious rules of the status quo.” These included arms-control treaties and precise rules of the road for air and sea. Such tacit guidelines for the United States and China today might involve limits on cyberattacks or surveillance operations.
By reaching agreements on contentious issues, the United States and China can create space to cooperate on challenges — such as global terrorism and climate change — in which the national interests the two powers share are much greater than those that divide them. Overall, leaders should understand that survival depends on caution, communication, constraints, compromise, and cooperation.
Lesson 4: Domestic performance is decisive.
What nations do inside their borders matters at least as much as what they do abroad. Had the Soviet economy overtaken that of the United States by the 1980s, as some economists predicted, Moscow could have consolidated a position of hegemony. Instead, free markets and free societies won out. The vital question for the U.S.-China rivalry today is whether Xi’s Leninist-Mandarin authoritarian government and economy proves superior to American capitalism and democracy.
Maintaining China’s extraordinary economic growth, which provides legitimacy for sweeping party rule, is a high-wire act that will only get harder. Meanwhile, in the United States, sluggish growth is the new normal. And American democracy is exhibiting worrisome symptoms: declining civic engagement, institutionalized corruption, and widespread lack of trust in politics. Leaders in both nations would do well to prioritize their domestic challenges.
Lesson 5: Hope is not a strategy.
Over a four-year period from George Kennan’s famous “Long Telegram,” which identified the Soviet threat, to Paul Nitze’s NSC-68, which provided the road map for countering this threat, U.S. officials developed a winning Cold War strategy: contain Soviet expansion, deter the Soviets from acting against vital American interests, and undermine both the idea and the practice of communism. In contrast, America’s China policy today consists of grand, politically appealing aspirations that serious strategists know are unachievable. In attempting to maintain the post-World War II Pax Americana during a fundamental shift in the economic balance of power toward China, the United States’ real strategy, truth be told, is hope.
In today’s Washington, strategic thinking is often marginalized. Even Barack Obama, one of America’s smartest presidents, told the New Yorker that, given the pace of change today, “I don’t really even need George Kennan.” Coherent strategy does not guarantee success, but its absence is a reliable route to failure.
Thucydides’s Trap teaches us that on the historical record, war is more likely than not. From Trump’s campaign claims that China is “ripping us off” to recent announcements about his “great chemistry” with Xi, he has accelerated the harrowing roller coaster of U.S.-China relations. If the president and his national security team hope to avoid catastrophic war with China while protecting and advancing American national interests, they must closely study the lessons of the Cold War.
This article originally appeared in the May/June 2017 issue of FP magazine.
BY GRAHAM ALLISON | JUNE 9, 2017, 10:21 AM
n April, chocolate cake had just been served at the Mar-a-Lago summit when President Donald Trump leaned over to tell Chinese President Xi Jinping that American missiles had been launched at Syrian air bases, according to Trump’s account of the evening. What the attack on Syria signaled about Trump’s readiness to attack North Korea was left to Xi’s imagination.
Welcome to dinner with the leaders who are now attempting to manage the world’s most dangerous geopolitical relationship.
The story is a small one. But as China challenges America’s predominance, misunderstandings about each other’s actions and intentions could lead them into a deadly trap first identified by the ancient Greek historian Thucydides. As he explained, “It was the rise of Athens and the fear that this instilled in Sparta that made war inevitable.” The past 500 years have seen 16 cases in which a rising power threatened to displace a ruling one. Twelve of these ended in war.
Of the cases in which war was averted — Spain outstripping Portugal in the late 15th century, the United States overtaking the United Kingdom at the turn of the 20th century, and Germany’s rise in Europe since 1990 — the ascent of the Soviet Union is uniquely instructive today. Despite moments when a violent clash seemed certain, a surge of strategic imagination helped both sides develop ways to compete without a catastrophic conflict. In the end, the Soviet Union imploded and the Cold War ended with a whimper rather than a bang.
Although China’s rise presents particular challenges, Washington policymakers should heed five Cold War lessons.
Lesson 1: War between nuclear superpowers is MADness.
The United States and the Soviet Union built nuclear arsenals so substantial that neither could be sure of disarming the other in a first strike. Nuclear strategists described this condition as “mutual assured destruction,” or MAD. Technology, in effect, made the United States and Soviet Union conjoined twins — neither able to kill the other.
Today, China has developed its own robust nuclear arsenal. From confrontations in the South and East China Sea, to the gathering storm over the Korean Peninsula, leaders must recognize that war would be suicidal.
Lesson 2: Leaders must be prepared to risk a war they cannot win.
Although neither nation can win a nuclear war, both, paradoxically, must demonstrate a willingness to risk losing one to compete.
Consider each clause of this nuclear paradox. On the one hand, if war occurs, both nations lose and millions die — an option no rational leader could choose. But, on the other hand, if a nation is unwilling to risk war, its opponent can win any objective by forcing the more responsible power to yield. To preserve vital interests, therefore, leaders must be willing to select paths that risk destruction. Washington must think the unthinkable to credibly deter potential adversaries such as China.
Lesson 3: Define the new “precarious rules of the status quo.”
The Cold War rivals wove an intricate web of mutual constraints around their competition that President John F. Kennedy called “precarious rules of the status quo.” These included arms-control treaties and precise rules of the road for air and sea. Such tacit guidelines for the United States and China today might involve limits on cyberattacks or surveillance operations.
By reaching agreements on contentious issues, the United States and China can create space to cooperate on challenges — such as global terrorism and climate change — in which the national interests the two powers share are much greater than those that divide them. Overall, leaders should understand that survival depends on caution, communication, constraints, compromise, and cooperation.
Lesson 4: Domestic performance is decisive.
What nations do inside their borders matters at least as much as what they do abroad. Had the Soviet economy overtaken that of the United States by the 1980s, as some economists predicted, Moscow could have consolidated a position of hegemony. Instead, free markets and free societies won out. The vital question for the U.S.-China rivalry today is whether Xi’s Leninist-Mandarin authoritarian government and economy proves superior to American capitalism and democracy.
Maintaining China’s extraordinary economic growth, which provides legitimacy for sweeping party rule, is a high-wire act that will only get harder. Meanwhile, in the United States, sluggish growth is the new normal. And American democracy is exhibiting worrisome symptoms: declining civic engagement, institutionalized corruption, and widespread lack of trust in politics. Leaders in both nations would do well to prioritize their domestic challenges.
Lesson 5: Hope is not a strategy.
Over a four-year period from George Kennan’s famous “Long Telegram,” which identified the Soviet threat, to Paul Nitze’s NSC-68, which provided the road map for countering this threat, U.S. officials developed a winning Cold War strategy: contain Soviet expansion, deter the Soviets from acting against vital American interests, and undermine both the idea and the practice of communism. In contrast, America’s China policy today consists of grand, politically appealing aspirations that serious strategists know are unachievable. In attempting to maintain the post-World War II Pax Americana during a fundamental shift in the economic balance of power toward China, the United States’ real strategy, truth be told, is hope.
In today’s Washington, strategic thinking is often marginalized. Even Barack Obama, one of America’s smartest presidents, told the New Yorker that, given the pace of change today, “I don’t really even need George Kennan.” Coherent strategy does not guarantee success, but its absence is a reliable route to failure.
Thucydides’s Trap teaches us that on the historical record, war is more likely than not. From Trump’s campaign claims that China is “ripping us off” to recent announcements about his “great chemistry” with Xi, he has accelerated the harrowing roller coaster of U.S.-China relations. If the president and his national security team hope to avoid catastrophic war with China while protecting and advancing American national interests, they must closely study the lessons of the Cold War.
This article originally appeared in the May/June 2017 issue of FP magazine.
Wednesday, April 18, 2018
Turkey says Greece flouts international law by not extraditing coup suspects
APRIL 17, 2018 / 9:41 PM / UPDATED 11 HOURS AGO
Reuters Staff
1 MIN READ
ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey accused Greece on Tuesday of violating international law by not extraditing eight Turkish soldiers Ankara believes were supporters of a failed coup attempt in 2016.
Turkey and Greece are at odds over various issues. Ankara is fuming over a Greek refusal to return the soldiers, who fled to Greece shortly after the coup bid in July 2016 and asked for political asylum. The two NATO allies were most recently at loggerheads over a flag hoisting in the Aegean Sea.
Speaking after a cabinet meeting in Ankara on Tuesday, Turkish government spokesman Bekir Bozdag called on Greece to abandon what he said were provocative moves in order to avoid “unwanted events” in the Aegean.
Reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu; Editing by Mark Heinrich
Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Reuters Staff
1 MIN READ
ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey accused Greece on Tuesday of violating international law by not extraditing eight Turkish soldiers Ankara believes were supporters of a failed coup attempt in 2016.
Turkey and Greece are at odds over various issues. Ankara is fuming over a Greek refusal to return the soldiers, who fled to Greece shortly after the coup bid in July 2016 and asked for political asylum. The two NATO allies were most recently at loggerheads over a flag hoisting in the Aegean Sea.
Speaking after a cabinet meeting in Ankara on Tuesday, Turkish government spokesman Bekir Bozdag called on Greece to abandon what he said were provocative moves in order to avoid “unwanted events” in the Aegean.
Reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu; Editing by Mark Heinrich
Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Trump's CIA chief in secret meeting with North Korean leader - U.S. officials
APRIL 17, 2018 / 8:08 AM / UPDATED 15 MINUTES AGO
John Walcott, Steve Holland
7 MIN READ
Reuters
WASHINGTON/PALM BEACH, Fla. (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State nominee and CIA Director Mike Pompeo made a secret visit to North Korea over the Easter weekend and met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to discuss a planned summit with U.S. President Donald Trump, U.S. officials said on Tuesday.
Pompeo’s trip made him the most senior U.S. official ever known to have met with Kim and provided the strongest sign yet to Trump’s willingness to become the first serving U.S. president ever to meet a North Korean leader.
Pompeo’s conversations fuelled Trump’s belief that productive negotiations were possible with North Korea over its nuclear and ballistic missile programs, but far from guaranteed, according to a U.S. senior official briefed on the trip.
The visit, a second U.S. official said, was arranged by South Korean intelligence chief Suh Hoon with his North Korean counterpart, Kim Yong Chol, and was intended to assess whether Kim was prepared to hold serious talks.
John Walcott, Steve Holland
7 MIN READ
Reuters
WASHINGTON/PALM BEACH, Fla. (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State nominee and CIA Director Mike Pompeo made a secret visit to North Korea over the Easter weekend and met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to discuss a planned summit with U.S. President Donald Trump, U.S. officials said on Tuesday.
Pompeo’s trip made him the most senior U.S. official ever known to have met with Kim and provided the strongest sign yet to Trump’s willingness to become the first serving U.S. president ever to meet a North Korean leader.
Pompeo’s conversations fuelled Trump’s belief that productive negotiations were possible with North Korea over its nuclear and ballistic missile programs, but far from guaranteed, according to a U.S. senior official briefed on the trip.
The visit, a second U.S. official said, was arranged by South Korean intelligence chief Suh Hoon with his North Korean counterpart, Kim Yong Chol, and was intended to assess whether Kim was prepared to hold serious talks.
Hundreds of refugees, migrants cross into northern Greece
By Associated Press April 17 at 5:37 AM
The Washington Post
THESSALONIKI, Greece — Greek authorities say hundreds of refugees and other migrants have crossed the land border with Turkey in the past two days, with illegal crossings in the area increasing significantly following Turkey’s military operation in northern Syria.
Police said Tuesday they detained 370 people the previous day who had crossed the Evros River, which forms a natural border between Greece and Turkey, and another 140 people on Sunday.
The land route from Turkey into northeastern Greece has become increasingly popular as conditions deteriorate on Greek islands, long the preferred route, where strict controls are now imposed on movement and camps are overcrowded.
Authorities have noted a surge in arrivals across the Evros, with 1,658 people detained in March compared to 586 in February and 262 in March 2017.
Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
The Washington Post
THESSALONIKI, Greece — Greek authorities say hundreds of refugees and other migrants have crossed the land border with Turkey in the past two days, with illegal crossings in the area increasing significantly following Turkey’s military operation in northern Syria.
Police said Tuesday they detained 370 people the previous day who had crossed the Evros River, which forms a natural border between Greece and Turkey, and another 140 people on Sunday.
The land route from Turkey into northeastern Greece has become increasingly popular as conditions deteriorate on Greek islands, long the preferred route, where strict controls are now imposed on movement and camps are overcrowded.
Authorities have noted a surge in arrivals across the Evros, with 1,658 people detained in March compared to 586 in February and 262 in March 2017.
Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
America should work with Turkey, not terrorists, in Syria
The Washington Post
Serdar Kılıç, Washington
The writer is ambassador of the Republic of Turkey
The April 6 editorial “A gift to America’s enemies” claimed that Turkey is “irrationally bent on annihilating” Syrian forces, led by Kurds, “who have collaborated with the United States in fighting” Daesh.
The PKK and its Syrian branch the PYD/YPG are terrorist organizations that victimized the Kurdish people above all. As Daesh (also known as ISIS) does not represent the Muslims, the PYD/YPG does not represent the Kurds.
Turkey hosts 3.5 million Syrians from all faiths and ethnicities, including Arabs, Kurds, Turkmens, Assyrians and Armenians. The brutal Assad regime let the PYD/YPG widen its reign of terror to the areas these Syrians had to flee. A cynical cohabitation in these areas has emerged, similar to the one the regime had with Daesh. The PYD/YPG has never been an opposition element but an accomplice of the regime.
Turkey is the only country that fought with regular forces against Daesh in Syria and that took on another terrorist organization that was heavily entrenched in the mountainous terrain of Afrin. The Turkish Armed Forces showed an exemplary sensitivity for the protection of civilians. The liberated Afrin city center, which was left unscratched, stands in extreme contrast with the utter devastation caused in Raqqa by the PYD/YPG.
There is no room left for irresponsible tactical role-playing on the ground. It is time to see it all from a strategic perspective. The United States should rely on its decades-long alliance with Turkey, but not with a terrorist organization, while tackling the complexities of the Syrian conflict. This is essential for the future stability and security of the region.
Erdogan, Rouhani agree to maintain Turkey, Iran, Russia cooperation in Syria
APRIL 17, 2018 / 4:05 PM / UPDATED 16 HOURS AGO
Reuters Staff
1 MIN READ
ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani agreed on Tuesday to maintain the cooperation between Turkey, Iran and Russia for a political solution to the conflict in Syria, a source in Erdogan’s office said.
Erdogan also told Rouhani in a telephone call that actions to increase tensions in the region should be avoided, after U.S., British and French forces carried out air strikes on Syria over the weekend.Reporting by Ece Toksabay and Tuvan Gumrukcu; Editing by David Dolan
Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Reuters Staff
1 MIN READ
ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani agreed on Tuesday to maintain the cooperation between Turkey, Iran and Russia for a political solution to the conflict in Syria, a source in Erdogan’s office said.
Erdogan also told Rouhani in a telephone call that actions to increase tensions in the region should be avoided, after U.S., British and French forces carried out air strikes on Syria over the weekend.Reporting by Ece Toksabay and Tuvan Gumrukcu; Editing by David Dolan
Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Turkey taking 'huge strides' away from European Union: top EU official
APRIL 17, 2018 / 5:04 PM / UPDATED 10 HOURS AGO
Alastair Macdonald
5 MIN READ
STRASBOURG (Reuters) - Turkey is moving rapidly away from the path of European Union membership, the top EU official in charge of negotiations said on Tuesday, as Brussels delivered its harshest criticism yet of what it sees as Ankara’s shift toward authoritarianism.
While couched in diplomatic language, the European Commission’s annual report on Turkey’s progress toward membership blamed Ankara for a broad, collective and disproportionate crackdown after a failed 2016 coup attempt.
It warned that years of progress toward European Union standards in human rights, freedom of expression and the rule of law were being reversed and that Turkey had seen a weakening of local democracy as presidential powers increased.
Alastair Macdonald
5 MIN READ
STRASBOURG (Reuters) - Turkey is moving rapidly away from the path of European Union membership, the top EU official in charge of negotiations said on Tuesday, as Brussels delivered its harshest criticism yet of what it sees as Ankara’s shift toward authoritarianism.
While couched in diplomatic language, the European Commission’s annual report on Turkey’s progress toward membership blamed Ankara for a broad, collective and disproportionate crackdown after a failed 2016 coup attempt.
It warned that years of progress toward European Union standards in human rights, freedom of expression and the rule of law were being reversed and that Turkey had seen a weakening of local democracy as presidential powers increased.
Tuesday, April 17, 2018
Διαδηλωτής γρονθοκόπησε αστυνομικό στη Θεσσαλονίκη και δεν συνελήφθη (Βίντεο)
Η δημοσίευση είναι από την εφημερίδα ΚΑΘΗΜΕΡΙΝΗ. Η ακρίβεια και η αξιοπιστία των αναφερόμενων γεγονότων, από εμένα τουλάχιστον δεν αμφισβητείται.
Τι σχόλια μπορεί να κάνει κανείς; Ότι οι αστυνομικοί γνωρίζουν ότι αυτοί που κυβερνάν είναι με αυτόν που έδειρε τον αστυνομικό, γι αυτό έχει καμφθεί το ηθικό τους σε τέτοιο βαθμό που από δύναμη επιβολή της τάξης πολλοί έχουν γίνει οι καρπαζοεισπράκτορες του κάθε αναρχικού στοιχείου. Ποιοι έχουν σειρά; Μα όσοι βρεθούν μπροστά στους αναρχικούς και δεν τους αρέσει η φάτσα τους. Η κατάρρευση της χώρας ξεδιπλώνεται μπροστά μας. Πριν από λίγες ημέρες, ένας 88χρονος γέρος συνελήφθη και κρατήθηκε με χειροπέδες για τρεις ημέρες επειδή πυροβόλησε έναν ληστή στο σπίτι του. Έναν ληστή που τον απείλησε ότι θα τον σκοτώσει. Και ο υπουργός κατηγόρησε τον ηλικιωμένο ότι κάνει την Ελλάδα Φαρ Ουέστ. Με τους ληστές ο υπουργός; Σίγουρα καταλαβαίνει τα "αίτια" και τους "μηχανισμούς" που οδήγησαν τους ληστές σε τέτοιες πράξεις. Καταλαβαίνει την "κοινωνική αδικία" που ωθεί τους ανθρώπους στην παραβατικότητα...Τον παπούλη πάντως δεν μπορεί να τον καταλάβει. Ήταν ένα προνομιούχος κάτοικος της Γλυφάδας.
Καθημερινή 17-4-2018
ΕΛΛΑΔΑ 10:02
Αίσθηση έχει προκαλέσει ένα βίντεο από τα επεισόδια που σημειώθηκαν μεταξύ διαδηλωτών και αστυνομικών των ΜΑΤ εντός του εμπορικού κέντρου στη Θεσσαλονίκη, το μεσημέρι του Σαββάτου.
Στο βίντεο που δημοσιοποίησε σε μέσο κοινωνικής δικτύωσης ο δικηγόρος Θάνος Καρατσιώλης, στο οποίο καταγράφεται ένας διαδηλωτής να έχει ρίξει στο δάπεδο έναν αστυνομικό και να τον γρονθοκοπεί, μέχρι να τον σταματήσουν οι συνάδελφοι του αστυνομικού, ενώ στη συνέχεια απομακρύνθηκε, χωρίς να συλληφθεί.
Σύμφωνα με τα όσα ανέφερε στην ανάρτησή του ο δικηγόρος, όλα κυλούσαν ομαλά, με διακριτική και ελάχιστη αστυνομική παρουσία, όταν συντονισμένα οι διαδηλωτές επιτέθηκαν στα όργανα της τάξης.
Για το περιστατικό διενεργείται προανάκριση, σύμφωνα με το voria.gr, ενώ ο αστυνομικός, που μεταφέρθηκε στο νοσοκομείο με έντονη αιμορραγία στη μύτη έχει κληθεί να καταθέσει.
Ο ίδιος, σύμφωνα με τον πρόεδρο της Ένωσης Αστυνομικών Υπαλλήλων Θεσσαλονίκης, Θοδωρής Τσαϊρίδης, θεωρεί πως οι εντολές με τον τρόπο που δόθηκαν, τον εξέθεσαν σε κίνδυνο, ενώ μένει να φανεί αν ο ίδιος θα κινηθεί νομικά εναντίον του διαδηλωτή που του επιτέθηκε.
Σύμφωνα με τον κ. Τσαϊρίδη, ο αστυνομικός αντιμετωπίζει πρόβλημα με την όρασή του.
Τι σχόλια μπορεί να κάνει κανείς; Ότι οι αστυνομικοί γνωρίζουν ότι αυτοί που κυβερνάν είναι με αυτόν που έδειρε τον αστυνομικό, γι αυτό έχει καμφθεί το ηθικό τους σε τέτοιο βαθμό που από δύναμη επιβολή της τάξης πολλοί έχουν γίνει οι καρπαζοεισπράκτορες του κάθε αναρχικού στοιχείου. Ποιοι έχουν σειρά; Μα όσοι βρεθούν μπροστά στους αναρχικούς και δεν τους αρέσει η φάτσα τους. Η κατάρρευση της χώρας ξεδιπλώνεται μπροστά μας. Πριν από λίγες ημέρες, ένας 88χρονος γέρος συνελήφθη και κρατήθηκε με χειροπέδες για τρεις ημέρες επειδή πυροβόλησε έναν ληστή στο σπίτι του. Έναν ληστή που τον απείλησε ότι θα τον σκοτώσει. Και ο υπουργός κατηγόρησε τον ηλικιωμένο ότι κάνει την Ελλάδα Φαρ Ουέστ. Με τους ληστές ο υπουργός; Σίγουρα καταλαβαίνει τα "αίτια" και τους "μηχανισμούς" που οδήγησαν τους ληστές σε τέτοιες πράξεις. Καταλαβαίνει την "κοινωνική αδικία" που ωθεί τους ανθρώπους στην παραβατικότητα...Τον παπούλη πάντως δεν μπορεί να τον καταλάβει. Ήταν ένα προνομιούχος κάτοικος της Γλυφάδας.
Καθημερινή 17-4-2018
ΕΛΛΑΔΑ 10:02
Αίσθηση έχει προκαλέσει ένα βίντεο από τα επεισόδια που σημειώθηκαν μεταξύ διαδηλωτών και αστυνομικών των ΜΑΤ εντός του εμπορικού κέντρου στη Θεσσαλονίκη, το μεσημέρι του Σαββάτου.
Στο βίντεο που δημοσιοποίησε σε μέσο κοινωνικής δικτύωσης ο δικηγόρος Θάνος Καρατσιώλης, στο οποίο καταγράφεται ένας διαδηλωτής να έχει ρίξει στο δάπεδο έναν αστυνομικό και να τον γρονθοκοπεί, μέχρι να τον σταματήσουν οι συνάδελφοι του αστυνομικού, ενώ στη συνέχεια απομακρύνθηκε, χωρίς να συλληφθεί.
Σύμφωνα με τα όσα ανέφερε στην ανάρτησή του ο δικηγόρος, όλα κυλούσαν ομαλά, με διακριτική και ελάχιστη αστυνομική παρουσία, όταν συντονισμένα οι διαδηλωτές επιτέθηκαν στα όργανα της τάξης.
Για το περιστατικό διενεργείται προανάκριση, σύμφωνα με το voria.gr, ενώ ο αστυνομικός, που μεταφέρθηκε στο νοσοκομείο με έντονη αιμορραγία στη μύτη έχει κληθεί να καταθέσει.
Ο ίδιος, σύμφωνα με τον πρόεδρο της Ένωσης Αστυνομικών Υπαλλήλων Θεσσαλονίκης, Θοδωρής Τσαϊρίδης, θεωρεί πως οι εντολές με τον τρόπο που δόθηκαν, τον εξέθεσαν σε κίνδυνο, ενώ μένει να φανεί αν ο ίδιος θα κινηθεί νομικά εναντίον του διαδηλωτή που του επιτέθηκε.
Σύμφωνα με τον κ. Τσαϊρίδη, ο αστυνομικός αντιμετωπίζει πρόβλημα με την όρασή του.
Monday, April 16, 2018
Tsipras Fights on All Fronts as Greece Back in the Spotlight
By Elena Chrepa
16 Απριλίου 2018, 8:00 π.μ. EEST Updated on 16 Απριλίου 2018, 3:20 μ.μ. EEST
Economy remains priority in the final race to bailout exit...
...But concerns rising on Turkey, Macedonia, looming election
Bloomberg
Consider what Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is up against.
As Greece prepares to free itself from an eight-year European bailout, its 43 year-old premier is confronting challenges at home and abroad. On the domestic front: preparations for post-bailout economic life and the first general election since the end of the program, including feuds with both allies and rivals. On the foreign-policy front: increased tensions with traditional rival Turkey and regional instability stemming from a dispute over a neighboring country’s name.
Tsipras’s ability to navigate through all this could determine just how stable the country and its region will be in coming years, experts say, and the European Union, the U.S. and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization are all watching with interest.
“The wo
16 Απριλίου 2018, 8:00 π.μ. EEST Updated on 16 Απριλίου 2018, 3:20 μ.μ. EEST
Economy remains priority in the final race to bailout exit...
...But concerns rising on Turkey, Macedonia, looming election
Bloomberg
Consider what Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is up against.
As Greece prepares to free itself from an eight-year European bailout, its 43 year-old premier is confronting challenges at home and abroad. On the domestic front: preparations for post-bailout economic life and the first general election since the end of the program, including feuds with both allies and rivals. On the foreign-policy front: increased tensions with traditional rival Turkey and regional instability stemming from a dispute over a neighboring country’s name.
Tsipras’s ability to navigate through all this could determine just how stable the country and its region will be in coming years, experts say, and the European Union, the U.S. and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization are all watching with interest.
“The wo
Turkey warns Greece after flag is hoisted on disputed islet
By Associated Press April 16 at 8:01 AM
ANKARA, Turkey — Turkey’s prime minister has warned Greece to refrain from “provocations” after a Greek flag was hoisted on a disputed, uninhabited islet in the Aegean Sea off the Turkish coast.
Prime Minister Binali Yildirim told reporters Monday that the Turkish coast guards removed the flag from the island off the coast of the Aegean resort of Didim.
Yildirim said the incident was similar to one in 1996 when the two NATO allies went to war over the uninhabited Imia islets — Kardak in Turkish — which both Turkey and Greece claim.
Yildirim says “our advice to Greece would be to stay away from provocations and agitations ... We are determined to give the necessary response to such fait accomplis.”
In Athens, Greek government spokesman Dimitris Tzannakopoulos said the government had no knowledge of the incident and described the remarks made by Yildirim as “provocative and reprehensible.”
“I think Mr. Yildirim should be more careful,” Tzannakopoulos said. “We call on Turkey to return to a path of respect for international law ... They should take an initiative to de-escalate the tension.”
Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
ANKARA, Turkey — Turkey’s prime minister has warned Greece to refrain from “provocations” after a Greek flag was hoisted on a disputed, uninhabited islet in the Aegean Sea off the Turkish coast.
Prime Minister Binali Yildirim told reporters Monday that the Turkish coast guards removed the flag from the island off the coast of the Aegean resort of Didim.
Yildirim said the incident was similar to one in 1996 when the two NATO allies went to war over the uninhabited Imia islets — Kardak in Turkish — which both Turkey and Greece claim.
Yildirim says “our advice to Greece would be to stay away from provocations and agitations ... We are determined to give the necessary response to such fait accomplis.”
In Athens, Greek government spokesman Dimitris Tzannakopoulos said the government had no knowledge of the incident and described the remarks made by Yildirim as “provocative and reprehensible.”
“I think Mr. Yildirim should be more careful,” Tzannakopoulos said. “We call on Turkey to return to a path of respect for international law ... They should take an initiative to de-escalate the tension.”
Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Friday, April 13, 2018
Greece’s Island of Despair
Text by ILIANA MAGRAMARCH 29, 2018
The New York Times
His brown eyes sunken and flat, Jahangir Baroch had spent another sleepless night in the metal container on the Greek island of Lesbos where he has lived for more than a year.
“There was no electricity in the container last night,” Mr. Baroch, 26, said desperately, at a center for refugees, away from the holding camp in Moria, where he is housed. “It was like a fridge.”
“I want to go to Athens,” said Mr. Baroch, who came from Baluchistan, an embattled province in Pakistan. “If you don’t want me, I want to go to another country.”
“Why am I here?” he asked, somberly.
Others are asking the same question two years after the European Union struck a deal with Turkey aimed at cutting off the route across the Aegean Sea for asylum seekers, many propelled by wars in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan.
Since then, thousands have remained stranded on Lesbos, unwilling to go back to the countries they left, unable to move forward, toward the opportunity they had hoped to find in Europe. Though the numbers are fewer, they keep coming.
The lucky ones, whose asylum applications are accepted, are eventually shipped to the Greek mainland. Those whose applications are rejected (they can apply twice) are sent back to Turkey as part of the deal with the European Union.
The New York Times
His brown eyes sunken and flat, Jahangir Baroch had spent another sleepless night in the metal container on the Greek island of Lesbos where he has lived for more than a year.
“There was no electricity in the container last night,” Mr. Baroch, 26, said desperately, at a center for refugees, away from the holding camp in Moria, where he is housed. “It was like a fridge.”
“I want to go to Athens,” said Mr. Baroch, who came from Baluchistan, an embattled province in Pakistan. “If you don’t want me, I want to go to another country.”
“Why am I here?” he asked, somberly.
Others are asking the same question two years after the European Union struck a deal with Turkey aimed at cutting off the route across the Aegean Sea for asylum seekers, many propelled by wars in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan.
Since then, thousands have remained stranded on Lesbos, unwilling to go back to the countries they left, unable to move forward, toward the opportunity they had hoped to find in Europe. Though the numbers are fewer, they keep coming.
The lucky ones, whose asylum applications are accepted, are eventually shipped to the Greek mainland. Those whose applications are rejected (they can apply twice) are sent back to Turkey as part of the deal with the European Union.
Uber to suspend service in Greece after new legislation
APRIL 5, 2018 / 11:10 AM / 8 DAYS AGO
Reuters Staff
3 MIN READ
ATHENS (Reuters) - Ride-hailing service Uber said on Thursday it would suspend its licensed service in Greece after the approval of local legislation which imposes stricter regulation on the sector.
Uber, which operates a licensed service in the Greek capital, has faced opposition from local taxi drivers who accuse it of taking their business.
“New local regulations were voted on recently with provisions that impact ride-sharing services,” Uber said in a blog post. “We have to assess if and how we can operate within this new framework and so will be suspending uberX in Athens from next Tuesday until we can find an appropriate solution.”
Uber operates two services in Athens: UberX, which uses professional licensed drivers, and UberTAXI, which uses taxi drivers.
Reuters Staff
3 MIN READ
ATHENS (Reuters) - Ride-hailing service Uber said on Thursday it would suspend its licensed service in Greece after the approval of local legislation which imposes stricter regulation on the sector.
Uber, which operates a licensed service in the Greek capital, has faced opposition from local taxi drivers who accuse it of taking their business.
“New local regulations were voted on recently with provisions that impact ride-sharing services,” Uber said in a blog post. “We have to assess if and how we can operate within this new framework and so will be suspending uberX in Athens from next Tuesday until we can find an appropriate solution.”
Uber operates two services in Athens: UberX, which uses professional licensed drivers, and UberTAXI, which uses taxi drivers.
Trash-Talking Toward Conflict?
The New York Times
By Nikos Konstandaras
Mr. Konstandaras is a columnist at the newspaper Kathimerini and a contributing opinion writer.
April 8, 2018
ATHENS — In a rapidly intensifying war of words, government officials of the nominal NATO allies Greece and Turkey have been exchanging insults and threats in the past few weeks, recalling conflicts from a shared and bloody history. Relations have rarely been rosy, but the speed with which they have worsened, and the level of vitriol, have raised fears that the two heavily armed neighbors may be trash-talking their way to new conflict.
Adding to those concerns is the awareness that the two most credible mediators between the two sides — the United States and the European Union — appear to have little leverage with Turkey.
Greece and Turkey have played decisive roles in each other’s history, and this determines their relations today. The Greeks rebelled against almost four centuries of Ottoman rule in 1821 and, after years of war (and foreign intervention), won their freedom with the declaration of the Greek state in 1830. Turks commemorate Sept. 9, the date on which Turkish troops entered Izmir in 1922 after routing a Greek invasion force, ending millenniums of Greek presence in Asia Minor and leading to the declaration of a modern, secular Turkey.
Turkey’s Double ISIS Standard
Foreign Policy Blog
Ankara claims to oppose the Islamic State. Its actions suggest otherwise.
BY AHMET S. YAYLA, COLIN P. CLARKE | APRIL 12, 2018, 4:43 PM
he decline of the Islamic State, nearly four years after its emergence, was the result of an aggressive military campaign to combat the group spearheaded primarily by the United States. That has not stopped Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs Mevlut Cavusoglu from writing an article for Foreign Policy to take credit for the group’s demise, insisting that Turkey’s actions in northern Syria have helped lay the groundwork for a sustainable peace.
What he neglected to mention is that it was Turkey’s actions, or perhaps the lack thereof, that helped fuel the rise of the Islamic State in the first place. The two most commonly cited factors leading to the growth of the Islamic State are the Syrian civil war and the government of former Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and its persecution of Sunni Arabs in Iraq. But another significant part of this story is the negligence exhibited by the Turkish state.
Ankara claims to oppose the Islamic State. Its actions suggest otherwise.
BY AHMET S. YAYLA, COLIN P. CLARKE | APRIL 12, 2018, 4:43 PM
he decline of the Islamic State, nearly four years after its emergence, was the result of an aggressive military campaign to combat the group spearheaded primarily by the United States. That has not stopped Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs Mevlut Cavusoglu from writing an article for Foreign Policy to take credit for the group’s demise, insisting that Turkey’s actions in northern Syria have helped lay the groundwork for a sustainable peace.
What he neglected to mention is that it was Turkey’s actions, or perhaps the lack thereof, that helped fuel the rise of the Islamic State in the first place. The two most commonly cited factors leading to the growth of the Islamic State are the Syrian civil war and the government of former Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and its persecution of Sunni Arabs in Iraq. But another significant part of this story is the negligence exhibited by the Turkish state.
UPDATE 2-Turkey's Erdogan lashes out at investors over tumbling lira
APRIL 12, 2018 / 2:29 PM / UPDATED 18 HOURS AGO
Reuters Staff
3 MIN READ
(Adds graphic, central bank governor)
By Tuvan Gumrukcu
ANKARA, April 12 (Reuters) - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan lashed out at international investors on Thursday, saying that no one could use exchange rates to bring the country to heel - casting a slide in value of its currency, the lira, as a foreign conspiracy.
His comments came after the lira plumbed record lows for five straight trading days, a sell-off that Erdogan and his ministers called an economic attack by outside forces.
The lira’s slide - it is down 8 percent against the dollar so far this year, one of the worst performances among emerging markets - reflects the gulf between Erdogan and international investors over monetary policy. Erdogan, an economic populist and a self-described “enemy of interest rates” wants to see lower borrowing costs despite double-digit inflation.
“Do not worry, Turkey continues on its path with determined steps, nobody can discipline us based on exchange rates,” he said in a speech in Ankara. “The rise in exchange rates has no reasonable, logical or by-the-book explanation.”
Economists say the lira’s slide is a reflection of entrenched inflation and wage growth and that interest rates needs to be raised to arrest its fall.
The lira was at 4.0970 to the dollar at 1321 GMT. On Wednesday, it set a record low of 4.1944. It was trading at 5.0475 against the euro after reaching a record low of 5.1914 on Wednesday.
The lira has faced some pressure from growing tension between the United States and neighbouring Syria and from a sell-off in the Russian rouble, the currency of a major trading partner and a fellow emerging-market heavyweight. But investors say most of Turkey’s problems are home-grown.
Markets are looking ahead to the central bank’s next policy-setting meeting on April 25. The bank’s reluctance to raise rates at its last two meetings has heightened the perception that it is less than independent.
The central bank is following developments in inflation and will tighten monetary policy further if that is deemed necessary, the governor of the central bank, Murat Cetinkaya, said on Thursday, comments that appeared to give the currency some relief.
Data released on Wednesday showed the current account - a broadly defined measure of trade that includes services and investment income - recorded a deficit of $4.152 billion in February.
That was less than the $4.2 billion forecast in a Reuters poll but an increase of more than 60 percent from the same period a year earlier. Analysts said it affirmed Turkey’s vulnerabilities on the balance of payments front.
Additional reporting by Nevzat Devranoglu in Ankara and Ezgi Erkoyun in Istanbul; writing by David Dolan; editing by Robin Pomeroy, Larry King
Reuters Staff
3 MIN READ
(Adds graphic, central bank governor)
By Tuvan Gumrukcu
ANKARA, April 12 (Reuters) - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan lashed out at international investors on Thursday, saying that no one could use exchange rates to bring the country to heel - casting a slide in value of its currency, the lira, as a foreign conspiracy.
His comments came after the lira plumbed record lows for five straight trading days, a sell-off that Erdogan and his ministers called an economic attack by outside forces.
The lira’s slide - it is down 8 percent against the dollar so far this year, one of the worst performances among emerging markets - reflects the gulf between Erdogan and international investors over monetary policy. Erdogan, an economic populist and a self-described “enemy of interest rates” wants to see lower borrowing costs despite double-digit inflation.
“Do not worry, Turkey continues on its path with determined steps, nobody can discipline us based on exchange rates,” he said in a speech in Ankara. “The rise in exchange rates has no reasonable, logical or by-the-book explanation.”
Economists say the lira’s slide is a reflection of entrenched inflation and wage growth and that interest rates needs to be raised to arrest its fall.
The lira was at 4.0970 to the dollar at 1321 GMT. On Wednesday, it set a record low of 4.1944. It was trading at 5.0475 against the euro after reaching a record low of 5.1914 on Wednesday.
The lira has faced some pressure from growing tension between the United States and neighbouring Syria and from a sell-off in the Russian rouble, the currency of a major trading partner and a fellow emerging-market heavyweight. But investors say most of Turkey’s problems are home-grown.
Markets are looking ahead to the central bank’s next policy-setting meeting on April 25. The bank’s reluctance to raise rates at its last two meetings has heightened the perception that it is less than independent.
The central bank is following developments in inflation and will tighten monetary policy further if that is deemed necessary, the governor of the central bank, Murat Cetinkaya, said on Thursday, comments that appeared to give the currency some relief.
Data released on Wednesday showed the current account - a broadly defined measure of trade that includes services and investment income - recorded a deficit of $4.152 billion in February.
That was less than the $4.2 billion forecast in a Reuters poll but an increase of more than 60 percent from the same period a year earlier. Analysts said it affirmed Turkey’s vulnerabilities on the balance of payments front.
Additional reporting by Nevzat Devranoglu in Ankara and Ezgi Erkoyun in Istanbul; writing by David Dolan; editing by Robin Pomeroy, Larry King
Friday, March 30, 2018
Turkey says will take action if militants do not leave Syria's Manbij
MARCH 28, 2018 / 8:09 PM / 2 DAYS AGO
Reuters Staff
ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkey will take action if militants do not withdraw immediately from Syria’s Manbij region and areas in the country east of the Euphrates, Turkey’s National Security Council said on Wednesday.
Turkey, which stormed the northern Syrian town of Afrin last week after a two-month offensive against the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia, has repeatedly threatened to push its operations further east to Manbij where U.S. troops are stationed.
Expanding Turkey’s military campaign into the much larger Kurdish-held territory further east, which President Tayyip Erdogan has vowed to do, would risk confrontation between the NATO allies who have been at loggerheads over the U.S. policy in Syria and other issues.
“In the meeting, it is stated that the terrorists in Manbij should be removed from the area, otherwise Turkey will not hesitate to take initiative by itself as it did in other regions,” the statement from the security council, chaired by Erdogan, said.
It said the same approach also applied to the militants on Syrian soil at the east of Euphrates, without elaborating where that would specifically apply to, or who it might target.
Turkey considers the YPG to be an extension of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which has waged a decades-long insurgency against the state, and has been infuriated by the support Washington has provided the Syrian Kurdish fighters.
The Council said it also expected Iraq’s government to prevent the PKK operating in Iraq, especially in towns of Sinjar and Qandil. If that was not possible Turkey would prevent them itself, the council added.
“In the meeting it is stated that aside from Syria, Turkey expects Iraq to prevent operations by the separatist terrorist organization in its territory and if it is not possible Turkey will prevent them by itself,” the council statement said using the term it applies to PKK.
On Tuesday, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said Iraqi armed forces would prevent Kurdish militants based in northern Iraq from staging cross-border attacks against Turkey during a phone call with his Turkish counterpart.
Reporting by Ezgi Erkoyun; Editing by Alison Williams
Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Reuters Staff
ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkey will take action if militants do not withdraw immediately from Syria’s Manbij region and areas in the country east of the Euphrates, Turkey’s National Security Council said on Wednesday.
Turkey, which stormed the northern Syrian town of Afrin last week after a two-month offensive against the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia, has repeatedly threatened to push its operations further east to Manbij where U.S. troops are stationed.
Expanding Turkey’s military campaign into the much larger Kurdish-held territory further east, which President Tayyip Erdogan has vowed to do, would risk confrontation between the NATO allies who have been at loggerheads over the U.S. policy in Syria and other issues.
“In the meeting, it is stated that the terrorists in Manbij should be removed from the area, otherwise Turkey will not hesitate to take initiative by itself as it did in other regions,” the statement from the security council, chaired by Erdogan, said.
It said the same approach also applied to the militants on Syrian soil at the east of Euphrates, without elaborating where that would specifically apply to, or who it might target.
Turkey considers the YPG to be an extension of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which has waged a decades-long insurgency against the state, and has been infuriated by the support Washington has provided the Syrian Kurdish fighters.
The Council said it also expected Iraq’s government to prevent the PKK operating in Iraq, especially in towns of Sinjar and Qandil. If that was not possible Turkey would prevent them itself, the council added.
“In the meeting it is stated that aside from Syria, Turkey expects Iraq to prevent operations by the separatist terrorist organization in its territory and if it is not possible Turkey will prevent them by itself,” the council statement said using the term it applies to PKK.
On Tuesday, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said Iraqi armed forces would prevent Kurdish militants based in northern Iraq from staging cross-border attacks against Turkey during a phone call with his Turkish counterpart.
Reporting by Ezgi Erkoyun; Editing by Alison Williams
Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Thursday, March 15, 2018
Euro zone to unlock new loans to Greece, working on debt relief
MARCH 12, 2018 / 8:12 PM / 2 DAYS AGO
Francesco Guarascio, Jan Strupczewski
4 MIN READ
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Euro zone creditors are expected to disburse new loans to Greece this month and are working on debt relief measures, the head of the bloc’s finance ministers said on Monday, steps that should help underpin its economic recovery.
Greece’s 86-billion-euro bailout program, its third since 2010, is due to end in August and international lenders are debating how to ensure the country makes its exit on a sustainable footing.
Among options under consideration in Brussels are support measures that could run into tens of billions of euros and help ease servicing costs on a public debt pile that, in terms of economic output, is among the biggest in the world.
Francesco Guarascio, Jan Strupczewski
4 MIN READ
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Euro zone creditors are expected to disburse new loans to Greece this month and are working on debt relief measures, the head of the bloc’s finance ministers said on Monday, steps that should help underpin its economic recovery.
Greece’s 86-billion-euro bailout program, its third since 2010, is due to end in August and international lenders are debating how to ensure the country makes its exit on a sustainable footing.
Among options under consideration in Brussels are support measures that could run into tens of billions of euros and help ease servicing costs on a public debt pile that, in terms of economic output, is among the biggest in the world.
Greece Is Quietly Backsliding on Reform
Greece needs public sector reform and investment, not more debt-fueled consumption.
By Phylis Papadavid
Bloomberg
Greece’s planned August exit from its third European Stability Mechanism bailout has triggered investor optimism. Its July 2017 bond issuance, the first in three years, was oversubscribed, as were subsequent issuances in February of this year. And yet financial investors should curb their optimism. Greece’s return to the markets, and its economic recovery, are likely to be a bumpy and slow -- especially if it continues to delay key reforms.
By Phylis Papadavid
Bloomberg
Greece’s planned August exit from its third European Stability Mechanism bailout has triggered investor optimism. Its July 2017 bond issuance, the first in three years, was oversubscribed, as were subsequent issuances in February of this year. And yet financial investors should curb their optimism. Greece’s return to the markets, and its economic recovery, are likely to be a bumpy and slow -- especially if it continues to delay key reforms.
Clashes break out in Greece over foreclosures
By Associated Press March 14 at 12:34 PM
ATHENS, Greece — Five people were detained Wednesday during clashes between riot police and protesters attempting to disrupt a central Athens auction of foreclosed properties.
Left-wing activists have stepped up protests in recent weeks against online auctions as the government remains under pressure from bailout lenders to speed up the process and ease the strain on banks stemming from a huge backlog of nonperforming loans.
The auctions are required as part of the country’s international bailout, which is due to end in August. Creditors have also promised to deliver some debt relief for Greece if it fulfils all the conditions of the bailout.
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