ANKARA: Turkey’s EU minister said on Thursday that German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s comments about halting the expansion of a customs union between Ankara and the European Union harmed the credibility of the bloc.
Merkel said on Wednesday there would be no expansion of the customs union and “no kind of deepening at all” in ties between Turkey and the European Union after a series of disputes linked to Turkey’s crackdown following last year’s failed coup attempt.
“This is an unfortunate statement. We should emphasize that no EU member should give orders to EU institutions or EU processes,” Omer Celik told a news conference in Ankara.
“These situations are very dangerous, they represent statements that harm the EU’s credibility.”
Celik said both Turkey and the European Union would gain from changes to the customs union. “But they are acting as if doing so is a favor to Turkey. Let me be very clear, we are in no rush,” he said.
The minister also called on Berlin to cooperate with Turkey’s request for the extradition of a theology lecturer suspected of playing a major role in the failed coup last year.
Turkish media have reported that Adil Oksuz has been spotted in Frankfurt and Ulm and given a temporary residency permit by Germany’s Baden-Wurttemberg state.
“No ally of ours can harbor a killer,” Celik said. “Even the possibility of someone with a clear tie to the coup attempt being harbored by our ally is saddening.”
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Turkey criticizes Merkel, says Germany can not dictate EU policy
Turkey criticizes Merkel, says Germany can not dictate EU policy
Trump to witness dignified transfer for 2 National Guard members killed in Syria
WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump will undertake one of the most solemn duties facing the commander in chief on Wednesday when he will witness the dignified transfer for two Iowa National Guard members killed in an attack in the Syrian desert.
The ritual at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware honors US service members killed in action. Trump, who traveled to Dover several times in his first term, once described it as “the toughest thing I have to do” as president.
The two guardsmen killed in Syria on Saturday were Sgt. Edgar Brian Torres-Tovar, 25, of Des Moines, and Sgt. William Nathaniel Howard, 29, of Marshalltown, according to the US Army. Both were members of the 1st Squadron, 113th Cavalry Regiment. The men have been hailed as heroes by the Iowa National Guard.
A US civilian working as an interpreter, identified Tuesday as Ayad Mansoor Sakat of Macomb, Michigan, was also killed. Three other members of the Iowa National Guard were injured in the attack. The Pentagon has not identified them.
They were among hundreds of US troops deployed in eastern Syria as part of a coalition fighting the Daesh group.
During the process at Dover, transfer cases draped with the American flag holding the remains of fallen soldiers are carried from military aircraft to an awaiting vehicle. The vehicle then transports them to the mortuary facility at the base, where the fallen service members are prepared for their final resting place.
Trump told reporters over the weekend that he was mourning the deaths of the soldiers and vowed retaliation.
The attack Saturday comes after a rapprochement between the US and Syria, bringing the former pariah state into a US-led coalition fighting DAESH.
Trump has forged a relationship with interim Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa, the onetime leader of an Islamic insurgent group who led the ouster of former President Bashar Assad.
Trump, who met with Al-Sharaa last month at the White House, told reporters on Monday that the attack had nothing to do with the Syrian leader, who Trump described as “devastated by what happened.”
During his first term, Trump visited Dover in 2017 to honor a US Navy SEAL killed during a raid in Yemen, in 2019 for two Army officers whose helicopter crashed in Afghanistan, and in 2020 for two Army soldiers killed in Afghanistan when a person dressed in an Afghan army uniform opened fire.
The ritual at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware honors US service members killed in action. Trump, who traveled to Dover several times in his first term, once described it as “the toughest thing I have to do” as president.
The two guardsmen killed in Syria on Saturday were Sgt. Edgar Brian Torres-Tovar, 25, of Des Moines, and Sgt. William Nathaniel Howard, 29, of Marshalltown, according to the US Army. Both were members of the 1st Squadron, 113th Cavalry Regiment. The men have been hailed as heroes by the Iowa National Guard.
A US civilian working as an interpreter, identified Tuesday as Ayad Mansoor Sakat of Macomb, Michigan, was also killed. Three other members of the Iowa National Guard were injured in the attack. The Pentagon has not identified them.
They were among hundreds of US troops deployed in eastern Syria as part of a coalition fighting the Daesh group.
During the process at Dover, transfer cases draped with the American flag holding the remains of fallen soldiers are carried from military aircraft to an awaiting vehicle. The vehicle then transports them to the mortuary facility at the base, where the fallen service members are prepared for their final resting place.
Trump told reporters over the weekend that he was mourning the deaths of the soldiers and vowed retaliation.
The attack Saturday comes after a rapprochement between the US and Syria, bringing the former pariah state into a US-led coalition fighting DAESH.
Trump has forged a relationship with interim Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa, the onetime leader of an Islamic insurgent group who led the ouster of former President Bashar Assad.
Trump, who met with Al-Sharaa last month at the White House, told reporters on Monday that the attack had nothing to do with the Syrian leader, who Trump described as “devastated by what happened.”
During his first term, Trump visited Dover in 2017 to honor a US Navy SEAL killed during a raid in Yemen, in 2019 for two Army officers whose helicopter crashed in Afghanistan, and in 2020 for two Army soldiers killed in Afghanistan when a person dressed in an Afghan army uniform opened fire.
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