The Turkish president reiterated Ankara's demands that Sweden extradite "terrorists." Finland and Sweden have made a joint bid to join the military alliance, ending decades of non-alignment.

A six-party coalition in Turkey aim to go against the block lead by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and undo his two-decade legacy, including reducing the president's powers.

Kurds living in Sweden are concerned over an agreement reached between the Swedish and Finnish governments and Turkey, which has threatened to block the two countries from joining NATO over their alleged harboring of Kurdish militants.

The Turkish president has indicated that a pivotal election could take place in May rather than June. Polls show a tight race in what could be a major test of Erdogan's rule.

In December, Sweden extradited Mahmut Tat, a Turkish Kurd whom Ankara accuses of belonging to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which it considers a terrorist organisation

Over the past two decades, Recep Tayyip Erdogan has emerged as the undisputed master of Turkish politics. Elected prime minister in 2003, then president in 2014, he is gearing up for a hotly contested re-election bid later in 2023.

Can Dundar, the former editor-in-chief of Cumhuriyet, one of Turkey's main newspapers, discussed the press freedom situation in his native country during an interview with FRANCE 24. "If you are challenging the government's interests, you are branded a terrorist or a traitor," he said. Dundar added that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was trying to create chaos in a bid to win the next elections, scheduled for June 2023.

The two leaders spoke over the phone in a further sign of their increasing closeness. Turkey has tried to remain a middleman amid tensions between Russia and NATO.

The Turkish president said his government would quickly start working on plans for the project — despite facing criticism from fellow NATO members over his relations with Russia amid the ongoing war in Ukraine.

After ten years of fleeing and exile, disillusionment is spreading among Syrian families in Istanbul. Their hopes for an end of the Assad regime have disappeared.

Inflation is a problem everywhere but in Turkey it is currently a staggering 73.5%, with no end in sight. Still, President Erdogan insists on maintaining low interest rates.

The Turkish leader will be in Saudi Arabia for a two-day visit where relations "will be reviewed." It will be Erdogan's first visit since the 2018 killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.