Turkey Live Coverage (10 May): Fronts At Home and Abroad
Thursday, May 10, 2012 at 11:41
1720 GMT: Although still not confirmed by the Foreign Ministry, the Turkish daily Hürriyet Daily News says that two Turkish journalists held in Syria are going to be freed this week. An Iranian official was quoted as saying that "Iran did its best to contact the Syrian groups and persuade them to release those innocent people."
1645 GMT: At a ceremony held to mark the 144th anniversary of the establishment of the Council of State, President Hüseyin Karakullukçu voiced support for a switch to a presidential system, saying his court considers the system to be “democratic” for Turkey's standard.
1600 During a press briefing, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Selçuk Ünal says the possibility of invoking the right to military protection of Turkish borders against threats from Syria under Article 5 of the NATO charter is still on Turkey's agenda.
1540 GMT: Some Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) members reportedly engaged in harassing fire against Turkish soldiers in the Cukurca district of Hakkari province. No injuries reported.
1420 GMT: Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki criticized Turkey for its earlier remarks. After Ankara's support for fugitive Iraqi Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi, Maliki said:
We do not want to antagonise Turkey, or Iran, or America, or Saudi Arabia, or any other country, but what happened and the remarks issued by Turkey do not show mutual respect.
Meanwhile, deputy Prime Minister Besir Atalay said that they are showing Turkish hospitability to Hashemi.