Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's chief adviser says there is “no turning back” on the newly warmed relationship with the Gulf.
The UAE and Saudi Arabia will “see the benefits” of the improved relationship, Ilnur Cevik said in a wide-ranging interview with The National on the sidelines of the 9th Abu Dhabi Strategic Debate on Tuesday.
“The fact that these are our Muslim brothers and culturally old, old friends, the sky is the limit. There’s no turning back,” he said.
Relations with some Gulf states had been strained owing to claims that Turkey supported extremist groups.
“We attach a lot of importance to the security of the Gulf area because now they’re all our friends,” said Mr Cevik.
The adviser called for enhanced regional security.
“We should have our own mechanism in the Middle East and I think we’re working towards that,” he said.
His comments came days after Turkey appointed a new ambassador to Israel after a four-year freeze in relations.
“Our relationship with Israel is improving but we have to resolve the Palestinian issue,” Mr Cevik said. The situation is “complicated”, he added.
“As long as you don’t resolve the inter-Palestinian issue, it’s very hard to solve the Palestinian issue in the Middle East.”
Mr Cevik also called on regional allies to work together in times of crisis “and not rely on the US to help them out on a rainy day”.
The sharp tone towards the US comes days after Turkey rejected condolences from Washington for an attack in Istanbul that killed six people and injured at least 50 on Sunday.
Turkey said the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which the country has designated a “terrorist organisation”, was behind the explosion in Istanbul’s popular Taksim Square.
The PKK has denied the accusation.
“We've been telling the Americans that in northern Syria, where they have been supporting the Kurdish terrorists … they're completely wrong,” Mr Cevik said.
“Now, giving us messages of condolences — that's what the Americans have done — is really a joke.”
Turkey views the PKK, the main Syrian-Kurdish faction Democratic Union Party (PYD) and the People’s Protection Units (YPG), as one. The US has supported Kurdish armed groups in northern Syria financially and militarily in the fight against ISIS, although Washington has designated the PKK as a terrorist group.
‘Honest broker’
Mr Cevik also said that Turkey’s actions following the Russian invasion of Ukraine have helped it be seen as an “honest broker” of peace between the two nations, but particularly by Russia.
At the beginning of the invasion, Turkey supplied domestically-made drones to Ukraine to counter Russian attacks.
“We have stopped the onslaught and helped the Ukrainians but also kept the channels open with the Russians and told them that what they did was wrong,” he said.
“But we also realised that the West was trying to throw the Ukrainians into an unmanageable situation.”
Turkey has warned the Ukrainians about “getting carried away by western encouragement”, he added.
Mr Cevik also highlighted the role his country played in convincing the Russian president to open a grain corridor to alleviate the global food security crisis.
Ukraine and Russia produce about 20 per cent of global grain exports, almost all of which has been withheld from market due to the conflict.
Vital fertiliser supplies have also been disrupted.
“We helped prisoner exchanges between the two sides and we’re working on bringing Russian fertilisers out of the country to the world so that the fertiliser crisis is overcome,” Mr Cevik said.
He said all these measures were helping to pave the way for an atmosphere for peace talks but one important step remained.
“Crucially, the West should stop encouraging and pouring fuel on the war and pushing Ukraine to continue the fighting,” he said.
Ukraine says that Russia's presence on its soil is an unacceptable violation of sovereignty and that it will continue fighting until Russian forces are expelled.
Asked whether there are talks between Ankara and the West on this front, Mr Cevik pointed to the recent meeting between CIA Director William Burns and Russian intelligence chief Sergei Naryshkin in Ankara.
“Something is happening,” he said. “We’re on the right track.”
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
Company profile
Company name: Suraasa
Started: 2018
Founders: Rishabh Khanna, Ankit Khanna and Sahil Makker
Based: India, UAE and the UK
Industry: EdTech
Initial investment: More than $200,000 in seed funding
The%20team
%3Cp%3E%0DFashion%20director%3A%20Sarah%20Maisey%0D%3Cbr%3EPhotographer%3A%20Greg%20Adamski%0D%3Cbr%3EHair%20and%20make-up%3A%20Ania%20Poniatowska%0D%3Cbr%3EModels%3A%20Nyajouk%20and%20Kristine%20at%20MMG%2C%20and%20Mitchell%0D%3Cbr%3EStylist%E2%80%99s%20assistants%3A%20Nihala%20Naval%20and%20Sneha%20Maria%20Siby%0D%3Cbr%3EVideographer%3A%20Nilanjana%20Gupta%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The%20specs
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E3.6-litre%2C%20V6%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Eeight-speed%20auto%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E285hp%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E353Nm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDh159%2C900%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Enow%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylinder turbo
Power: 240hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 390Nm at 3,000rpm
Transmission: eight-speed auto
Price: from Dh122,745
On sale: now
AI traffic lights to ease congestion at seven points to Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Street
The seven points are:
Shakhbout bin Sultan Street
Dhafeer Street
Hadbat Al Ghubainah Street (outbound)
Salama bint Butti Street
Al Dhafra Street
Rabdan Street
Umm Yifina Street exit (inbound)
MATCH INFO
Syria v Australia
2018 World Cup qualifying: Asia fourth round play-off first leg
Venue: Hang Jebat Stadium, Malayisa
Kick-off: Thursday, 4.30pm (UAE)
Watch: beIN Sports HD
* Second leg in Australia on October 10
Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
Our legal consultants
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
HIJRA
Starring: Lamar Faden, Khairiah Nathmy, Nawaf Al-Dhufairy
Director: Shahad Ameen
Rating: 3/5
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
SPEC SHEET
Display: 6.8" edge quad-HD dynamic Amoled 2X, Infinity-O, 3088 x 1440, 500ppi, HDR10 , 120Hz
Processor: 4nm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1/Exynos 2200, 8-core
Memory: 8/12GB RAM
Storage: 128/256/512GB/1TB
Platform: Android 12
Main camera: quad 12MP ultra-wide f/2.2, 108MP wide f/1.8, 10MP telephoto f/4.9, 10MP telephoto 2.4; Space Zoom up to 100x, auto HDR, expert RAW
Video: 8K@24fps, 4K@60fps, full-HD@60fps, HD@30fps, super slo-mo@960fps
Front camera: 40MP f/2.2
Battery: 5000mAh, fast wireless charging 2.0 Wireless PowerShare
Connectivity: 5G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.2, NFC
I/O: USB-C
SIM: single nano, or nano and SIM, nano and nano, eSIM/nano and nano
Colours: burgundy, green, phantom black, phantom white, graphite, sky blue, red
Price: Dh4,699 for 128GB, Dh5,099 for 256GB, Dh5,499 for 512GB; 1TB unavailable in the UAE
Ticket prices
- Golden circle - Dh995
- Floor Standing - Dh495
- Lower Bowl Platinum - Dh95
- Lower Bowl premium - Dh795
- Lower Bowl Plus - Dh695
- Lower Bowl Standard- Dh595
- Upper Bowl Premium - Dh395
- Upper Bowl standard - Dh295
What sanctions would be reimposed?
Under ‘snapback’, measures imposed on Iran by the UN Security Council in six resolutions would be restored, including:
- An arms embargo
- A ban on uranium enrichment and reprocessing
- A ban on launches and other activities with ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons, as well as ballistic missile technology transfer and technical assistance
- A targeted global asset freeze and travel ban on Iranian individuals and entities
- Authorisation for countries to inspect Iran Air Cargo and Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines cargoes for banned goods
The specs
Engine: 2-litre or 3-litre 4Motion all-wheel-drive Power: 250Nm (2-litre); 340 (3-litre) Torque: 450Nm Transmission: 8-speed automatic Starting price: From Dh212,000 On sale: Now
