Turkey rejects Arab terms to Qatar, US urges sides to talk

Istanbul, 26 June 2017 (MIA) - Turkey's president on Sunday rejected a demand by major Arab states to remove Turkish troops from Qatar, among a sweeping list of ultimatums that the United States has described as "difficult to meet," AP reports.
Speaking after Eid al-Fitr prayers in Istanbul, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called the demand to pull the Turkish troops "disrespectful" and said his country would not seek permission from others when making its defense cooperation agreements.
"Demanding that Turkey pull its soldiers is unfortunately also disrespectful toward Turkey," he said.
He said Turkey would continue to support Qatar against the many sanctions it has faced since several Arab countries moved earlier this month to isolate the country for its alleged support of terrorism. Turkey shipped suppliers and food via cargo planes to Qatar after its neighbors closed down air, land and sea routes.
The United States said the demands on Qatar by its Mideast neighbors "will be very difficult to meet." But the U.S. isn't rejecting the demands outright.
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson added in a statement Sunday that the list of demands from Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates includes major areas that "provide a basis for ongoing dialogue leading to a resolution."
He called on the Arab countries to "sit together" with Qatar to work through what he hoped would be "reasonable and actionable" demands.
In a sign of support, the Turkish parliament swiftly ratified a 2014 military agreement with Qatar earlier this month, allowing the deployment of troops to its base there. The military said a contingent of 23 soldiers reached Doha on Thursday. Turkey has also shipped supplies and food via cargo planes after
Erdogan said he made a similar offer to Saudi Arabia to set up a base there in the past but did not hear back from the king.
A Turkish foreign ministry statement Sunday reiterated that the deployment of Turkish troops in Qatar contributed to regional security and was not aimed at a specific country.
"Just like the presence of other foreign military bases or units in other countries of the region, our military presence in Qatar is principally based on a decision taken by the two countries relying on their sovereign rights," ministry spokesman Huseyin Muftuoglu said.
Doha received a 13-point list from Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain that included demands to shut down the media network Al-Jazeera and cut ties with Islamist groups including the Muslim Brotherhood. The energy-rich country said it was reviewing the ultimatum but added it would not negotiate under siege.
Turkey's president said his country "admires and embraces" Qatar's attitude, while slamming the demands by arguing they contradict international law.
"Here we see an attack against a state's sovereignty rights," Erdogan said.
Erdogan called the demand that Qatar shut down Al-Jazeera an attempt to take away the network's press freedom and urged rights groups to speak out against that.
Erdogan spoke to journalists after experiencing a diabetes-related blood pressure problem during prayers marking the end of the holy month of Ramadan. sk/10:31
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Albania’s Socialists on track for win in low-turnout election
Tirana, 26 June 2017 (MIA) - Albania's Socialist Party looked to have garnered almost half of the vote on Sunday, with voting extended because of low turnout. Prime Minister Edi Rama's Socialists garnered almost half the votes with one third of votes counted, according to the Central Elections Commission's preliminary results. The opposition Democratic Party, meanwhile, appeared to have secured 28 percent of the votes, DW reports.
Rama is keen to gain a majority so he can push through reforms aimed at smoothing the path for entry into the European Union - primarily a reform of the country's corrupt judicial system. Election officials said the initial results point to 75 seats for the Socialists in the 140-seat parliament.
Rama's current junior coalition partner, the Socialist Movement for Integration (LSI), gathered about 19 percent of the vote. The party has been a kingmaker in Albanian politics for the past 10 years.
After polling closed at 8 p.m. local time, turnout was said to have been 47 percent compared with 53.5 four years ago. Preliminary election results are not expected until Monday.
The Central Election Commission decided to extend voting, with the low turnout being attributed to religious festivities and hot temperatures. The majority Muslim but secular country is celebrating Eid al-Fitr, marking the end of the holy month of Ramadan.
Rama even took to Twitter and Facebook to post messages to encourage people to vote.
The opposition Democratic Party, led by Lulzim Basha, had threatened to boycott the vote until it was given assurances of greater oversight on election transparency and a postponement of the poll. The Democrats were also given key ministries ahead of the vote, and campaigning has been relatively low-key in a country where elections are usually bitterly contested.
Although the two party leaders have indulged in vitriolic personal attacks on each other, both agree on the need to prioritize EU accession.
Albania is already a NATO member and was granted EU candidate status in 2014.
Rama has vowed to open official EU accession talks by the end of the year, a goal that may be too ambitious. The European Commission has said the country has made progress but needs to improve in areas such as corruption, rule of law and the judiciary.
The nation of nearly three million people is one of Europe's poorest countries, with high unemployment and poverty rates forcing more than a million people to emigrate mostly to EU countries.