President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan recited an Islamic prayer on March 31 in the Hagia Sophia, a historic Istanbul landmark that has become a symbol of interfaith and diplomatic tensions. Erdoğan called on guests attending the opening of a festival to join him in silently reciting the first verse of the Quran, dedicating the prayer to the “souls of all who left us this work as inheritance, especially Istanbul’s conqueror.” Source HurriyetDaily
OPEC+ headed for a clash with the U.S. as more members rejected President Joe Biden’s call for the group to raise oil production faster and help reduce gasoline prices. On Monday, Kuwait said the cartel should stick with its plan to increase output gradually because oil markets were well-balanced. That followed similar statements from other key members in recent days, including Iraq, Algeria, Angola and Nigeria. Source Al Jazeera
“If a state buys (weaponry) from us, it’s no longer a Turkish product. It might be manufactured in Turkey, but it belongs to Ukraine,” Cavusoglu told reporters after meeting his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, on the margins of the G20 summit in Rome. “Turkey cannot be blamed for this,” he said. Source The Defence Post
Bulgaria has sent 350 additional military personnel to its border with Turkey amid rising migration levels. Defense Minister Georgi Panayotov told Bulgarian media that the troops were arriving to “support the border police”. Source EuroNews
