Closed session at Turkey’s Parliament: MPs to be briefed on Russia-Ukraine war

* News and photo: Anadolu Agency (AA)

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The General Assembly of the Parliament held a closed session on the Russia-Ukraine war today (March 1). During the closed session at the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM), Minister of Foreign Affairs will inform the Members of the Parliament about the ongoing war and the developments in the region since Russia's invasion of Ukraine on February 24.

The General Assembly was presided over by Deputy Parliamentary Speaker Celal Adan. When the session started, Adan said that the executive body asked for the floor to talk about the developments in Ukraine. He added that 20 minutes would be allocated to the executive, 10 minutes to the political party representatives who have a group at the Parliament and 5 minutes to the members of the parliament who do not have a group.

After the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) requested that the session be held as a closed session and the request was accepted, Adan asked everyone other than the members eligible to attend the General Assembly meeting to leave the assembly hall.

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What happened?

Earlier on February 24, explosions were reported in several Ukrainian provinces, including the capital Kyiv, after Russia's President Vladimir Putin announced a 'special military operation' in the Donbas region.

Tensions had started escalating late last year when Ukraine, the US and its allies accused Russia of amassing tens of thousands of troops on the border with Ukraine. They claimed Russia was preparing to invade its western neighbor, which was consistently rejected by Moscow.

Defying threats of sanctions by the West, Moscow officially recognized Donetsk and Luhansk as independent states in late February, followed by the start of a military operation in Ukraine on February 24.

President Vladimir Putin said the operation aims to protect people "subjected to genocide" by Kyiv and to "demilitarize and de-Nazify" Ukraine, while calling on the Ukrainian army to lay down its arms.

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In the face of this invasion, protest demonstrations are held both on the streets and in front of the embassies of Russia in several countries such as the US, Mexico, Chile, Italy, Britain, Georgia, Croatia, Bulgaria, Montenegro, Spain, Germany, Lebanon, the Netherlands and Greece.

As reported by Novaya, 1,816 people were taken into custody during the anti-war protests in several cities in Russia a day after the invasion.

Russia's war on Ukraine has also been met with outrage from the international community, with the European Union (EU), UK, and US implementing a range of economic sanctions against Russia.

Russia has been further isolated as its planes have been barred from flying in European and Canadian airspace, and a number of its banks have been kicked out of the SWIFT international banking system.

So far, at least 136 civilians have been killed in Ukraine, including 13 children, and 400 others injured, including 26 children, according to UN figures. At least 677,000 people have fled Ukraine to neighboring countries, according to the United Nations (UN) Refugee Agency. (AÖ/SD)