Turkey elections

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Analysis

Eyeing Turkey, Netanyahu boosts Greece, Cyprus ties ahead of US visit

Worried about the increasing empowerment of Turkey across the Middle East, Israel is making a show of neighborhood strength with Greece and Cyprus.

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

Prominent Turkish journalist Fatih Altayli is pictured in this undated image.

Turkey sentences journalist over 4 years in jail for threatening Erdogan

Prominent Turkish journalist Fatih Altayli was sentenced to over four years in prison in a trial government critics say aimed at silencing one of Turkey's most influential journalists and intended to intimidate journalists nationwide.

Ferries sail on Bosphorus in Istanbul, on August 29, 2025, next to the 15 July Martyrs Bridge, known as Bosphorus bridge.

Turkey sees FDI rise 58% as investor confidence returns

Turkey’s economy is seeing an uptick in foreign investment after a financial downturn punctuated by its highest inflation on record.

Serdar Ozsoy/Getty Images

Turkish markets, lira gain as Ankara delays ruling on opposition head's ouster

An Ankara court adjourned a case to October 24 to ouster the opposition CHP party's chairman, as part of a long-running political crackdown by the ruling AKP party.

Latest News

Turkey detains 30 as government crackdown on opposition deepens: What to know

A protestor holds a placard of Istanbul's detained Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu as they listen to the leader of Turkey's main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) Ozgur Ozel during a rally protesting the 100th day of his detention at Sarachane Square in Istanbul on July 1, 2025. (Photo by Yasin AKGUL / AFP) (Photo by YASIN AKGUL/AFP via Getty Images)

Turkey arrests youth delegate over Council of Europe address: What to know

An undated image of Enes Hocaogullari.

Analysis

Emboldened by Suwayda fallout, Syria’s Kurds hold their ground with Damascus

Mazlum Kobane, commander-in-chief of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), speaks during the pan-Kurdish "Unity and Consensus" conference in Qamishli in northeastern Syria, on April 26, 2025.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Analysis

From Caucasus to Iraq: How Israel’s war hands Turkey edge over Iran

THE HAGUE, NETHERLANDS - JUNE 25: U.S. President Donald Trump (R) speaks with President of the Republic of Türkiye, Recep Tayyip Erdogan (L), as they arrive for the North Atlantic Council Plenary Session on the second day of the 2025 NATO Summit on June 25, 2025 in The Hague, Netherlands. Among other matters, members are to approve a new defense investment plan that raises the target for defense spending to 5% of GDP. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Ezgi Akin

In Ankara, reporting on diplomacy, EU-Turkey ties, NATO

Turkey's president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, attends the third session of the G20 Leaders' meeting in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Nov, 19, 2024.

Analysis

2024 turnaround: Assad fall grants Turkey’s Erdogan electoral rebound

Despite facing a historic defeat in local elections, Erdogan’s foreign policy wins, including Turkish-backed rebels’ victory in Syria, appear to have bolstered his domestic support.

Ezgi Akin

In Ankara, reporting on diplomacy, EU-Turkey ties, NATO

Supporters of the pro-Kurdish Peoples DEM Party attend a rally for the Turkish Municipal elections to be held on March 31, in Esenyurt Square, in Istanbul on Feb. 25, 2024.

Exclusive

Turkey mulls peace talks with Kurds amid fears of Israeli strike on Iran

Three well-placed sources told Al-Monitor that exploratory talks for a possible resumption of negotiations between the Turkish government and imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan were already underway.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Turkey's right-wing Nationalist Movement Party leader Devlet Bahceli greets the crowd during the party's 12th Ordinary Grand Congress in Ankara, on March 18, 2018.

Analysis

A surprise handshake in Turkey's parliament: Nationalist-Kurdish thaw or political maneuver?

The escalating conflict in the region — among other considerations — has prompted unexpected handshakes between two foes in Turkey: pro-Kurdish DEM Party lawmakers and Nationalist Movement Party leader Devlet Bahceli.

Ezgi Akin

In Ankara, reporting on diplomacy, EU-Turkey ties, NATO

An animal activist pats a stray during a rally to protest against a bill drafted by the government that aims to remove stray dogs off the country's streets, in Istanbul on July 23, 2024.

Activists warn of tourism boycott as Turkey pushes through controversial stray dog bill

A government-led parliamentary committee this week approved a bill that could result in the mass culling of millions of street dogs, and fury at the legislation has spread beyond Turkey’s borders.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

A stray dog sits in front of the Blue Mosque in Istanbul, Aug. 23, 2022.

Analysis

Turkey’s opposition fears political motives behind stray dog bill

As Turkey inches closer to passing a bill that could lead to the mass culling of stray dogs, some critics argue that it will provide a mechanism for the government to turn up the heat in opposition-held municipalities.

Ezgi Akin

In Ankara, reporting on diplomacy, EU-Turkey ties, NATO

Turkey’s Erdogan replaces 2 ministers in first cabinet shuffle since local poll setback

The move marks the first cabinet-level change since the local elections in which the Turkish president’s ruling party suffered a historic setback.

Turkey's president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, looks on during a joint statement to the media in Baghdad on April 22, 2024.

What’s behind Erdogan’s pardoning of generals jailed over Turkey’s 1997 coup?

The move comes after a landmark meeting between the Turkish president and the main opposition leader that sparked hopes for political reforms in the country.

A boy waves a flag of jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan as tens of thousands of Kurds gather during a rally of the DTP.

Turkey hands Kurdish leaders heavy sentences, dimming hopes of democratic change

Selahattin Demirtas, co-leader of the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), and others were sentenced to a combined 375 years in Turkish prisons. Demirtas has remained in prison since 2016.

People are gathered to protest cooperation between Turkey and Israel.

Turkey, Israel tangle in fresh row over trade ban

The fresh tensions between the two regional powers seem to be stemming from a Turkish directive sent to companies that were doing business with Israel to introduce a three-month adjustment period for implementation of the trade ban.

Chairman of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) in Turkey, Ozgur Ozel, delivers a speech during a rally by members of the Confederation of Revolutionary Trade Unions (Disk) calling for economic justice and protesting against the increasing tax burden on workers in Ankara on Nov. 17, 2023.

'Landmark' talks between Turkey’s opposition leader, Erdogan spark hopes for reform

A "historic" meeting between Turkey's president and Ozgur Ozel may mark the beginning of a budding political relationship — but that remains to be seen.

Newly re-elected Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu.

In Turkey, Istanbul mayor faces backlash after calling Hamas a ‘terrorist organization’

Turkey's president is notably staying mum over the comments made by Istanbul’s popular mayor.

EVELYN HOCKSTEIN/AFP via Getty Images

Blinken, Fidan meet after Turkey postpones Erdogan's White House visit

The top US and Turkish diplomats met in the Saudi capital today after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s long-sought visit to the White House was postponed Friday.