Turkish-Kurdish conflict

Shanaz Ibrahim Ahmed (L), the wife of Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid, comforts a Kurdish woman during a ceremony marking the Anfal mass killings, after corpses were transferred from Baghdad to the Kurdish town of Chamchamal for burial, on February 21, 2024.

Ankara brushes off Iraqi first lady’s accusations labeling Turkey as 'invader'

In an unusual effrontery, the first lady accused Turkey of displacing hundreds and destroying large swaths of agricultural areas.

Al-Monitor Staff

By Al-Monitor Staff

US President Donald Trump and Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (L) take part in a joint press conference in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC on November 13, 2019.

Analysis

How Turkey-US ties could shift if Trump wins in November

Turkey-United States relations had ups and mostly downs when Donald Trump was president, but he and his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, usually got along.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Iraq's new first lady and Iraqi-Kurdish politician and writer Shanaz Ibrahim Ahmed receives a bouquet of flowers during her husband's inauguration and handover ceremony as the new Iraqi president at al-Salam Palace in the capital Baghdad on Oct. 17, 2022.

Regional View

Iraq’s first lady blasts Turkey’s assault against PKK in Kurdistan Region

The first lady's own family history and the upcoming parliamentary elections are likely behind her decision to speak up now.

This combination of file photographs created on July 7, 2024, shows Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (L) in Ankara on May 29, 2023, and Syria's President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus on July 16, 2023.

Analysis

As Erdogan woos Assad, is Turkey-Syria reconciliation rhetoric or reality?

While the Turkish president has signaled he’s open to mending fences with his Syrian counterpart, the path to reconciliation is full of pitfalls.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

In London, reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Latest News

Analysis

Baghdad silent as Turkey moves deeper against PKK militants in northern Iraq

Fighters of PKK inside Matin mountain north of Dohuk in a temporary base after leaving Turkish territory, on June 22, 2013.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

In London, reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Quick Take

Erdogan open to hosting Assad, Putin as Syria-Turkey channels widen

Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) shakes hands with his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad during their meeting in Sochi on May 17, 2018.

Quick Take

Turkey launches airstrikes against Kurdish militants in Iraq

AFP via Getty Images

Quick Take

As Assad 'welcomes' mending ties with Turkey, can Russia or Iraq mediate?

A large sign put up by private citizens bearing the portrait of Syria's President Bashar al-Assad, with text in Arabic below reading "total allegiance", is displayed along Abo Romaneh street in the capital Damascus on May 10, 2021 ahead of the country's presidential elections. - A Syrian former minister and a member of the Damascus-tolerated opposition will face Assad in the May 26 presidential election, according to the constitutional court in Syria. The election will be the second since the start of a dec

Quick Take

Turkey extends flight ban on Iraq's Sulaimaniyah airport for 6 months

A Boeing 737 aircraft of Emirati airline FlyDubai is seen on the tarmac of Sulaimaniyah Airport in Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region on August 2, 2020, as the airport resumes flight operations following the COVID-19 lockdown.

Iraq's Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani (R) and Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan shake hands after a joint statement to the media in Baghdad on April 22, 2024.

Quick Take

Iraq's PM says Baghdad mediating potential Syria-Turkey reconciliation

The Iraqi prime minister says he is in contact with the Turkish and Syrian presidents as part of reconciliation efforts

DELIL SOULEIMAN/AFP via Getty Images

Quick Take

Turkey's Erdogan threatens Syrian Kurdish groups as local elections near

The Turkish president said his country would "not hesitate to take action" as Ankara dials up its threats of a fresh military incursion into regions held by Kurdish-led groups in Syria.

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) and Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi attend a joint press conference in Ankara, on Jan. 24, 2024.

Regional View

How Raisi’s death will impact Turkey-Iran geopolitical rivalry

While leaders and some commentators in Turkey posthumously praised the late Iranian president and foreign minister, many geopolitical challenges await Ankara and Tehran once Iran elects a new president.

Kurdish women hold portraits of their missing sons on May 18, 2011, during a demonstration in Istanbul against the recent killing of 12 Kurdish rebels by security forces.

Regional View

Many faces of motherhood in Turkey: From new Mothers Museum to 1,000th vigil of Saturday mothers

As a new museum in Ankara pays homage to motherhood, the mothers of the country remain a fractured group, divided by political lines and economic woes

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

Quick Take

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.

Regional View

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.

Iraqi autonomous Kurdish region's peshmerga forces and fighters from the Yazidi minority, a local Kurdish-speaking community targeted in a brutal campaign by the Islamic State (IS) group, enter the western Iraqi city of Sinjar, in the Nineveh Province, on Nov. 13, 2015.

Quick Take

Turkey’s Fidan says Iraqi Sinjar must be ‘clear’ of PKK presence

The top Turkish diplomat’s comment comes as Ankara is ramping up its threats for a large-scale operation in northern Iraq.

This picture taken on April 25, 2023, shows a shrapnel-pocked walled in the village of Hiror near the Turkish border in northern Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region, where firefights occur between the Turkish army and fighters from the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

Quick Take

Turkey launches fresh airstrikes in Iraq as Erdogan renews threats for offensive

The strikes come as Ankara renews its threats of a fresh offensive in northern Iraq against the outlawed Kurdish militants and criticizes Iran and an Iraqi Kurdish political party for their lack of action to Turkey’s security concerns.

A Eurofighter Typhoon FGR4 belonging to the Royal Air Force shortly after takeoff.

Regional View

Can warmer Germany-Turkey ties bring Ankara Eurofighters along with Airbuses?

Experts believe Turkish-German defense ties will see some strides following the German president’s much-hyped Turkey visit.

(L to R) Turkey's Transport Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu, UAE's Energy Minister Suhail Mohamed al-Mazrouei, Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Iraq's Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, Qatar's Minister of Transport Jassim bin Saif bin Ahmed al-Sulaiti, and Iraq's Transport Minister Razzaq Muhaibas al-Saadawi applaud during their meeting for the signing of the "Development Road" framework agreement on security, economy, and development in Baghdad on April 22, 2024. (Photo by Thaier Al-Sudani / POO

Breaking | Last Updated: 03/06/2024 12:42

Turkey, Iraq, UAE, Qatar ink $20B transportation deal during Erdogan visit

The Turkish president’s visit heralds a new chapter between the two neighbors after more than a decade of turbulent ties.

Islamic state women outside a Hawala money transfer shop at Roj camp in northeastern Syria, April 9, 2024.

Regional View

Syria’s Kurds face ISIS threat, US indifference as Turkey destroys critical infrastructure

Turkish strikes have left hundreds of thousands without water and electricity, as well as undermining security at prisons and detention centers where tens of thousands of Islamic State fighters and their families are being held.

Ekrem Imamoglu, Istanbul mayor and the Republican People's Party (CHP) candidate, takes off his tie from atop a campaign bus while claiming victory surrounded by family members on April 1, 2024 in Istanbul, Turkey.

Five key takeaways from Turkey's local elections

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) came up short in recent local elections as Turks, including longtime AKP voters, expressed their dismay over the spiraling economy.

Ezgi Akin

By Ezgi Akin

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