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Turkey

Turkey

July 8, 2026

Ankara 4:48 am

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US President Donald Trump walks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during a state arrival ceremony at the Bestepe Presidential Complex for the annual NATO Summit on July 7, 2026 in Ankara, Turkey.

Explainer

Why Trump bid to lift CAATSA sanctions on Turkey faces complicated path

Trump's announcement could reset US-Turkey defense ties, but congressional approval and separate legal restrictions stand in the way.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (L) welcomes US President Donald Trump (R) upon his arrival on Air Force One at Etimesgut Air Base near Ankara, on July 7, 2026, before attending the 36th NATO Heads of State and Government Summit. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Trump's F-35 push for Turkey runs into CAATSA — and Israel

Israel fears that Washington may be shifting its strategic options toward Turkey as the two rivals push for regional hegemony.

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

Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney (R) is welcomed by Turkey's Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek upon arrival at Esenboga Airport to attend the 36th NATO Heads of State and Government Summit in Ankara on July 7, 2026. (Photo by Muhammed Abdullah Kurtar / POOL / AFP via Getty Images)

Canada, Turkey launch free trade talks on NATO summit sidelines

Trade between the two countries stood at $4.3 billion in 2025, and officials from both countries will meet to lay the groundwork for the first FTA negotiations.

Latest News

Trump says US will lift CAATSA sanctions on Turkey, consider F-35 sale

Trump Erdogan

Analysis

As it hosts NATO, Turkey eyes France's SAMP/T system, F-35 progress with Trump

sampt-t

Ezgi Akin

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

Israel, Greece conduct military drills ahead of NATO summit in Turkey

ABIR SULTAN / AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

In Libya, maritime dispute could complicate Turkey’s backing of US unity push

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan delivers a speech after a signing ceremony with Libyan Government of National Unity prime minister at the Presidential Complex in Ankara, on April 12, 2021.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Samuel Wendel

Senior Market Research Analyst

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Amberin Zaman

Chief Correspondent

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Jack Dutton

Chief Business Correspondent

In Bristol, reporting on regional business, climate change, AI, tech

Ezgi Akin

Associate Editor (Turkey)

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

Francesco Schiavi

In Bologna, reporting on security, defense, economy, governance

Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

People walk past a currency exchange board on March 22, 2021, in Istanbul, Turkey. Turkey's lira plummeted as much as 15% to hit 8.39 per US dollar in the first day of trading after Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan replaced central bank governor Naci Agbal, triggering fears of another currency crisis.

Did Erdogan commit economic suicide by sacking central bank chief?

The predicaments of Turkey’s cash-strapped central bank augur a highly challenging period for Erdogan while reducing the visibility range in Turkey’s economy to almost zero.

A protester from the Uyghur community living in Turkey attends a protest against the visit of China's Foreign Minister to Turkey, in Istanbul on March 25, 2021. - Hundreds protested against the Chinese official visit and what they allege is oppression by the Chinese government to Muslim Uyghurs in the far-western Xinjiang province.

Uyghurs in Turkey protest Chinese FM's visit

Hundreds gathered in both Ankara and Istanbul in protest of what they say is a genocidal campaign against the ethnic group by Beijing.

A member of the Syrian Civil Defense, also known as the White Helmets, searches through the rubble and debris in a building at the site of reported airstrikes on the rebel-held town of Ariha in the northern countryside of Idlib province, Syria, Jan. 30, 2020.

Turkish-Russian partnership under fresh stress test in Syria

Turkey’s appeal for Western backing in Syria has cast a pall on its partnership with Russia, whose toughening attitude on the ground is a reminder to Ankara of what could happen down the road.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu (R) attends a meeting with US Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken (2nd L), Ankara, Turkey, June 17, 2016.

Blinken’s first meeting with Turkish counterpart yields little

In a meeting on the sidelines of a NATO ministerial meeting in Brussels, the US secretary of state and Turkish foreign minister discussed a range of issues.

EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and the EU Council President Charles Michel hold a video conference call with Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Brussels on March 19, 2021. The call comes as the two neighbors seek to make good on improved ties after a spike in tensions last year over maritime claims in the Eastern Mediterranean. The leaders of the EU's 27 member states are set to discuss the state of relations with Ankara as one of the issues at their summit in Brussels next week.

European Council report presents roadmap for EU-Turkey ties

Ahead of a European Council summit this week, a report by EU Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell laid out a roadmap to deepen bilateral trade despite recent setbacks in Ankara’s human rights record, while outlining economic sanctions should more turbulence arise.

IAKOVOS HATZISTAVROU/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

Egypt-Turkey rivalry goes deeper than politics

Cairo is treading cautiously on Ankara’s fence-mending overtures toward Turkey.

Traders work at their desks on the floor of the Borsa Istanbul in Istanbul on May 22, 2018. - Turkey's embattled currency, the lira, has hit new historic lows against the US dollar after Fitch ratings agency expressed concerns over the central bank's independence in the wake of comments by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. (Photo by OZAN KOSE / AFP)

Turkish markets rattled after surprise firing of central bank head

Turkey’s lira and main stock index slid about 9% Monday as markets reacted to the surprise removal of the nation’s central bank chief amid broader political turmoil.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu gives a press conference following a meeting with his Slovakian counterpart in Ankara, on March 16, 2021.

Blinken to hold bilateral talks with Turkish foreign minister at NATO meeting in Brussels

This will be the first face-to-face meeting between the two since US President Joe Biden took office.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel (R), French President Emmanuel Macron (C) and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (L) and other leaders pose for a family picture at the Chancellery on January 19, 2020, in Berlin, Germany.

Is Europe on the way to appease Erdogan yet again?

The forthcoming Turkey-European Union summit could spell a diplomatic success for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, bolstering his hand in domestic politics.

Erdogan seen on video call

Erdogan defends Putin over spat with Biden

Turkish President Erdogan said it was unbecoming of a head of state for Biden to call Putin a "killer."

A young participant flashes the victory sign in front of the municipality headquarters in Diyarbakir, southeastern Turkey, on October 30, 2016, during a pro-Kurdish demonstration. A Turkish court has barred Figen Yuksekdag, a leader of the main pro-Kurdish party, from leaving the country, accusing her of "belonging to an armed terrorist organisation," the state-run Anadolu news agency reported on October 29, 2016. The HDP denounced the decision as "totally arbitrary" and said it would appeal. President Erdo

US condemns Turkey's efforts to shutter opposition party

The Biden administration slams Turkey's move to dissolve the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party.

Turkish member of Parliament for the left wing political party Peoples' Democratic Party Omer Faruk Gergerlioglu (C) reacts as he is surrounded by MPs applauding and brandishing placards after he was dismissed following a vote at the Turkish Parliament in Ankara, on March 17, 2021. (Photo by Adem ALTAN / AFP) (Photo by ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Lawsuit filed to close pro-Kurdish party after lawmaker stripped of parliamentary seat

Omer Faruk Gergerlioglu, a pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party deputy known to focus on human rights abuses, was stripped of his parliament seat and a lawsuit was filed to close the party March 17.