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Turkey

Turkey

July 8, 2026

Ankara 11:14 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

A Turkish soldier stands guard next to a military vehicle during a joint Russian-Turkish patrol in the eastern countryside of the town of Darbasiyah near the border with Turkey in Syria's northeastern Hasakah province on December 7, 2020. (Photo by Delil SOULEIMAN / AFP) (Photo by DELIL SOULEIMAN/AFP via Getty Images)

How Turkey fits in regime-Kurdish showdown in Syria

Some claim that a secret deal between Ankara and Damascus is behind the latest escalation between the Syrian government and the Kurds, but the situation could be more complex than it seems.

A woman gestures as Turkish Police detain activists supporting Bogazici University students protesting against the appointment by the Turkish government of a new rector in Ankara on February 2, 2021. (Photo by Adem ALTAN / AFP) (Photo by ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images)

State Department condemns Turkey's anti-LGBT rhetoric against protesters

Turkey's president and other officials have used inflammatory anti-gay rhetoric to describe the student-led protests in Istanbul.

A man holds his children near their home in a deserted street near the Suleymaniye mosque in Istanbul during a week-end curfew aimed at curbing the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic caused by the novel coronavirus on December 6, 2020. - Under the new restrictions beginning from December 1, a curfew will be imposed on weekdays from 9:00 pm. to 5:00 am. Over the weekend the lockdown will last from 9:00 pm Friday until 5:00 am on Monday. (Photo by Ozan KOSE / AFP) (Photo by OZAN KOSE/AFP via Getty Images)

Tax injustice worsens in Turkey

Two-thirds of the Turkish government’s tax revenues have come from indirect taxes on consumption, adding to the burden of low- and middle-income groups.

Timur Goksel, former Al-Monitor editor and UN diplomat, dies

Timur Goksel, a former UN diplomat and editor of Al-Monitor’s Turkey Pulse, was best known for his unique contributions to the UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon.

People protest in a street of Istanbul on February 2, 2021 after clashes erupt during a demonstration against Turkish President's appointment of a party loyalist to head Istanbul's exclusive Bogazici University at the start of the year. - Turkey has been hit by weeks of rallies across major campuses and the standoff over the rector gained a new dimension when protesters hung a poster near his office depicting Islam's holiest site covered in LGBT imagery last week. (Photo by Bulent Kilic / AFP) (Photo by BUL

Erdogan likens students to terrorists, condemns Bogazici rallies

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan likened protesting students to terrorists in a speech Wednesday, condemning ongoing demonstrations over the appointment of a government-linked rector to Istanbul’s Bogazici University.

Turkish police seize several tons of illegal alcohol

High taxes on liquor have created a market for illicit liquor in Turkey and police are cracking down.

Ibrahim Kalin, the spokesman for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, speaks to reporters during a roundtable at the Turkish embassy in Washington, DC on April 16, 2019. - Kalin voiced hope that the United States would extend a waiver for Turkey on sanctions against buying oil from Iran. He also said that Turkey was explaining to the United States its purchase of a major arm system from Turkey, a decision that has rattled relations between the NATO allies. (Photo by Shaun TANDON / AFP) (Photo cred

Biden administration makes first call to Turkey

National security adviser Jake Sullivan ran through a panoply of regional issues in a call with his Turkish counterpart.

Members of the "Syrian National Army", an alliance of Turkey-backed rebel groups, ride in an armoured personnel carrier (APC) in the town of Sarmin, about 8 kilometres southeast of the city of Idlib in northwestern Syria, on February 24, 2020, as they take part in a military offensive on the village of Nayrab following an artillery barrage fired by Turkish forces. (Photo by Omar HAJ KADOUR / AFP) (Photo by OMAR HAJ KADOUR/AFP via Getty Images)

Turkey, proxy fighters accused of 'illegally transferring' Syrians for prosecution

Human Rights Watch documented the transfer of at least 63 Syrians to Turkey for prosecution on charges including membership in a terrorist group.

Turkish police clash with students as Bogazici protests near one-month mark

Turkish police cracked down on protests in Istanbul and Ankara, as demonstrations continued over the controversial appointment of a government-linked rector to head one of Turkey’s top universities.

Youth unemployment reaches alarming level in Turkey

The unemployment rate among young people in Turkey is estimated to have reached about 40%, experts say, warning of social unrest and political repercussions.

This illustration picture shows social media applications logos from Linkedin, YouTube, Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter displayed on a smartphone in Arlington, Virginia on May 28, 2020. - Trump is expected to sign an executive order on May 28, 2020, after threatening to shutter social media platforms following Twitter's move to label two of his tweets misleading. (Photo by Olivier DOULIERY / AFP) (Photo by OLIVIER DOULIERY/AFP via Getty Images)

Twitter adds warning label to Turkish minister's anti-LGBT tweet

Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu's tweet accused "LGBT perverts" protesting in Istanbul of disrespecting Islam.

Turkish students detained as Bogazici protests intensify

Police forces prevented demonstrations Monday, detaining several protestors attempting to rally against the recent arrests of Bogazici University students over a poster deemed insulting of religious values.