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Turkey

Turkey

July 16, 2026

Ankara 3:08 pm

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Ozgu Ozel

Turkish opposition leader Ozgur Ozel could launch new party by August

Ozgur Ozel’s remarks on a potential new party came as the legal crackdown on the main opposition widened further this week with the arrest and suspension of the mayor of Cankaya, one of the party’s most secure and symbolically important strongholds in the heart of Ankara.

Visitors stand inside Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque in Istanbul on April 14, 2025.

Russian couple faces deportation from Turkey after Bible reading at Hagia Sophia

The couple were detained after reading from the Bible inside the Istanbul landmark, which remains one of Christianity’s most important historic sites despite its conversion into a mosque.

Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler and his Egyptian counterpart, Lt. Gen. Ashraf Salem Zaher, met at the Turkey’s Defense Ministry in Ankara, July 13, 2026.

Turkey, Egypt expand military ties with cooperation frameworks: What to know

Increasing defense cooperation between Ankara and Cairo comes as Turkey seeks to offset the expanding Greek-Cypriot-Israeli alignment in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Latest News

Analysis

From S-400s to SAMP/T: Turkey’s defense pivot gathers pace after NATO summit

Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer (L) and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan pose after signing a defense partnership agreement on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, Wednesday, July 8, 2026.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Lebanese PM Salam in Turkey as Erdogan seeks wider regional role

Lebanon's Prime Minister Nawaf Salam speaks during a joint declaration press event with French President following their meeting at the Elysee Presidential Palace in Paris on April 21, 2026.

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

Ekrem Imamoglu, main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) Istanbul mayoral candidate, speaks during his campaign coordination meeting in Istanbul, Turkey, May 22, 2019. REUTERS/Murad Sezer - RC17BEE871F0

Istanbul’s opposition candidate urges supporters to retain faith in ballot box

Ekrem Imamoglu launched his second election campaign for Istanbul mayor, pledging to cut the wastefulness he discovered during his brief tenure as mayor last month, before electoral officials canceled his victory.

Russian and Turkish delegations, led by Presidents Vladimir Putin and Tayyip Erdogan, attend a meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia April 8, 2019. Sputnik/Alexei Nikolsky/Kremlin via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. - RC16BFAECE20

Turkey squeezed between Russia, US in Syria

Turkey, pressed between Russia and the United States, is headed toward a foreign policy crash in addition to an economic one.

Leyla Guven, pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) lawmaker who has been on a hunger strike for more than four months, rests in her bed at her home in Diyarbakir, Turkey, March 20, 2019. Picture taken March 20, 2019. REUTERS/Umit Bektas - RC1F50CE4990

Kurdish hunger strikers wait for news from meeting of jailed leader

Imprisoned Kurdistan Workers Party leader Abdullah Ocalan has met for a second time with lawyers as a wide Kurdish hunger strike endangers lives.

Idlib exposes Turkey’s weak hand against Russia

Despite the gains Turkey believes it's made through growing its relations with Russia, the two countries' priorities in Syria are anything but aligned.

A Turkish F-16 fighter jet takes off from Incirlik airbase in the southern city of Adana, Turkey, July 27, 2015. To match Insight TURKEY-SECURITY/AIRFORCE REUTERS/Murad Sezer/File Photo - S1AEULZGSTAA

Turkish airstrikes target PKK rebels in Iraqi Kurdistan

Turkey claims its military operations against PKK rebels are more effective than ever thanks to drones.

Viktor Zolotov, the director of the Federal Service of National Guard Troops and Commander of the National Guard Troops, attends a wreath laying ceremony marking the anniversary of the Nazi German invasion in 1941, at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier by the Kremlin wall in Moscow, Russia June 22, 2018. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin - RC17EE6222D0

Why 'Putin's personal army' chief visited Turkey

Viktor Zolotov, the head of Russian National Guard, also known as Vladimir Putin's personal army, paid a surprising visit to Turkey's capital.

Turkey’s debt-ridden Treasury mulls risky steps to stay afloat

Grappling with a growing budget deficit and with little room to maneuver, Ankara has come to consider some unorthodox measures, including the high-risk idea of tapping the central bank’s rainy-day cash.

Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan speaks to Saudi businessmen during his visit to Riyadh's Chamber of Commerce January 19, 2010. REUTERS/Fahad Shadeed (SAUDI ARABIA - Tags: POLITICS BUSINESS) - GM1E61J1QCU01

Turkey groans under economic pressure from Saudis

Once Turkey's biggest foreign buyers of real estate, Saudis are increasingly boycotting the country as the kingdom's chamber of commerce warns citizens away.

Turkish and Iraqi troops are pictured during a joint military exercise near the Turkish-Iraqi border in Silopi, Turkey September 26, 2017. REUTERS/Umit Bektas - RC1FB6450AB0

How viable is Turkey’s bid for military partnership with Iraq?

Turkey and Iraq have agreed to work on sealing a military cooperation agreement, and although regional developments dictate the solution of bilateral crises, the volatile relationship between the two neighbors calls for tempered optimism.

Turkey grapples with big trade deficit with China

Amid Washington’s trade war on China, Ankara is also grumbling about a massive trade gap with Beijing, but a number of factors stand in Turkey's way to resolve the deficit.

Idlib offensive tests strength of Russia-Turkey ties in Syria

Russia is tiring of Ankara's balancing act between Washington and Moscow, and Turkey's less-than-successful actions in Syria.

Saadet Party leader Karamollaoglu speaks after meeting with Iyi Party leader Aksener at Iyi Party headquaters in Ankara, Turkey April 24, 2018. REUTERS/Murad Sezer - RC11C9891450

Turkey's Saadet Party could sway Istanbul elections

Turkey's fundamentalist Saadet Party will run its mayoral candidate in the June 23 repeat election in Istanbul, possibly tipping the results in favor of the opposition party.