Turkey - AL-MONITOR: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

Turkey

Turkey

June 17, 2026

Ankara 1:07 pm

28°C

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan meets with Orthodox Patriarch of Bartholomew at the presidential complex, Ankara, Turkey, June 16, 2026.

Culture

Turkey’s Erdogan meets Orthodox patriarch amid push for reopening Halki Seminary

The meeting comes ahead of US President Trump’s expected attendance at next month's NATO leaders’ summit in Turkey, after Trump personally urged his Turkish counterpart to reopen the Halki Seminary.

Turkey's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan attends the NATO Foreign Ministers' meeting in Helsingborg, Sweden, on May 22, 2026.

Turkey’s Fidan heads to Moscow as S-400 sanctions issue returns to fore

The visit comes weeks before Turkey hosts NATO leaders, on the sidelines of which Ankara hopes to reach a deal with Washington over CAATSA sanctions over its purchase of Russian S-400s.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan received Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Turkish House in New York on Sept. 19, 2023.

Analysis

Erdogan-Netanyahu war of words signals deeper rivalry for regional influence

The latest Erdogan-Netanyahu clash underscored how Turkey-Israel tensions have grown beyond the Palestinian issue and into a wider regional rivalry spanning Syria, Lebanon, Iran and the eastern Mediterranean.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Yasin AKGUL / AFP via Getty Images

Feature

Turkey’s World Cup return clouded by politics, dawn kickoffs

Turkey finally has the World Cup moment it waited 24 years for, but much of the country will either be asleep for it or arguing over efforts to claim it.

Ezgi Akin

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

Latest News

Explainer

Turkey slams France-Cyprus military pact as East Med rivalries deepen

Cyprus' President Nikos Christodoulides (2nd L) and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron (C) review the honor guard at the Presidential Palace in Nicosia on April 23, 2026, ahead of a meeting on the sidelines of a European summit.

Analysis

As Trump admin drops Halkbank case, S-400 last big hurdle in US-Turkey ties

Russian S-400 anti-aircraft missile launching system is displayed at the exposition field in Kubinka Patriot Park outside Moscow on Aug. 22, 2017 during the first day of the International Military-Technical Forum Army-2017.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

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 F-35 fighter jet performs a vertical landing on the USS Wasp during sea trials off the coast of Virginia, October 18, 2011. Critics say the F-35, which comes in three variants, is an ill-conceived multipurpose aircraft that tries to do too many things and will ultimately excel at none. Its stealthy fuselage and high-tech systems, some say, are so complex and difficult to maintain they will inevitably make it unaffordable. But advocates view the aircraft as a war-fighting platform for the networked, iPad g

F-35 sale to Turkey runs into congressional buzz saw

The sale of more than 100 fifth-generation fighter jets is in jeopardy amid worsening US tensions with its NATO ally.

Turkish military purges decimate career officer, pilot ranks

The impending dismissal of another 3,000 Turkish soldiers suspected of disloyalty is raising concerns about military readiness.

Villagers drive a tractor carrying olive tree branches near the border city of Kilis in Gaziantep province April 21, 2012. REUTERS/Murad Sezer (TURKEY - Tags: SOCIETY TRANSPORT) - GM1E84L1OQW01

Turkey’s agricultural decline rings alarm bells

The Turkish government is under fire for mismanaging the agricultural sector, whose decline has sent food prices soaring and forced the importation of basic items such as wheat, beans, meat and even straw.

People look at a Turkish attack helicopter "T129 ATAK" on May 9, 2017 during the opening day of the 13th International Defense Industry Fair (IDEF) in Istanbul. / AFP PHOTO / YASIN AKGUL (Photo credit should read YASIN AKGUL/AFP/Getty Images)

Turkish defense industry at critical juncture

After significant progress on the domestic level, the Turkish defense industry has reached a challenging phase in which it needs to enhance its export capacity to ensure sustainable growth.

Turkey's 'Lord of the Herbs' prescribes civil war

In a TV interview, a Turkish writer vowed to support President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his ruling party should they lose in the upcoming elections by promising to dig up a buried weapons stash and "take to the streets."

Turkey's traditional carpets meet quantum physics

The Turkish artist Belkis Balpinar adds new interpretations, including inspirations from science, to the tradition of symbolism in Anatolian kilims.

The unorthodox theory behind Erdogan's monetary policy

Economists and investors are not buying the controversial economic theory invoked by Turkey’s president to justify low interest rates in the face of high inflation and the lira's collapse.

Bowing to market pressure, Turkey's Central Bank hikes rates

The Turkish currency's nosedive continues, with the nation's Central Bank hamstrung by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's resistance to intervention.

IZMIR, TURKEY - MAY 26: View of the city of Izmir on May 26, 2016 in Izmir, Turkey. NATO's Standing Maritime Group 2 including the German combat support ship "Bonn" is currently deployed in the region between the mainland of Greece and Turkey, and will conduct surveillance and monitor illegal crossings in the Aegean Sea. The number of attempts by refugees to reach the islands of Greece has dropped rapidly. (Photo by Alexander Koerner/Getty Images)

Weary Istanbulites flock to seaside Izmir

Tired of traffic, extreme concretization and decelerated social interaction, white-collar, educated Turkish people are abandoning Istanbul for Turkey’s Aegean coastal province of Izmir.

A money changer counts Turkish lira banknotes at a currency exchange office in Diyarbakir, Turkey May 23, 2018. REUTERS/Sertac Kayar - RC1EF7A7FF30

Turkish lira in tailspin as Erdogan spooks investors

Clinging to unorthodox economic views, Turkey’s president has effectively paralyzed the central bank as the Turkish lira’s meltdown continues, threatening major economic turmoil.

Erdogan’s heir apparent

The candidate lists for Turkey's upcoming elections have been released, and the ruling party's is led by the president's son-in-law.

A picture taken on February 15, 2018 shows a Turkish military convoy driving through Syria's northwestern Idlib province.

/ AFP PHOTO / OMAR HAJ KADOUR (Photo credit should read OMAR HAJ KADOUR/AFP/Getty Images)

Turkish army's Idlib action 'riskiest cross-border operation' to date

Experts list the possibility of confrontation between Turkey and Syria, a new influx of refugees and activity by radical groups as potential hazards of Turkey’s deployment into Idlib.