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Turkey

Turkey

June 25, 2026

Ankara 1:29 am

21°C

Demonstrators take part in a rally against the upcoming NATO Summit early July in Ankara, on June 13, 2026.

Turkey detains 233 ahead of NATO summit, including LGBTQ+ activist Yildiz Tar

The operation included alleged militant suspects as well as LGBTQ+ and leftist activists, raising concerns over the scope of the crackdown.

Germany's forward #26 Deniz Undav (2nd R), an ethnic Kurd, scores his team's first goal during the 2026 World Cup Group E football match between Germany and Ivory Coast at the Toronto Stadium in Toronto on June 20, 2026.

Culture

Amid political setbacks, Kurds shine at the World Cup

Kurdish players and clubs are making rare global gains on football’s biggest stage, offering a brief lift amid ongoing political setbacks across the region.

This photograph shows a Turkish national flag at the Razi-Kapikoy border crossing with Iran next to a black flag on the Iranian side, following the death of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in eastern Turkey on March 2, 2026.

Analysis

Turkey eyes gains from US-Iran deal as Ankara balances Tehran, Washington

Turkey sees the US-Iran memorandum as a chance to reduce regional spillover risks, revive trade with Tehran and gain diplomatic breathing room.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Latest News

Turkey captures alleged ISIS-K media chief near Afghanistan-Pakistan border

A Turkish police officers patrols at the scene of a motor-bike bomb explosion, next to a police station on Oct. 6, 2016, in Istanbul.

Culture

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

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

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

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

Analysis

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

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

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

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan attend a news conference following their meeting in St. Petersburg, Russia, August 9, 2016. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin - RTSM4JY

Russia-Turkey rapprochement has limits

Russia and Turkey have made strides in improving their ties, but the relationship is going to need far more than the issuance of commemorative plates celebrating the Aug. 9 meeting of the countries' presidents in the Constantine Palace's Greek Room.

Supporters of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan wave national flags as they listen to him through a giant screen in Istanbul's Taksim Square, Turkey, August 10, 2016. REUTERS/Osman Orsal - RTSMIJJ

Restoring death penalty could have major repercussions for Turkey

Turkish leaders keep stoking popular demands to reinstate the death penalty, but the repercussions of such a move go far beyond what the government can afford, observers say.

An Islamic State flag is seen in this picture illustration taken February 18, 2016. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo - RTSLIWH

How Islamic State is trying to lure Kurds to its ranks

The Islamic State released a video Aug. 3 in which militants refer to prominent Kurdish leaders in a bid to attract the Kurds to their ranks.

A man wrapped in a Turkish flag walks past a military vehicle in front of Sabiha Airport, in Istanbul, Turkey July 16, 2016. REUTERS/Baz Ratner - RTSI8VV

How Turkey's coup turmoil has fueled migration flurry

Consultancy firms report a big increase in the number of Turks exploring options to migrate to the West, as the failed coup and its aftermath exacerbate fears over the country's future.

U.S. based cleric Fethullah Gulen at his home in Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania, U.S. July 29, 2016. REUTERS/Charles Mostoller - RTSKAJX

Is Gulen an Armenian?

Pro-government figures in Turkey have declared Fethullah Gulen to be Armenian and Jewish in an attempt to deny the Islamic background of the person it blames for the recent coup attempt.

Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan enter a hall during their meeting in St. Petersburg, Russia, August 9, 2016. Sputnik/Kremlin/Alexei Nikolsky/via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. EDITORIAL USE ONLY. - RTSM2XI

What will be Turkey's toll for a second chance with Russia?

The presidents of both countries know a reconciliation with Russia won't come cheap for Turkey.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan enter a hall during a meeting with Russian and Turkish entrepreneurs at the Konstantinovsky Palace in St. Petersburg, Russia, August 9, 2016. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin - RTSM63F

Have Putin and Erdogan found common ground?

At a meeting Aug. 9, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin seemed to have agreed on coordinating their country's roles in the Syrian conflict in light of the "common goal" they share.

Syrian refugee women stand outside their tents at a refugee camp in Nizip in Gaziantep province, near the Turkish-Syrian border March 17, 2014. Aleppo continues to bear the brunt of the civil war, in which about 140,000 people have died. Almost two years after rebels grabbed half of the city, they are now on the defensive, with government forces advancing on three sides. Turkey began building its refugee camps near the border in mid-2011, little knowing the war would last so long and bring such vast numbers

Syrians shifting demographics in Turkey’s Kurdish regions

More than a third of the Syrian refugees in Turkey are concentrated in the country’s southeast, an impoverished, conflict-torn region with a predominantly Kurdish population.

- PHOTO TAKEN 30NOV05 - Hundreds of trucks bringing in diesel from Iran line up on a road as they head to the eastern province of Van in Turkey November 30, 2005. [In the shadows of mountains bordering Iraq and Iran, Turkey's Hakkari province may one day be an outpost of the European Union. But for now, it feels cut off from the world. Picture taken November 30, 2005.] - RTXO1TK

Can Iran go around Turkey to reach Europe?

The regional turmoil, and particularly the unstable situation in Turkey, is prompting Iran to speed up plans to establish alternative trade routes to Europe.

Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Simsek poses during an interview with Reuters in Ankara, Turkey, December 23, 2015. Simsek said he expects gross domestic product to grow a higher-than-expected 3.5-4 percent this year and sees growth next year above the official 4 percent forecast. Picture taken December 23, 2015. To match Interview TURKEY-ECONOMY/SIMSEK REUTERS/Umit Bektas - RTX1ZZ1V

Turkish deputy PM: Coup's economic wounds 'easy to manage'

In an interview with Al-Monitor, Mehmet Simsek, Turkey’s deputy prime minister for economic affairs, expresses optimism on the recent coup attempt's economic effects, saying the only real damage was to Turkey's image in the West.

Pro-secular demonstrators march with cutouts of modern Turkey's founder Ataturk during a Youth and Sports Day celebration in Istanbul, Turkey May 19, 2016. REUTERS/Murad Sezer - RTSEZQH

How ambitions of 'Islamist cult' united Islamists, secularists in Turkey

The ambitions of the Gulenists have been able to bring Turkey’s Islamists and secularists together for the first time in the country's political history.

Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan talks to the media before a meeting with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker (not pictured) at the EU Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, October 5, 2015. Erdogan mocked European Union overtures for help with its migration crisis during a long-awaited visit to Brussels on Monday that in the end was partly overshadowed by Russia's violation of Turkish airspace near Syria. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir - RTS34D3

Turkey-EU relations in tailspin after coup attempt

Turkey’s ties with Europe have taken a turn for the worse as Turks accuse the European Union of deserting them after last month's coup attempt.