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

Turkey

Turkey

June 29, 2026

Ankara 6:31 am

17°C

From (L-R) Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan and Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan attend a meeting in Cairo on June 21, 2026.

Analysis

Why Turkey and Egypt are deepening military ties amid regional turmoil

Turkey and Egypt are expanding military cooperation as overlapping security challenges, from Libya and Sudan to Gaza and the Red Sea, bring the former rivals closer together.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Members of the Jerusalem Armenian community hold placards as they march during commemorations for the 94th anniversary of mass killings of their kin under the Ottoman Empire, Jerusalem's Old City, April 24, 2009.

Explainer

Israel's Armenian genocide recognition marks new front against Turkey

Analysts say the expected vote for recognition is not morally motivated, but intended to spite the Turkish leader.

One of the first three US-made F-35 aircraft in Polish Air Force colors taxis along the runway at the 32nd Tactical Air Base in Lask, central Poland, while fire-fighting vehicles perform a water salute on May 22, 2026.

Trump hints at F-35 breakthrough with Turkey ahead of NATO summit

The administration is moving ahead with planned jet engine sales to Ankara ahead of next month’s NATO summit despite congressionally mandated sanctions on Turkey's defense industry.

Latest News

Israel, Turkey, Iran offer aid as Venezuela’s 2 quakes kill at least 188

Responders arrive to a demolished building at San Bernardino after a magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck Venezuela and other regions in the Caribbean on June 24, 2026 in Caracas, Venezuela.

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

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

Culture

Amid political setbacks, Kurds shine at the World Cup

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.

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

Davutoglu proposes refugee 'container city'

Davutoglu, while advocating a container city for refugees in a safe zone, is ignoring the serious risks it would entail.

Farhat Amat, a fighter from the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), guards a cemetery in the remote Qandil mountains near the Iraq-Iran border in Sulaimaniya, 330 km (205 miles) northeast of Baghdad, July 15, 2007. Amat takes care of the site, which holds 67 graves of PKK fighters killed in the movement's guerrilla war for a Kurdish state. Picture taken July 15, 2007. To match feature IRAQ/TURKEY REUTERS/Shamal Aqrawi (IRAQ) - RTR1S4KZ

Why have PKK cemeteries become a target?

Kurdish militants in Turkey are accused of using cemeteries as military bases and ammunition depots.

Jamal Zahalka (C), an Israeli-Arab lawmaker from the Joint Arab List, is taken out of the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, during Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's speech as he presents his new coalition government following the mid-March general elections, in Jerusalem May 14, 2015. Netanyahu's new rightist coalition government, hobbled from the outset by its razor-thin parliamentary majority, was sworn in late on Thursday amid wrangling within his Likud party over cabinet posts. REUETRS/Jim Holl

Why one Arab Knesset member provoked Israeli police on the Temple Mount

The outburst by Knesset member Jamal Zahalka on the Temple Mount this week reveals the dangerous game he is playing at the sacred site, staging himself as a victim while world leaders gather at UN headquarters.

A Kurdish refugee woman from the Syrian town of Kobani walks with her children at a refugee camp in the border town of Suruc, Sanliurfa province November 17, 2014. REUTERS/Osman Orsal (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS CONFLICT) - RTR4EES6

Turkey's Middle East policy 'fiasco'

Ankara wants to set up three cities for refugees on the Syrian side of the border with EU funds, but suspicions linger about its true intentions.

Pedal power gets Turkish makeover

Turkish activists put heels on wheels to encourage women to ride bicycles for transportation, health, empowerment and a cleaner environment.

What's in store for the future of Turkish-Israeli relations?

After trying to mend Israeli-Turkish relations and ahead of the Turkish general elections set for November, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has reverted to attacking Israel.

Will Russia’s move ruin Erdogan’s plan for Syria?

Will Turkey’s rules of engagement against Syrian planes now apply to Russian planes flying near the Turkish border?

A general view shows St George church, the principal Greek Orthodox cathedral, during the Divine Liturgy on November 30, 2014 in Istanbul as part of the Pope Francis' three day visit in Turkey. Pope Francis held an ecumenical prayer, yesterday, in the Orthodox Church of St. George and a private meeting with Patriarch Bartholomew I, the "first among equals" of the world's estimated 300 million Orthodox believers. In a highly symbolic gesture, the pope asked Bartholomew to kiss his brow in a blessing and bowe

Turkey’s non-Muslims demand apology from Ankara

On the 60th anniversary of the Istanbul pogroms, Turkey’s exiled minorities and their descendants are demanding acknowledgment and restitution from the Turkish state.

Journalists face further violence in southeast Turkey

The tension and restrictions that have affected social, economic, education and health services are now threatening journalists, and journalism itself.

Will US, Russia find common ground in Syria?

A common enemy, the Islamic State, should be the first step in an expanded international coalition; does Iraqi Kurdistan face the prospect of "administrative breakup"?

Confidence crisis hits lagging Turkish economy

Turkey's economy is weakening further amid plummeting investor and consumer confidence.

An image distributed by Islamic State militants on social media on August 25, 2015 purports to show the destruction of a Roman-era temple in the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra. Syria's antiquities chief Maamoun Abdulkarim told Reuters the images did appear to show the destruction of the ancient Baal Shamin temple and correlated with descriptions given by residents of the explosion detonated there on Sunday. Five photos were distributed on social media showing explosives being carried inside, being planted a

Turkey major conduit for Syrian 'blood antiquities'

Turkey is a major transit country used by the Islamic State for trafficking looted antiquities, but authorities have not been forthcoming about their seizures.