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

Turkey

Turkey

November 12, 2026

Ankara 4:45 am

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People walk past a Bitcoin sign at the entrance of a cryptocurrency exchange office on Nov. 8, 2024, in Istanbul, Turkey.

Watchdog urges Turkey to tighten digital asset rules for $144B crypto economy

A review of Turkey’s crypto-asset regulations by the Financial Stability Board acknowledged significant progress made by local authorities but called for further measures to address potential risks.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (L) and Central Bank Governor Sahap Kavcioglu attend a signing ceremony with Abu Dhabi’s crown prince, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan at the Presidential Complex in Ankara on Nov. 24, 2021. ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images

Turkey’s banking watchdog chief submits resignation amid fund scandal

Turkey’s government is facing growing criticism over regulators’ failure to prevent a fund scandal involving more than $20 billion.

Chris McGrath/Getty Images

Explainer

Iran war pushes up coal use, complicating Turkey’s COP31 pledge

Turkey is asking world leaders at COP31 to back a global push to use more electricity, even as the Iran war has driven up natural gas prices and pushed some power producers back to coal.

Latest News

Turkey bars MP’s wife from travel after his fund scandal criticism: What to know

OZAN KOSE/AFP via Getty Images

Steel factory explosion in western Turkey kills at least 16

A steel worker works in front of giant iron melting pot in Kardemir Iron and Steel Factory in Karabuk, northwestern Turkey, Aug. 26 2005. (TARIK TINAZAY/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Will Democrats block Trump’s push to deliver Turkey F-35s, lift sanctions?

MEHMET ESER/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Samuel Wendel

Senior Analyst, Middle East Business & Tech

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 faces uneasy relationship with Assad

Ahmet Davutoglu declared two years ago in his role as foreign minister that he would rather resign than shake Bashar al-Assad’s hand; he now has to find a way to coexist with Syria.

Turkey's President Abdullah Gul speaks to Reuters during an interview at the presidential palace in Istanbul March 1, 2012. Gul said on Thursday Russia and Iran would soon realise they had little choice but to join international diplomatic efforts for the removal of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. To match Interview SYRIA-TURKEY/GUL REUTERS/Osman Orsal (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR2YPBY

What does the future hold for Abdullah Gul?

Having been sidelined from the newly elected President Erdogan’s inner circle, Gul is resentful today, but may make a political comeback in the near future, depending on the performance of the Erdogan-Davutoglu team.

A picture taken on August 19, 2014 shows people making the victory sign as they attend the funeral ceremony of Mehdi Taskin, 24, who died during clashes that erupted between protesters and security forces during an operation to remove a statue of Mahsum Korkmazare, one of the founders of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). One person was killed and two were wounded in the clashes that erupted when a group of protesters gathered at the cemetery to prevent security forces from removing the statue. Meh

Provocations in Turkey as Kurdish peace process gets serious

Turkey’s peace process with the Kurds faces a major test amid explosive incidents apparently aimed at shaking the determination of both the government and the Kurdish side.

TALESH, IRAN - MAY 17: Labourers sow rice in a paddy field on May 17, 2007 near Talesh, Northern-Western Iran. Rice in its various forms is the most consumed cereal, totalling a massive one-fifth of all calories consumed by the human race and is a staple in many parts of Asia. The biggest producers of rice, mainly grown in paddy fields are China, India and Indonesia. (Photo by Majid/Getty Images)

Turkey, Iran seek to boost trade as mistrust lingers

Turkey and Iran have activated an accord to reduce tariffs and increase bilateral trade to $35 billion in 2015, but mistrust lingers between the two neighbors, with Turkey seeking international arbitration over the price of Iranian natural gas.

Could a PM Davutoglu repair Turkey's foreign policy?

Turkey’s once overambitious foreign minister is the most likely candidate to take over the AKP leadership and become prime minister, but few expect major changes in Ankara’s foreign policy orientation.

Broken antenna covers of Former National Security Agency (NSA) listening station are seen at the Teufelsberg hill (German for Devil's Mountain) in Berlin, June 30, 2013. The United States taps half a billion phone calls, emails and text messages in Germany in a typical month and has classed its biggest European ally as a target similar to China, according to secret U.S. documents quoted by a German newsmagazine. The revelations of alleged U.S. surveillance programmes based on documents taken by fugitive for

Turkish-German relations strained following spying revelations

Revelations about Germany spying on Turkey have heightened tensions between the two NATO allies.

An election campaign banner of Turkey's Prime Minister and presidential candidate Tayyip Erdogan is seen near a mosque in Istanbul August 9, 2014. Erdogan is set to secure his place in history as Turkey's first popularly-elected president on Sunday, but his tightening grip on power has polarised the nation, worried Western allies and raised fears of creeping authoritarianism. REUTERS/Murad Sezer (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS ELECTIONS) - RTR41T1P

Erdogan, not religion, divides Turkey

Turkey’s political scene is not divided on ideology anymore, but between pro- and anti-Erdogan camps.

Selahattin Demirtas, co-chairman of the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democracy Party (HDP) and presidential candidate, speaks during an election rally in Diyarbakir, August 8, 2014. Tayyip Erdogan is set to secure his place in history as Turkey's first popularly-elected president on Sunday, but his tightening grip on power has polarised the nation, worried Western allies and raised fears of creeping authoritarianism. Demirtas was running a distant third. REUTERS/Stringer (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS ELECTIONS) - RTR41Q

Turkish left’s most pressing problem: the Kurds

An intraparty conflict has become inevitable in Turkey’s center-left opposition as the amnesia-stricken Republican People's Party refuses to discuss the actual reasons behind its failure in the wake of another election defeat.

TO GO WITH AFP STORY IN FRENCH BY NICOLAS CHEVIRON:Greek crisis threatens minority newspaper in Istanbul
Mihail Vasiliadis, owner of the Apoyevmatini newspaper, poses during an interview with an AFP journalist at his office, in Istanbul, on July 12, 2011. Apoyevmatini, the main newspaper of the small Greek community of Istanbul, has survived the vagaries of Greek-Turkish relations for 86 years. It is now threatened with closure, as Greek companies cut advertising. AFP PHOTO / MUSTAFA OZER (Photo credit shou

Turkey’s only Greek-language newspaper faces closure

Turkey's only Greek-language newspaper is threatened with closure due to declining revenue following the financial crisis in Greece.

Turkey's President Abdullah Gul (R) and his wife Hayrunnisa Gul walk over the Dam Square to attend a wreath laying ceremony in Amsterdam April 17, 2012. Gul is in the Netherlands for a three-day state visit. REUTERS/Robin van Lonkhuijsen/United Photos (NETHERLANDS - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR30U9Y

Would Gul battle Turkey’s 'parallel state'?

Outgoing President Abdullah Gul’s distinction between Gulenist wrongdoers within the state and innocent members of the community shows the difficulty of dismantling the “parallel state” without crippling democracy and social peace.

Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan greets members of his ruling AK Party (AKP) as he arrives at a meeting at the party headquarters in Ankara August 14, 2014. Turkish president-elect Erdogan urged his ruling AK Party on Thursday to work for a stronger parliamentary majority next year to enable them to re-write the constitution, signalling no let-up in his drive to create an executive presidency. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR42E72

Amid regional instability, Turkey focuses on domestic agenda

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the Justice and Development Party are engrossed in the transition to a presidential system, but unrelenting developments in the Middle East will leave Ankara facing major regional problems.

Fitch Chief Executive Officer Paul Taylor speaks during a meeting organised by The Economist in Cascais February 18, 2014. The ratings agency Fitch considers that Portugal's economic and fiscal situation is "moving in the right direction" but it is premature to talk of raising the country's credit rating back to investment grade, Fitch CEO said on Tuesday. REUTERS/Rafael Marchante (PORTUGAL - Tags: POLITICS BUSINESS) - RTX191TB

Will Turkey face another credit rating downgrade?

Fitch Ratings has warned of high risks in Turkey, sparking concern that the agency, the first to raise Turkey to investment grade back in 2012, may now be the first to downgrade the country.