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

Turkey

Turkey

May 7, 2026

Ankara 6:40 pm

18°C

People look at a drone on display at the Baykar exhibit at the SAHA International Defence and Aerospace Expo on May 06, 2026 in Istanbul, Turkey.

Turkey, Japan launch defense industry partnership with eye on drones

The initiative could eventually lead to joint UAV development and production as Japan looks to expand drone capabilities amid regional tensions.

Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud and Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan in Ankara, May 6, 2026.

Saudi FM in Turkey as Ankara, Riyadh step up coordination amid Iran war

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan’s visit to Ankara comes amid rapidly expanding Turkish-Saudi coordination as the fallout from the Iran war reshapes Gulf security dynamics.

Latest News

Turkey, Armenia agree to restore medieval bridge in normalization push

A picture taken near Kars on Feb. 28, 2024 shows the ruins of a bridge over Arpacay river, the natural border between Turkey and Armenia.

Turkey hosts Kuwaiti FM as UAE's OAPEC exit fuels Gulf rift

Sabah Fidan

Analysis

Iraq’s Zaidi offers economic promise for Turkey but unknowns loom

Zaidi

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

People and journalists hold banners reading "Freedom for jailed journalists - we will not be silenced" on April 9, 2017 during a demonstration for the freedom of the press in Istanbul.

Turkey’s independent journalists stand against so-called disinformation bill

The new bill in parliament aims to bring further restrictions on freedom of expression online and on social media as elections approach, experts say. 

An image of Nesrin Abdullah, Anne Lindh and Aminah Kakabaveh that prompted a reaction from Turkish officials.

Kurds in Sweden on edge as Turkey presses government to ditch them in exchange for NATO membership

As Sweden’s government survived a non-confidence vote today, its fate was tied to Kurdish lawmaker and former guerrilla Amineh Kakabaveh.

Burak Kara/Getty Images

Turkish consumer inflation soars to 73.5%

Turkey’s May consumer inflation came in lower than expected, but newly announced gas and electricity hikes bode a renewed resurge in prices across the board.

ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images

Pakistan’s new premier looks to Turkey for political, economic boost

Shahbaz Sharif, who needs international economic and political support to stabilize his coalition government, is busy making deals with Ankara.

Erdogan

Analysis

Erdogan: Sweden, Finland need to ‘act accordingly’ toward Kurdish groups for approval on NATO bids

The Turkish president repeated these points while announcing another military operation into Syria.

Week in Review

By Week in Review

Turkey's main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu and Mayor of Istanbul Ekrem Imamoglu's poster.

Cases against opposition politicians mount ahead of Turkish elections

Critics claim the government has weaponized the judiciary to neutralize leading figures in the Republican People’s Party.

MBS

Saudi crown prince balances Turkey visit with stops in Greece and Cyprus

Mohammed bin Salman’s plan to visit Turkey as part of a regional tour shows that the kingdom has no intention to upset Greece and Cyprus while mending fences with Turkey.

A view of the platform of the Leviathan natural gas field in the Mediterranean Sea.

Could Turkey-Israel rapprochement lead to gas agreement?

The Cyprus conflict stands as a major stumbling block before potential plans to carry Israeli gas to Europe via Turkey.

Erdogan

Erdogan announces military operations in Syria's Manbij, Tal Rifaat

The Turkish president said operations in northern Syria will expand "step by step" and that Ankara will keep an eye on “who supports these legitimate steps" and "who hinders them.”

BIROL BEBEK/AFP via Getty Images

Blinken says US fighter jet sales to Turkey 'separate' from NATO demands

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said he will meet with Turkish, Swedish and Finnish officials to discuss Ankara's demands.

A Turkish Special Forces Police officer is seen standing watch during a press tour at a border outpost in front of a section of the new Iran - Turkey border wall on Sept. 27, 2021 in Caldiran, Turkey.

Traffickers use refugees to smuggle drugs from Iran to Turkey

There are growing claims and indications that refugees illegally crossing the Iranian-Turkish border, the route of an exodus from Afghanistan to the West, are forced to smuggle drugs by their traffickers.

People chant slogans during a rally for International Women's Day on March 08, 2021 in Istanbul, Turkey.

Turkish women’s groups rally behind anti-femicide platform

In Turkey, women’s groups and the political opposition are demonstrating in support of the We Will Stop Femicides Platform as it fights for its survival.