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

Turkey

Turkey

July 14, 2026

Ankara 2:31 am

21°C

Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler and his Egyptian counterpart, Lt. Gen. Ashraf Salem Zaher, met at the Turkey’s Defense Ministry in Ankara, July 13, 2026.

Turkey, Egypt expand military ties with cooperation frameworks: What to know

Increasing defense cooperation between Ankara and Cairo comes as Turkey seeks to offset the expanding Greek-Cypriot-Israeli alignment in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer (L) and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan pose after signing a defense partnership agreement on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, Wednesday, July 8, 2026.

Analysis

From S-400s to SAMP/T: Turkey’s defense pivot gathers pace after NATO summit

Turkey is seeking to turn the diplomatic momentum from the Ankara NATO summit into a broad defense realignment spanning US sanctions relief and fighter technology, European air defenses and deeper military cooperation with the UK.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Latest News

Lebanese PM Salam in Turkey as Erdogan seeks wider regional role

In first, Russia confirms S-400 talks with Turkey amid transfer reports to acquire F-35

AFP via Getty Images

Turkey brokers intra-Somalia talks as federal rifts test Ankara’s influence

Minister of Energy and Natural Resources of Turkey Alparslan Bayraktar speaks during the launch of an offshore energy exploration at the port in Mogadishu on April 10, 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

Elon Musk gestures as he speaks during a press conference at SpaceX's Starbase facility near Boca Chica Village in South Texas on Feb. 10, 2022.

Saudi Arabia, Turkey react to Elon Musk's Twitter takeover

Musk’s purchase of the social media giant is being heavily discussed in Saudi Arabia and Turkey, where the billionaire has a complicated history with both governments.

OZAN KOSE/AFP via Getty Images

Turkey’s Kavala conviction earns sharp rebuke from US

The State Department expressed concern over Turkey's "continued judicial harassment" after a court in Istanbul sentenced philanthropist Osman Kavala to life in prison.

Opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) MPs Ali Seker (CR), Ozgulr Ozel (C) and Sezgin Tanrikulu (CL) speak to the press.

Turkish court jails philanthropist Osman Kavala for life in widely condemned trial

After more than four years behind bars, Osman Kavala was sentenced in a case that rights groups and the opposition call a travesty of justice.

DIMITAR DILKOFF/AFP via Getty Images

US becomes Turkey's second biggest gas supplier, but for how long?

Turkey's second biggest gas supplier over the past winter was the United States, but Ankara may have to turn back to its neighbors to ensure it has sufficient supplies.

ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images

Ankara’s interest liabilities balloon to dizzying heights

The ratio of the Turkish government’s interest liabilities to its principal domestic debt has hit a staggering 117%, up from 60% last year.

A picture taken on April 19, 2022 shows smoke billowing from behind the mountains of Matin (Jabal Matin) in the town of Chiladze following a Turkish offensive targeting rebels in the northern Iraqi Kurdish autonomous region.

Turkey steps up attacks on Syria’s Kurds amid Iraq operation

Ankara is using the cover of Ukraine’s war to weaken the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and associated groups in the region.

Erdogan

Will Erdogan sustain balance between West, Russia as Ukraine war drags on?

If the West and NATO remain united during the long war in Ukraine, Turkey’s policy of straddling between Kyiv and Moscow would be unsustainable.

Georgian border guards work at the Darial Gorge (Verkhniy Lars) border crossing, March 1, 2010.

Russian invasion of Ukraine slams Turkey’s transportation industry

Traffic at the Turkish border crossings have come to a grinding halt after trucks en route to Russia, Belarus and Central Asia diverted routes to Turkey and Georgia following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Russian Navy's Project 22160 Patrol Vessel Dmitriy Rogachev 375 sails through the Bosphorus Strait on the way to the Black Sea past the city Istanbul as Suleymaniye mosque is seen in the background on Feb. 16, 2022.

Turkey steps up Black Sea naval activity as war rages in Ukraine

Turkey is extending its grip in the Black Sea, sending drilling ships and carrying out war games.

OZAN KOSE/AFP via Getty Images

Bus bombing brings trauma of past terror back to Turkish cities

Today's bus bombing in Bursa bears the hallmarks of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) more than five years after the group's last deadly attack in major city.

A customer leaves a currency exchange agency near Grand Bazaar in Istanbul, on Dec. 2, 2021.

Inflation storm worsens Turkey’s income distribution gap

Banks and big companies have benefited from Ankara’s controversial policy to keep interest rates low, while soaring inflation eats into the real income of the wage-earning masses.

AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP via Getty Images

Turkish, Israeli leaders speak on Al-Aqsa Mosque tensions

Blaming Israeli radicals and security forces for the attacks against the Palestinians, Erdogan expressed concern over the spreading of unrest to Gaza.