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Turkey

Turkey

July 16, 2026

Ankara 2:21 pm

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Ozgu Ozel

Turkish opposition leader Ozgur Ozel could launch new party by August

Ozgur Ozel’s remarks on a potential new party came as the legal crackdown on the main opposition widened further this week with the arrest and suspension of the mayor of Cankaya, one of the party’s most secure and symbolically important strongholds in the heart of Ankara.

Visitors stand inside Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque in Istanbul on April 14, 2025.

Russian couple faces deportation from Turkey after Bible reading at Hagia Sophia

The couple were detained after reading from the Bible inside the Istanbul landmark, which remains one of Christianity’s most important historic sites despite its conversion into a mosque.

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.

Latest News

Analysis

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

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.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Lebanese PM Salam in Turkey as Erdogan seeks wider regional role

Lebanon's Prime Minister Nawaf Salam speaks during a joint declaration press event with French President following their meeting at the Elysee Presidential Palace in Paris on April 21, 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

A concrete box placed by the Turkish Army, for use as a guard point, is pictured overlooking the M4 highway near the town of Ariha in Syria's rebel-held northwestern Idlib province on January 4, 2021. (Photo by AAREF WATAD / AFP) (Photo by AAREF WATAD/AFP via Getty Images)

Turkey faces mysterious jihadi enemies in Idlib

Turkish forces continue to expand their presence around the key M4 highway in Idlib as attacks by new groups fuel uncertainties in the rebel-held region.

WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 16: U.S. Vice President Joseph Biden (R) speaks as Prime Minister of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan (L) looks on during a luncheon at the State Department May 16, 2013 in Washington, DC. Prime Minister Erdogan was on a visit in Washington and had talks on Syria with U.S. President Barack Obama. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Erdogan seeks better ties with US and EU, but on his terms

How Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan hopes to improve ties with the United States and the European Union and get Turkey out of its economic morass without making any significant concessions remains unclear.

Turkish National Defence Minister Hulusi Akar gives a press conference at the ministry in Ankara on January 13, 2021. (Photo by Arif AKDOGAN / POOL / AFP) (Photo by ARIF AKDOGAN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Will Turkish defense minister’s Iraq visit yield concrete results?

Although Turkey's defense minister seems to be satisfied with the outcome of his recent visit to Baghdad and Erbil, there are several impediments to Turkey's security demands.

Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan (R) and leader of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) Devlet Bahceli talk on stage during a rally for the upcoming local elections in Ankara, Turkey, on March 23, 2019. - Turkish will cast their ballots for local elections on March 31, 2019. (Photo by Adem ALTAN / AFP) (Photo credit should read ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Political violence in Ankara is more than meets the eye

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s alliance with his nationalist partner appears under growing strain amid a combination of domestic and external pressures.

Turkish Central Bank holds interest rate steady

As forecasted, Turkey’s Central Bank policymakers held a key interest rate steady Thursday, saying they would continue working to reel in the nation’s double-digit inflation.

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Turkey's scapegoating of McGurk rooted in revisionism

National Security Council coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa Brett McGurk has worked closely with the Turks for many years on a range of knotty issues, and the growls from Ankara suggest that Turkey continues to pin US policies that it doesn’t like on "rogue" individuals.

Turkey-backed Syrian rebels take part in a military exercise in Ghandoura, in the northeastern countryside of Syria's Aleppo province, on January 14, 2021. (Photo by AAREF WATAD / AFP) (Photo by AAREF WATAD/AFP via Getty Images)

Who is behind recent attacks against Turkish presence in Idlib?

Unknown parties have carried out several operations against some of the Turkish army outposts in Idlib, with some accusing Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and others pointing the finger at Islamic State or regime cells.

Under Biden, US-Turkey relations face delicate balancing act

Analysts expect the Joe Biden administration to take a harder stance than the Trump administration did on diverging US-Turkey policies, while noting Washington will also need to take pains to avoid alienating the key NATO ally.

People pass in front of a crypto currency "Bitcoin Change" shop near the Grand Bazaar on December 17, 2020 in Istanbul. - Leading virtual currency bitcoin on 16 December traded above $20,000 for the first time following a sustained run higher in recent weeks. Bitcoin reached a record-high $20,398.50 before pulling back to $20,145, which was still an intra-day gain of nearly four percent. (Photo by Ozan KOSE / AFP) (Photo by OZAN KOSE/AFP via Getty Images)

Turkey faces alarming increase in public debt

Turkey’s public debt has swelled more than 40% over a year, adding to economic risks despite a relative recovery in the second half of 2020.

Is Erdogan’s anger sign of early elections?

While trying to mend bridges in international affairs and form new alliances domestically, Erdogan targets 50% of Turkey’s residents with anger, but why?

In this picture taken on September 30, 2020 shows logos of social networking websites displayed on a mobile phone's screen in Istanbul. - Turkey on Thursday starts life under a new social media law that threatens to erase the local presence of Facebook and Twitter should they fail to take down contentious posts.The new legislation was pushed through by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's ruling AKP party and follows the government's crackdown on opposition newspapers and television channels. (Photo by Ozan KOS

Twitter, Pinterest face ad ban in Turkey under new social media law

The Turkish government issued advertising bans for Twitter, Periscope and Pinterest Tuesday when the platforms refrained from complying with a controversial social media law human rights advocates say will stifle free speech online.

EDIRNE, TURKEY - MARCH 02: Three men hold a rope as they travel in an inflatable boat as they attempt to enter Greece from Turkey by crossing the Evros river on on March 02, 2020 in Edirne, Turkey. Thousands of refugees and migrants have flocked to the Greece, Turkey border after Turkey announced that it would open border gates for a period of 72hrs to allow refugees to cross into European countries after thirty three Turkish soldiers were killed in a Syrian air raid in Idlib. (Photo by Burak Kara/Getty Im

Turkish-Greek talks, all talk?

Greece and Turkey will hold explanatory talks for the first time in years following the tensions that peaked last year between the regional rivals, although the two parties have yet to agree on the issues to be discussed.