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

Turkey

Turkey

September 13, 2026

Ankara 4:20 pm

33°C

People swim next to the Russian-flagged cargo ship OMSKIY-107, which was attacked off the Black Sea coast and eventually ran aground off the shore of the Sile district, Istanbul, Sept. 3, 2026.

Why Turkey has few options to protect Black Sea shipping

The Russia-Ukraine drone war is hitting Turkish commercial interests, exposing the limits of Ankara’s ability to protect shipping while remaining outside the conflict.

Fighters loyal to the Houthi authorities gather during a rally to recruit more fighters in Sanaa on Sept. 10, 2026.

Analysis

Saudi Arabia's Houthi crisis tests alliances with Trump, Turkey and Pakistan

As the Houthis tighten their grip on the Bab al-Mandeb, Saudi Arabia is turning to new regional alliances while Washington resists calls to intervene.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Latest News

Turkey’s defense giants court Egypt at Alamein Airshow: What to know

El Alamein International Airshow

Russia to give Turkey preferential fertilizer access amid Hormuz supply crunch

In this pool photograph distributed by the Russian state agency Sputnik, Russia's President Vladimir Putin and Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan hold a meeting on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Bishkek on September 1, 2026. (Photo by Kristina Solovyova / POOL / AFP via Getty Images)

Culture

Turkish ceramicist Leyla Borovali shapes Aegean heritage into clay

Leyla Borovali at her studio overlooking the Aegean

Analysis

With Hurjet test, Turkey seeks defense dominance beyond drones

TAI Hurjet

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

U.S. special envoy for Syria James Jeffrey (R) attends a meeting during the consultations on Syria, at the European headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland September 14, 2018. Xu Jinquan/Pool via REUTERS - RC1F7A552520

US sends Syria envoy to Ankara ahead of Geneva talks

US Syria envoy Jim Jeffrey is expected to meet with Turkish officials to discuss the US-backed Kurdish militants along its border as part of his continuing efforts to arrange a safe zone in the area.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu speaks during a news conference with Iraqi Foreign Minister Mohamed Ali Alhakim in Baghdad, Iraq April 28, 2019. REUTERS/Khalid Al-Mousily - RC1AE7284290

Energy tops agenda of Turkish FM's meetings in Iraq

Turkey’s foreign minister is touring Iraq in a likely bid to boost ties with his country's oil-rich neighbor as the United States ends the waivers that allowed Turkey to buy oil from Iran.

Brain drain saps Turkey's defense industry

Turkey is holding a mammoth defense industry fair, looking to boost its exports and counter a saturated domestic market, but the sector is suffering from a serious lack of manpower.

Officials attend a session of the peace talks on Syria in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan April 26, 2019. REUTERS/Mukhtar Kholdorbekov - RC1305474A80

New name, same old problems: Syria talks kick off in Kazakh capital

The name of the venue for the Syria peace talks may have changed from Astana to Nursultan, but the challenges the participants faced were familiar ones.

Turkey's main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu attends a news conference in Ankara, Turkey June 26, 2018. REUTERS/Umit Bektas - RC14C7E2BF70

Why did the Turkish judiciary take lynching attempt so lightly?

An attack on the CHP's main opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu attracted strikingly diverse reactions. Some saw it as a protest of his political stance. Others thought it was a premeditated attempt at a lynching.

Mayor of Istanbul Ekrem Imamoglu of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), accompanied by his family members, greets his supporters during a rally in Istanbul, Turkey, April 21, 2019. REUTERS/Murad Sezer - RC1B1DC65EA0

Political Islamists brace to lose financial favors after Istanbul shift

After major gains in local elections last month, including a landmark victory in Istanbul, Turkey’s main opposition vows to turn off the funding spigots for Islamic entities, which have long underpinned the ruling party’s electoral machine.

Opposition journalists hold a press conference in Istanbul on April 22, 2019. - Opposition journalists, who were initially supposed to remain free given their time served as part of the Cumhuriyet case, will have to go back to prison after an appeals court upholds their convictions in February 2019. (Photo by Yasin AKGUL / AFP) (Photo credit should read YASIN AKGUL/AFP/Getty Images)

Turkish newspaper staff sent back to prison

Six former employees of Cumhuriyet newspaper, including three journalists, returned to prison after a court rejected their appeal of terrorism convictions last year.

Oil tankers wait to dock at Tupras refinery near the northwestern Turkish city of Izmit, Turkey, June 28, 2017. REUTERS/Umit Bektas - RC1424A5EB80

Turkey seeks alternate oil sources as US ends Iran sanctions waivers

Ankara vowed to defy US sanctions on Iran, but figures show Turkey heeding US restrictions and curtailing oil imports from Iran.

People shop at a food market in Istanbul, Turkey, February 11, 2019. REUTERS/Murad Sezer - RC1FDE55C390

As food prices soar, Ankara wobbles on solution

Turkey’s food inflation has climbed to nearly 30% amid an alarming decline in the agricultural sector, but Ankara remains far from a viable solution, wasting time with unrealistic projects.

Syria opposition receives military training from Turkey ahead of potential battle against SDF

Free Syrian Army factions in northern Syria are receiving military training under Turkish army supervision in preparation for an imminent battle against the Kurdish-dominated Syrian Democratic Forces.

Foreign Ministers, Sergei Lavrov (C) of Russia, Mevlut Cavusoglu (L) of Turkey and Mohammad Javad Zarif of Iran, attend the international meeting on Syria in Astana, Kazakhstan March 16, 2018. REUTERS/Mukhtar Kholdorbekov - UP1EE3G0MJ01P

Turkey continues to freeze Kurds out of Syria peace talks

Syria peace talks continue in the Kazakh capital, with regional heavyweights battling it out over who will have a spot at the negotiating table.

A Syrian Army soldier loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad forces stands next to a military weapon in Idlib, Syria January 21, 2018. Picture taken January 21, 2018. SANA/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. REUTERS IS UNABLE TO INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE AUTHENTICITY, CONTENT, LOCATION OR DATE OF THIS IMAGE. - RC19C0D8B740

Can Turkey avert military assault on Idlib?

Damascus, Moscow and Tehran continue to exert pressure on Ankara to clear the region of jihadist elements.