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

Turkey

Turkey

November 9, 2026

Ankara 1:40 am

-2°C

MEHMET ESER/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

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

Democratic control of Congress complicates Turkey’s push for F-35s and sanctions relief, but Ankara remains hopeful Trump can still broker a deal.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Costa Rica's Grynspan extends lead in UNSG poll as Nusseibeh places fourth

The Costa Rican candidate received 12 encourage votes in Thursday's UN Security Council straw poll.

United Arab Emirates

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan addresses Turkish members of parliament during the opening of the parliamentary session at the Grand National Assembly of Turkey in Ankara, on Oct. 1, 2026.

Turkey’s parliament ratifies Mecca pact in boost to Saudi Arabia

Turkey will now decide the scope of military support for Saudi Arabia amid ongoing Iran-backed Houthi attacks on the kingdom.

Latest News

Can Erdogan’s Baku visit fix Turkey-Azerbaijan rift?

TOFIK BABAYEV/AFP via Getty Images

Turkey says soldier killed by gunfire from Iran at border: What to know

A sign marking the border of Turkey in Van, Turkey, on March 14, 2026.

Turkey probes Google’s AI search tools, orders protections for news websites

Turkey moves PKK leader Ocalan to prison villa as peace process faces new test

A protestor holds a flag bearing a portrait of jailed leader of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) Abdullah Ocalan during a demonstration of Kurdish people from all around Europe to mark the 27th anniversary of his arrest and to demand his liberation, in Strasbourg, Eastern France, on Feb. 14, 2026.

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

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and US President Donald Trump wait for a meeting at the Palace Hotel during the 72nd United Nations General Assembly September 21, 2017 in New York City. / AFP PHOTO / Brendan Smialowski (Photo credit should read BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images)

Is Turkey’s 'strategic partnership' with America coming to an end?

An expert maintains that if solutions to the structural factors poisoning ties cannot be found, Turkish-American relations will continue to deteriorate.

New border crossing to create direct Iraq-Turkey link

Ankara and Baghdad have announced plans to open a second border crossing, tightening links between the two countries.

Turkey wants its share of Syria’s reconstruction

Turkey is bargaining with Russia for the reconstruction of Aleppo and to promote field projects in order to get a share in the reconstruction efforts of the war-torn country.

A money changer counts Turkish lira banknotes at a currency exchange office in Istanbul, Turkey August 13, 2018. REUTERS/Murad Sezer - RC139D2160B0

Who is at the sharp end of Turkey’s currency crisis?

After years of bold borrowing from abroad, Turkish conglomerates, including government cronies, are sitting on a powder keg as the country’s currency turmoil keeps augmenting their debt repayment woes.

BRUSSELS, BELGIUM - JULY 12: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrives at the 2018 NATO Summit at NATO headquarters on July 12, 2018 in Brussels, Belgium. Leaders from NATO member and partner states are meeting for a two-day summit, which is being overshadowed by strong demands by U.S. President Trump for most NATO member countries to spend more on defense. (Photo by Jasper Juinen/Getty Images)

Erdogan sneers at Trump as Turkey lines up new friends

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan lashed out at US President Donald Trump in what some analysts say is a bid to scapegoat the United States for an impending economic collapse, but he's more likely motivated by the ongoing probes into Turkey's Halkbank.

Turkey’s Christians divided over 'freedom' declaration

A declaration by non-Muslim spiritual leaders in support of Ankara has exposed in-house divisions in Christian communities.

Syrians gather at a site of car bomb in the northwestern Syrian city of Idlib on August 2, 2018. - Idlib is the last of four "de-escalation" zones agreed by world powers in 2017 where the rebels still have a major presence. Strategically important Idlib province shares a border with rebel-backer Turkey and is adjacent to Latakia, a regime stronghold on the Mediterranean. (Photo by OMAR HAJ KADOUR / AFP) (Photo credit should read OMAR HAJ KADOUR/AFP/Getty Images)

Turkey’s time running out in Idlib

Syrian Kurds could be a wild card in a possible showdown between Damascus and Ankara; Russia keeps the peace, for now, on the Israel-Syria border; Israel may have opened a new front of secret assassinations; the political economy of Iran’s protests.

U.S. President Donald Trump and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan speak at the start of the NATO summit in Brussels, Belgium July 11, 2018. REUTERS/Reinhard Krause - RC1E8AE4CB40

Turkish lira plunges as Trump hits Ankara with increased tariffs

US President Donald Trump's tweeted promise to double tariffs on steel and aluminum has pushed Turkey's currency into yet another tumble.

Are Turkey’s Christians as 'fine' as they say?

Amid a simmering crisis over a detained American pastor, Turkey’s non-Muslim minorities asserted they enjoy religious freedom in the country, but the declaration belies ongoing grievances and fears.

A road sign that shows the direction to Manbij city is seen in the northern Syrian town of al-Bab, Syria March 1, 2017. Picture taken March 1, 2017. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi - RC15D78AB000

Ankara plans road network to connect Syria with southern Turkey

The Turkish government is working with local councils in Syria's Euphrates Shield area to build and improve a road network to connect the area's cities with southern Turkey.

A money changer counts Turkish lira banknotes at a currency exchange office in Diyarbakir, Turkey May 23, 2018. REUTERS/Sertac Kayar - RC1EF7A7FF30

Mainstream Turkish media turn blind eye to country’s worst currency crisis

Although Turkey is suffering one of the worst currency crises in its history, no single mainstream Turkish media outlet has covered the development.

Special Advisor to the United Nations Special Envoy for Syria, Jan Egeland, adresses the media during a news conference in Geneva, Switzerland, April 4, 2018. REUTERS/Pierre Albouy - RC1DA4ACDBC0

UN reaches out to Ankara as Assad coils around Idlib

The United Nations will reportedly ask Turkey to keep its borders open to millions more Syrian civilians fleeing an expected regime offensive on Idlib.