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Turkey

Turkey

September 17, 2026

Ankara 4:58 pm

18°C

Vyacheslav PROKOFYEV / AFP via Getty Images

Erdogan adviser says Turkish president will run for 'final' third term in April 2028

If Turkey's parliament votes to move the next election up during President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s second term, he could constitutionally run for third.

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

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

A soldier accused of attempting to assassinate Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on the night of the failed July 15, 2016 coup is carried by gendarmes to the courthouse in Mugla, Turkey July 14, 2017. REUTERS/Kenan Gurbuz - RTX3BFT0

Even through all his bluster, Erdogan's fear is obvious

Despite massive purges since the attempted coup a year ago, Turkey's president and those around him are still afraid of their own military.

An Israeli border police officer guards next to an entrance leading to the compound known to Muslims as Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as Temple Mount, in Jerusalem's Old City July 16, 2017. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun - RTX3BMMA

Doomsday averted on the Temple Mount, for now

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas set aside their mutual loathing to calm tensions when Israeli Arabs launched a short-lived attack on the Temple Mount.

A man walks while using his phone past damaged buildings in Deraa, Syria July 15, 2017. REUTERS/Alaa Al-Faqir - RTX3BL5E

Syrian cease-fire a delicate balance of vastly different goals

Iran welcomes the Russian/US truce initiative in southern Syria, but will Russia be able to keep juggling the broad, and often conflicting, interests of the various players?

People listen to the speech of Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan during a ceremony marking the first anniversary of the attempted coup at the Bosphorus Bridge in Istanbul, Turkey, July 15, 2017. REUTERS/Osman Orsal TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RTX3BLUL

Turkey's divisions on display on 'Day of National Unity'

Turkey's "Day of Democracy and National Unity" marking the defeat of last year's July 15 coup attempt turns into a celebration of the president and his Justice and Development Party.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (L) holds a news conference after a meeting with European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini in Brussels, Belgium, March 27, 2017. REUTERS/Yves Herman - RTX32WQI

Abu Mazen plays losing hand badly in Gaza Strip

The Palestinian president faces a challenge from a bitter rival backed by Egypt and the United Arab Emirates; what is Saddam Hussein’s family doing in Qatar?; Russia and the United States wary of Turkish military intervention in Syria.

Turkish Ambassador to the United States Serdar Kilic speak to the Conference on U.S.-Turkey Relations in Washington, U.S., May 22, 2017. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts - RTX372PN

Envoy to US says Turkey was ready to provide ‘tens of thousands of troops’ for Raqqa offensive

Ambassador Serdar Kilic tells Al-Monitor that Turkey was willing to offer broad military support to the US-led operation to liberate the Islamic State's Syrian stronghold.

Arrest of rights activists 'chills' Turkey’s civil society

Turkish civil society grapples with the arrests of human rights activists and academics as the government marks the anniversary of the failed military coup.

A Turkish soldier patrols along a wall on the border line between Turkey and Syria near the southeastern city of Kilis, Turkey, March 2, 2017. REUTERS/Murad Sezer - RTS114TG

Turkey’s ‘great wall’ nearing completion

Having finished most of the 435-mile-long wall on the Syria border, Turkey is to erect walls on its borders with Iran and Iraq.

Kemal Kilicdaroglu, leader of main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), and his wife Selvi greet people during a rally to mark the end of his 25-day long protest, dubbed "Justice March", against the detention of the party's lawmaker Enis Berberoglu, in Istanbul, Turkey July 9, 2017. A poster of modern Turkey's founder Ataturk is seen in the background. REUTERS/Huseyin Aldemir - RTX3AQZH

'Justice March' spawns unique coalition in Turkey

The “Justice March” of Turkey’s main opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu spawned a unique togetherness between disparate groups, but will this spontaneous coalition last?

TOPSHOT - A wreath reading "We will not forget" and a commemorative plaque are pictured during a memorial ceremony on June 28, 2017 at Ataturk International airport in Istanbul, one year since the triple suicide bombing and gun attack by Islamic State (IS) jihadists.
Turkey on June 28 marked one year since the triple suicide bombing and gun attack on its main international airport in Istanbul that left dozens dead and was blamed on Islamic State (IS) jihadists. / AFP PHOTO / OZAN KOSE (Photo credit

Ankara-Islamic State story emerges between lines of Turkish report

A new report by Turkey’s Interior Ministry takes a kindly look at the country's fight against Islamic State.

A fighter from the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) monitors in the area of Afrin, along Syria's northern border with Turkey, on June 9, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / George OURFALIAN (Photo credit should read GEORGE OURFALIAN/AFP/Getty Images)

Turkey waiting … and waiting … to intervene in Afrin

Ankara's pro-government media are blaming the United States and Russia for delaying Turkey’s move on Kurdish forces in Afrin, which was to begin July 5.

Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades arrives ahead of the European Council Summit at the European Union (EU) Headquarters in Brussels on February 12, 2015 AFP PHOTO / ALAIN JOCARD (Photo credit should read ALAIN JOCARD/AFP/Getty Images)

Turkish and Greek Cypriots remain optimistic, despite collapse of talks

While Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots blamed each other for last week's collapse in negotiations, many see positive signals because of shifts that took place in the talks.