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

Turkey

Turkey

September 6, 2026

Ankara 1:59 am

21°C

TAI Hurjet

Analysis

With Hurjet test, Turkey seeks defense dominance beyond drones

With export revenue from the supersonic crewed aircraft, Ankara plans to fund next-generation projects and gain strategic diplomatic and military leverage across NATO and the region.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Ibrahim Kalin, Turkish presidential spokesperson, gives a press conference at the Presidential Complex, Ankara, May 25, 2022.

Turkey and Greece's intelligence chiefs hold rare talks: What to know

The meeting comes after Turkey recently warned Greece over what it called an arms race in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

US sanctions Turkey-based bank over Iran ties

The Treasury Department said Golden Global Bank was facilitating transactions for Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Mecca Alliance

Israel, Greece sign $3.5 billion air-defense deal: What to know

Against the backdrop of growing tensions with Turkey, Israel signed one of its largest-ever defense industry deals to supply Greece with advanced air defense systems.

Latest News

Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Pakistan set Mecca Alliance into motion

Mecca Alliance

Analysis

Why Turkey welcomes Israel-Syria talks despite mounting red lines

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) and Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa arrive for a joint press conference following their meeting at the Presidential Palace in Ankara, Feb. 4, 2025.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Culture

In divided Cyprus, FC Barcelona youth camp sparks new dispute: What to know

Barcelona

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

EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Azerbaijan’s oil sales to Israel squeeze Turkey’s Erdogan amid Gaza conflict

Many Turks are demanding their government do more about Israel's ongoing bombardment of the Gaza Strip, including halting exports of Azerbaijani oil to Israel.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (L) speaks with UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Indian President Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the G-7 summit, June 14, 2024, Apulia, Italy.

Turkey’s Erdogan, UAE president discuss Gaza during G7

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also briefly chatted with US President Joe Biden on the sidelines of the summit.

Employees and volunteers take part in a charity work organized by Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH) in order to send humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people in Ankara, Turkey on May 31, 2024. (Photo by Altan Gocher / Hans Lucas / Hans Lucas via AFP) (Photo by ALTAN GOCHER/Hans Lucas/AFP via Getty Images)

Why Turkey won’t be able to walk back from ban on Israel trade

David Rosenberg

David Rosenberg

In Tel Aviv, reporting on business and tech

US President Joe Biden (R) and Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan hold bilateral talks the NATO Summit in Vilnius on July 11, 2023. (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP) (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)

Erdogan and Biden may meet at NATO's US summit in July, ambassador says

Amid widening differences over Gaza, Turkey postponed in April the Turkish president’s visit to the White House that was planned for May.

In this pool photograph distributed by Russian state agency Sputnik, Russia's President Vladimir Putin (L) attends a meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan (R) in Moscow on June 11, 2024.

Putin meets Fidan, 'fully supports' Turkey’s aspirations in BRICS

The first bilateral meeting between Putin and Fidan saw the Russian leader embrace Ankara's interest in joining the BRICS as a counterweight to the West.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Hakan Fidan meets with Sergei Shoigu, Secretary of the Russian Federation Security Council, in Moscow, June 10, 2024.

Turkey’s Fidan holds talks in Russia ahead of BRICS summit

Fidan’s attendance at the BRICS+ summit comes at a time when Turkey’s dismay with the European Union is growing over pending resumption of the modernization of the Customs Union Treaty.

A Boeing 737 aircraft of Emirati airline FlyDubai is seen on the tarmac of Sulaimaniyah Airport in Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region on August 2, 2020, as the airport resumes flight operations following the COVID-19 lockdown.

Turkey extends flight ban on Iraq's Sulaimaniyah airport for 6 months

The extension of the ban indicated that Ankara and the Iraqi Kurdish party controlling Sulaimaniyah had yet to resolve their differences.

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (L) and India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi shake hands ahead of the G20 Leaders' Summit in New Delhi on September 9, 2023. (Photo by Ludovic MARIN / POOL / AFP) (Photo by LUDOVIC MARIN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

After Modi's win, can Turkey-India ties grow despite Kashmir, IMEC differences?

Turkish officials and experts believe there is room for the two countries to expand cooperation despite their differences.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Hamas' political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh addresses supporters during a rally in solidarity with the Palestinians outside Qatar's Imam Muhammad Abdel-Wahhab Mosque in the capital Doha on May 15, 2021. - Qatar's Foreign Minister hosted the political chief of Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas and called for an end to Israel's bombardment of Gaza, state media said. (Photo by KARIM JAAFAR / AFP) (Photo by KARIM JAAFAR/AFP via Getty Images)

In Turkey, Qatar defense chief says no plans to expel Hamas

The Qatari minister’s remarks came in response to increasing reports that the Gulf state is considering shuttering Hamas’ political headquarters in Doha.

The Soloturk aerobatic demonstration team of the Turkish Air Force flies an F-16 aircraft over Anitkabir, the mausoleum of Turkish Republic's Founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, during celebrations to mark the 100th anniversary of the Republic of Turkey in Ankara, on October 29, 2023. Turkey marked its centenary as a post-Ottoman republic on October 29, 2023, with somewhat muted celebrations held in the shadow of Israel's escalating war with Hamas militants in Gaza. (Photo by Adem ALTAN / AFP) (Photo by ADEM ALT

US welcomes Turkey’s signing $23 billion F-16 jets deal

Turkey's inking of the deal indicates that Ankara and Washington have agreed on the terms of the purchase and see an opportunity in exploring other avenues.

Syrian Kurdish women walk past an election campaign banner in the northeastern Syrian city of Qamishli on June 6, 2024.

Syrian Kurds postpone local elections amid US disapproval, Turkish threats

The prevailing consensus is that the Biden administration’s opposition was the main driver of the postponement.

In this picture taken on October 26, 2011 workers assemble one of the many car models at Chinese carmaker's Chery Automobile plant in Wuhu, east China's Anhui province. The growth of China's car market will be driven primarily by exports this year because domestic sales have slowed dramatically, as the world's largest car market -- sold 614,000 cars abroad in the first nine months of 2011, a 60 percent rise on the same period in 2010. CHINA OUT AFP PHOTO (Photo credit should read STR/AFP via Getty Images)

China’s EV giants target Turkey as trade wars intensify

Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech