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

Turkey

Turkey

October 9, 2026

Ankara 5:48 pm

21°C

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (R) meets with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis (L) during a visit on Oct. 7, 2026, in Athens, Greece.

Rubio signals US push to ease Greece-Turkey cable tensions

The top US diplomat said Washington was “very committed” to the subsea cable project as Ankara and Athens remain at odds over survey work in contested waters.

Turkish Navy infantry soldiers take part in the Denizkurdu-I/2026 Exercise in the Eastern Mediterranean, off the coast of Aksaz, at Marmaris in Mugla, on Sept. 24, 2026.

Turkey to send Mecca pact to parliament, opening path to Saudi deployment

Parliamentary ratification will remove a legal hurdle for Turkish military deployment to Saudi Arabia under a trilateral defense pact.

Izmir Mayor Cemil Tugay (R) his wife Oznur Tugay and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan acknowledge the audience after the mayor announced joining the ruling Justice and Development Party during a meeting with AKP lawmakers in Ankara, on Oct. 7, 2026.

Latest defection hands Erdogan’s AKP control of Turkey’s third-largest city

The ruling party’s takeover of Izmir’s mayoralty is the latest example of the unraveling of the opposition parties’ historic gains in Turkey’s 2024 local elections.

Turkey's Family Minister Fatma Betul Sayan Kaya speaks to media after arriving at the Ataturk International airport on March 12, 2017, in Istanbul.

Erdogan aide named suspect in Turkey financial scandal

Former AKP deputy chairwoman Fatma Betul Sayan Kaya is facing allegations of being linked to a market manipulation scandal.

Latest News

Turkey, Pakistan to deploy forces to Saudi Arabia amid Houthi attacks

A Yemeni man holds up a mock missile decorated with the colors of the Palestinian flag and the chechered keffiyeh in front of portraits of slain Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar (L) and the leader of the Houthi movement, Abdel Malek al-Houthi (R), during a protest in Sanaa to denounce strikes on Yemen and Israel's bombardment of Gaza on Jan. 15, 2025.

Analysis

Turkey revives F-16 talks with US amid Israel, Greece deterrence concerns

Turkish Air Force F-16 fighter aircraft

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Analysis

Turkey’s $20B fund crisis: Who profited, and who will pay?

Traders work at their desks on the floor of the Borsa Istanbul

In Bristol, reporting on regional business, climate change, AI, tech

Turkey mine collapse death toll rises to five: What to know

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

In an aerial view, a new housing project under construction for displaced earthquake survivors is seen in the Gulderen district on Feb. 1, 2024, in Hatay, Turkey.

With $104 billion in damages, Turkey’s earthquake region sees slow recovery

Turkey’s quake victims can hardly hope for a faster recovery, as Ankara seems to be keeping the pace of reconstruction tied to its overall economic roadmap, wary of overheating the fragile economy.

Relatives of missing persons hold placards and a banner with their portraits at the Hatay Earthquake Martyrs Cemetery, during a gathering marking the first anniversary of a powerful earthquake that hit the region, in Antakya, southern Turkish Hatay Province, on Feb. 6, 2024.

Turkey marks anniversary of deadliest earthquakes in its modern history

A year on, survivors of Turkey’s massive twin earthquakes gathered across the impact zone encompassing 11 provinces to commemorate their loved ones.

People walk past the Caglayan Justice Palace courthouse in Istanbul on March 21, 2022. - Turkey's leading activist Osman Kavala, who at the weekend marked his 1,600th day in prison without conviction, will appear in court on March 21, 2022, in a case that has strained Ankara's ties with the West. Kavala attends the court hearing via video link from his prison.

Attack in Istanbul, Turkey's second in week, leaves 3 dead

Authorities blame a far-left militant group for the attack, which claimed several bombings in Turkey over the past decades including a 2013 suicide bombing attack on the US Embassy in Ankara.

Hatay Archaeological Museum after the earthquake.

One year after earthquake, Turkey's ancient Antioch still devastated

Scars of the quake that killed 53,000 people and displaced millions run deep, and the road to restoration is fraught with political bickering.

Cargo is unloaded from a Russian AN-124 cargo plane transporting parts of the S-400 air defense system from Russia, after it landed at Murted Airfield on July 12, 2019 in Ankara, Turkey.

Analysis

Four factors driving Turkey's calculus to trade Russian S-400s for US F-35

As its ties improve with Washington, the United States has offered Turkey an opening to return to the F-35 consortium — but only if it gives up its Russian S-400 systems.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Turkish Central Bank Governor Hafize Gaye Erkan attends the Planning and Budget Commission of the Turkish Grand National Assembly (GNAT) in Ankara on Oct. 3, 2023.

Turkey names Fatih Karahan as Central Bank chief after Erkan's resignation

Gaye Erkan's resignation comes after a series of allegations by former and current Central Bank employees accusing Erkan of unethical conduct.

ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images

Turkey detains 7 suspected of spying for Israel’s Mossad

The detainment comes amid the Turkish authorities' latest crackdown on an alleged Israeli intelligence network in Turkey.

ILYAS AKENGIN/AFP via Getty Images

Kurds poised yet again to sway Istanbul race as Turkey's local polls approach

Control of Istanbul, Turkey's major seat of political power, is up for grabs as nationwide municipal elections approach.

(To go with AFP story by Mihaela Rodina) Urlati Plant Manager, Luc Viaene (L), Romanian President Traian Basescu (C) and Bob MacDonald (R), President and Chief Executive Officer of P&G, stand together during the official inauguration of a new Procter & Gamble plant in Urlati, a city 80km northeast from Bucharest, on September 29, 2010. The new factory will produce hair care products, of which 90 percent will be exported throughout the European Union and Turkey. AFP PHOTO/DANIEL MIHAILESCU (Photo by DANIEL M

Armed man in Turkey holds hostages at Procter & Gamble plant

An assailant who took seven people hostage in protest of the civilian casualties in Gaza was caught by Turkish police after nine-hour-long standoff.

A Lebanese woman looks at graffiti on a smashed glass facade in the heart of the capital Beirut on October 25, 2019 as anti-corruption demonstrators cut off major roads across the country for a ninth day, pledging to carry on with their protests despite the president offering to meet their representatives. - The entire political class has been targeted in days of unprecedented street demos that have dominated city centres and closed banks, schools and universities across Lebanon. (Photo by ANWAR AMRO / AFP)

Mideast corruption rankings: UAE least corrupt, Lebanon & Iran close to bottom

Arab states’ average corruption score dropped to an all-time low in 2023, as did Turkey’s, the corruption index shows.

Nuland says Turkey can return to F-35 consortium if S-400 issue resolved

The visit to Turkey by the US State Department's No. 2 comes as another signal of the burgeoning positive momentum in Washington-Ankara ties after Turkey approved Sweden’s membership in NATO.

The US Treasury Department building is seen in Washington, DC, January 19, 2023, following an announcement by the US Treasury that it had begun taking measures Thursday to prevent a default on government debt, as Congress heads towards a high-stakes clash between Democrats and Republicans over raising the borrowing limit. - The world's biggest economy could face severe disruption with Republicans threatening to refuse the usual annual rubber stamping of a rise in the legal borrowing limit, and this could pu

US Treasury sanctions ISIS facilitators in Egypt, Turkey

The Treasury Department imposed sanctions on a pair of cybersecurity experts in Egypt and a Turkey-based individual involved in transferring funds to individuals associated with the Islamic State.