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

Turkey

Turkey

October 11, 2026

Ankara 10:46 am

20°C

A cargo ship at the Port of Trabzon, Turkey

Analysis

Pragmatic politics: Why Turkey avoids blaming Russia for Black Sea attacks

Beyond economics, Ankara’s approach is also shaped by maintaining its role as an indispensable mediator between the Kremlin and the West.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

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.

Latest News

Erdogan aide named suspect in Turkey financial scandal

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

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

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 man monitors the board at the Stock Exchange Market (Tadawul) bourse in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Dec. 12, 2019.

Analysis

Saudi Arabia fastest growing crypto economy globally amid regional drive

The kingdom led globally with a 12% increase in crypto transaction volume reaching nearly $31 billion from July 2022 through June 2023, according to an industry report released Tuesday.

By Salim A. Essaid

Anastasia Yemelyanova

Who is Anastasia Yemelyanova, Russian activist reportedly killed in Turkey?

Turkey-based Russian feminist and antiwar activist Anastasia Yemelyanova, 32, was reportedly killed by her boyfriend.

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev held a one-on-one meeting with President of the Republic of Türkiye Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Turkey’s Erdogan meets Azerbaijan’s Aliyev as Armenians flee Nagorno-Karabakh

Ankara is backing the oil-rich Turkic nation’s current drive to seize all of Nagorno-Karabakh.

.S. Sen. Robert Menendez spoke during the rally to commemorate the 1915 Turkish massacre of Armenians in Times Square April 26, 2015 in New York City. The rally marks 100 years since the Ottoman government began its systematic extermination of Armenian peoples from their homeland in what is present-day Turkey. (Photo by Kevin Hagen/Getty Images)

Turkey gloats at Menendez indictment but will it get F-16 jets?

Sen. Bob Menendez, a strong critic of Turkey who heads the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has been charged for allegedly receiving bribes via a scheme involving Egypt.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Erdogan returns to Turkey after securing thaw with Israel on US trip

Erdogan met with Netanyahu for the first time in New York, and is readying to visit Jerusalem as soon as next month.

Resilient Africa

First Ukraine grain ship since Russia left deal reaches Turkey’s Bosporus

Turkey remains reluctant to be a part of an alternative grain deal for Ukraine’s grain shipments despite Kyiv and Washington's efforts to form one.

Chris McGrath/Getty Images

Turkey’s Central Bank hikes interest rates to 30%

The bank cited higher-than-expected inflation rates and rising oil prices for the hike.

Erdogan, Mitsotakis

Turkey, Greece to resume confidence-building talks in November

It marks the latest of a series of steps taken by Ankara and Athens to solve their multiple disagreements through dialogue.

Avi Ohaion/GPO

Israel, Turkey leaders discuss Saudi normalization in first New York meeting

Meeting for the first time on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan sought to deepen bilateral ties and advance an Israel-Saudi normalization deal.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan addresses the 78th United Nations General Assembly at UN headquarters in New York City on September 19, 2023. (Photo by Ed JONES / AFP) (Photo by ED JONES/AFP via Getty Images)

Turkey's Erdogan backs Azerbaijan's offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh, as US, Russia urge restraint

Addressing the UN General Assembly in New York, Erdogan said the contested Nagorno-Karabakh region is Azerbaijani territory, as US and Russia rejected Baku's offensive.

RAMI AL SAYED/AFP via Getty Images

Kurdish forces kill 14 pro-Turkey fighters in north Syria attack

The attack comes amid infighting between rebel factions loyal to Ankara in north Syria.

WANG ZHAO/AFP via Getty Images

China’s Alibaba to invest $2 billion in Turkey

The news follows economic changes in Turkey as well as improving ties between Turkey and China.