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Turkey

Turkey

October 11, 2026

Ankara 2:16 pm

24°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

Greek State Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis gestures as he speaks during a press conference at the European Council in Brussels on March 4, 2020. (Photo by Kenzo TRIBOUILLARD / AFP) (Photo by KENZO TRIBOUILLARD/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Greece-Turkey ties on upswing as FM set to visit, Cyprus tensions subside

Turkey tries to dial down confrontations in the eastern Mediterranean before the Greek minister's visit as part of its push to improve relations with the West.

Ezgi Akin

In Ankara, reporting on diplomacy, EU-Turkey ties, NATO

Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) shakes hands with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (L) during a meeting in Sochi, on August 5, 2022. (Photo by Vyacheslav Prokofyev and Vyacheslav PROKOFYEV / POOL / AFP) (Photo by VYACHESLAV PROKOFYEV/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

In Russia, Turkey's Erdogan seeks better ties with Putin, but distrust lingers

The Turkish president wants to enhance his prestige by brokering a new grain deal but faces an uphill battle, with increasing distrust from Moscow over Ankara's ties with Ukraine, and posture inside NATO.

MAXIM SHEMETOV/AFP via Getty Images

Russia hosts Turkey's Fidan, presses for guarantees on grain deal

Turkey and Russia's foreign ministers haggled over a compromise for the revival of the Ukrainian grain deal ahead of the upcoming presidential summit next week.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan visits the Memory Wall of Fallen Defenders of Ukraine during his official visit in Kyiv, on August 25, 2023, the Independence Day of Ukraine, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by GLEB GARANICH / POOL / AFP) (Photo by GLEB GARANICH/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Turkey’s Fidan to visit Russia as Ukraine's grain deal, Syria talks stall

Ankara’s efforts to revive the Black Sea grain deal and stalled high level talks between Ankara and Damascus are expected to be high on the agenda of the talks between top Russian and Turkish diplomats.

The USS Gerald R. Ford, the world’s largest aircraft carrier, visited Antalya last week.

US naval diplomacy reaches Turkey in latest sign of rapprochement

The US Navy's largest aircraft carrier arrived in Antalya several days before President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is expected to meet Russia's Vladimir Putin in Sochi.

Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Erdogan to meet Putin in Sochi as Turkey looks to save Ukraine grain deal

Revival of the vital grain deal will top the agenda of the Turkish and Russian presidents in Sochi, but experts believe Moscow's quick return to the agreement is unlikely.

ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images

Turkey, Saudi Arabia ink critical mineral cooperation deal

Green energy investments will have an important share in cooperation between Turkey and Saudi Arabia, said the Turkish energy minister.

ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images

Turkey ends lira protection scheme as banks tally up damage

With Turkey’s inflation on course to hit 70% by the year-end, the plan to convince depositors to shift to regular deposits with yields well below the inflation rate appears unviable.

Zelenskyy Fidan

Ukraine's Zelenskyy meets with Turkish FM as Black Sea pressure rises

The revival of the Black Sea grain deal was likely the top agenda item in the Turkish foreign minister’s meeting with Ukraine's leader as Ankara distances itself from Western efforts to set up alternative routes.

People wait to exchange money at a currency exchange shop on June 23, 2023 in Istanbul, Turkey.

Turkey’s Central Bank shifts gears, hikes interest rates to 25%

The 750 basis point rise was higher than analysts' expectations, prompting lira to rebound from a record low.

Iraq's Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein (R) poses with Turkey's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan in Baghdad on Aug. 22, 2023.

Turkey’s FM tackles long-held disputes with Iraq in first official visit

Hakan Fidan chose Iraq for his first official visit as Turkey's new foreign minister, but the visit appeared to yield little progress on long-standing disputes between Ankara and Baghdad.

This photograph taken on July 13, 2022, shows a firefighting helicopter carrying water over a wildfire.

Wildfire in Turkey’s northwest injures dozens, halts maritime traffic

Dozens of people have been injured and more than 80 livestock have perished as more than a thousand residents flee the wildfire engulfing the country’s northwest.