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

Turkey

Turkey

October 11, 2026

Ankara 3:20 pm

25°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

Turkey lira

Turkey’s lira sinks further as currency protection scheme changes

Banks are upset with a Central Bank plan to move depositors’ savings out of accounts designed to protect the lira’s value.

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

Kurds suffer as Iraq, Turkey fail to restart oil flow ahead of Turkish FM's Baghdad visit

As Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan is set to meet in Baghdad with Iraqi leaders, disrupted oil flows, water and cooperation against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party are expected to top the agenda.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan looks on during a joint press conference with Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov (not pictured) after their meeting in Ankara, Turkey on July 31, 2023. (Photo by Adem ALTAN / AFP) (Photo by ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Turkey FM to discuss alternatives to Black Sea grain deal in Ukraine

Turkey's foreign minister will stop in Ukraine Aug. 25 to discuss options for shipping Ukrainian grain amid the deadlock with Russia.

A UN vehicle parks in Pyla village, which lies between the internationally recognised Republic of Cyprus and the Turkish-occupied north, on Aug. 20, 2023.

Russia benefits from Turkey’s tiff with UN, NATO allies over Cyprus village

The UN Security Council will discuss an incident in the Cypriot border village of Pyla, where Turkish Cypriot security forces are accused of manhandling UN peacekeepers over a controversial road project.

Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the sidelines of the Sixth Summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) in Astana on Oct. 13, 2022.

Explainer: What's going on between Russia and Turkey amid Black Sea escalation

Ankara’s avoidance of a public confrontation with Moscow reflects its determination to maintain a balancing act between Russia and the West.

Peacekeepers look on from the UN65 Checkpoint of the United Nations Buffer Zone opposite the Roman Catholic Church of the Holy Cross in the divided old walled city of Cyprus' capital Nicosia where the Pope will hold an ecumenical prayer with migrants, on Dec. 3, 2021.

Tensions in Cyprus amid Turkish Cypriot plans to build controversial road

The rare confrontation between United Nations peacekeepers and Turkish Cypriot security forces rattled the ethnically divided island, which is home to one of Europe’s oldest frozen conflicts.

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (L) reviews the honour guard as he welcomes Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman (R) during an official ceremony at the Presidential Complex in Ankara, on June 22, 2022. - Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler took a big step out of international isolation on June 22, 2022, paying his first visit to Sunni rival Turkey since the 2018 murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the kingdom's Istanbul consulate. (Photo by Adem ALTAN / AFP) (Photo by ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Ge

With Gulf charm offensive, Turkey’s Erdogan sets up dealmaking deluge across defense, energy

A Turkish drone factory is coming to Saudi Arabia following a $3.1 billion deal with defense firm Baykar — one of many key deals that should soon take flight across numerous sectors as Turkey deepens cooperation with former Gulf rivals.

Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Chris McGrath/Getty Images

First cargo ship to challenge Russian blockade reaches Turkey from Ukraine

Joseph Schulte became the first civilian vessel to safely travel from Ukraine to Turkey after Russia’s withdrawal from a deal that had granted safe passage to commercial and civilian ships amid escalating tensions in the Black Sea.

NAZEER AL-KHATIB/AFP via Getty Images

US sanctions Turkey-backed Syrian militias over rights abuses in Afrin

Washington has accused the Suleiman Shah Brigade, the Hamza Division and their leadership of committing serious rights abuses in the Kurdish-majority enclave of Afrin.

ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images

Turkey roasts as extreme weather fuels wildfires, disrupts air traffic

In Turkey’s Mediterranean province of Antalya, soaring humidity levels have also disrupted air travel.

Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu.

Istanbul mayor announces reelection bid in Turkey’s upcoming local polls

Ending a heated public debate, Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu said he would not seek Turkey’s main opposition leadership, but he implicitly linked the success of his reelection bid as mayor in the local polls to main opposition party leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu’s resignation.

Borsa Istanbul

Moody’s upgrades outlook for Turkish banks amid economic U-turn

The US-based rating agency projected Turkey's economic growth to be 4.2% at the end of 2023, falling from 2022’s 5.6%.