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Turkey

Turkey

October 12, 2026

Ankara 3:24 am

14°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

Gaye Erkan

Turkey names Gaye Erkan as first female Central Bank governor

The choice of the US-based banking and finance executive, along with Mehmet Simsek as new finance and treasury minister, is aiming at reassuring international markets.

Turkey's newly appointed Foreign Affairs Minister Hakan Fidan delivers a speech.

Blinken calls Turkey’s FM Hakan Fidan, Sweden’s NATO bid tops agenda

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Turkey's new Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan also touched upon bilateral relations and defense cooperation.

An aerial picture shows Syrian refugees living in Turkey waiting to take a bus through the northern Bab al-Hawa border crossing, on February 17, 2023, as they return to Syria in the aftermath of a deadly earthquake. - Turkey this week allowed Syrians under its protection who hold ID cards from one of the quake-hit provinces to leave for between three and six months, a rule change designed to reunite families on both sides of the border hit by the February 6 disaster, which has killed more than 41,000 people

In first for Turkey, National Security Council addresses Syrian refugee return

Turkey’s National Security Council has openly expressed the need for international support for Syrian refugees to return home.

Turkey Fidan

Turkey’s FM Hakan Fidan in call with Sweden as NATO bid progresses

Ankara presses for additional steps from Stockholm ahead of next week’s NATO talks between Turkish and Swedish officials for the Nordic state’s accession to the alliance.

Alex Babenko/Getty Images

Turkey’s Erdogan calls Putin, Zelenskyy, offers mediation in Ukraine dam crisis

In his first international phone contacts after inauguration, Erdogan sought to expand his country’s mediation role between Moscow and Kyiv.

ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images

Turkey’s plunging lira could herald economic turnaround

The Turkish lira’s record low could signal a return to the free market and all eyes are on the central bank’s monetary policy meeting on June 22.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (C) and members of his new cabinet pose for a photo during a visit to Anitkabir, the mausoleum of Turkish Republic's founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, before their first cabinet meeting in Ankara, on June 6, 2023.

Deciphering Turkey’s new cabinet: Real reform or window dressing?

President Erdogan's new Cabinet so far reflects a shift to his reformist days — whether that plays out as such remains to be seen.

LISE ASERUD/NTB/AFP via Getty Images

Turkey inches toward ratifying Sweden's NATO bid

As Turkish and Swedish officials prepare to come together in a new round of talks to overcome Ankara’s objectives for Sweden’s membership, analysts are cautiously optimistic that Sweden may attend the upcoming alliance’s Vilnius summit as a member.

Turkish bazaar

Inflation in Turkey drops below 40% in May as Erdogan forms economic team

As Turkey’s annual inflation eases further in May, eyes are on the policies the reelected president's new economic team will pursue with Mehmet Simsek at the helm.

Turkish intelligence chief Hakan Fidan (R) and Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar wait prior to a meeting with the Russian President at the Kremlin in Moscow on August 24, 2018. - Turkish Foreign Minister on August 24, 2018 warned that seeking a military solution in Syria's last rebel-held province of Idlib would lead to disaster, while Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov said that the situation was "multi-faceted" and called for separating out "the healthy opposition from terrorist structures." Idlib is one

Who is Hakan Fidan, Turkey’s new foreign minister with spy powers?

Fidan will come under spotlight after steadily keeping a low profile during his tenure as the nation’s youngest spymaster.

Turkish Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek.

Meet Turkey's Mehmet Simsek: Erdogan's last best hope for economic recovery

Former Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek’s return through the revolving doors of Turkey's economy management signals that Erdogan may be intending to steer the ship to safer waters amid deepening financial woes.

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan receives his oath as he is sworns as Turkey's first Executive President at the Turkish parliament on July 9, 2018 in Ankara, Turkey. President Erdogan was sworn in during a parliamentary meeting and later an inauguration ceremony attended by a number of foreign leaders and dignitaries. President Erdogan secured another five year term and increased powers after winning 52.5 percent of the vote in the June 24 snap presidential and parliamentary elections. Under the new

Erdogan's inauguration: What to expect for Turkey's big bash

Several foreign leaders from Venezuela to Armenia are expected to travel to Turkey for the inauguration day.