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Turkey

Turkey

October 12, 2026

Ankara 4:26 am

18°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

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg speaks to the media before a meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group at Ramstein Air Base on April 21, 2023 in Ramstein-Miesenbach, Germany. The group, which coordinates international military support for Ukraine, is meeting as allied countries are struggling to deliver sufficient amounts of artillery rounds and other ammunition to the Ukrainian military. (Photo by Thomas Lohnes/Getty Images)

NATO turns on charm offensive with Turkey to settle Sweden's membership bid

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg and Sweden’s former premier Carl Bildt are scheduled to travel to Ankara to attend Erdogan's inauguration and convince the Turkish government to greenlight the Swedish membership.

Saudi Aramco CEO

Analysis

With Saudi Aramco's $50 billion deal, Turkey seeks less dependency on West

The two major regional powers had grown distant over the years due to Erdogan’s ties to the Muslim Brotherhood and the 2018 killing at the consulate in Istanbul of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

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

Turkey election

After reelection, can Erdogan tackle Turkey's economic woes?

In a bid to restore investor confidence in Turkey, Erdogan is reportedly seeking to convince Mehmet Simsek, a well-respected former minister, to return to the helm of the economy.

Supporters of the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party.

Turkey’s beleaguered Kurds weigh new strategies after Erdogan’s win

The key question following the vote is whether the alliance between the HDP and the main opposition Republican People’s Party and its Table of Six partners can endure.

A picture shows election flags displaying imprisoned Selahattin Demirtas.

Turkey’s jailed Kurdish leader quits active politics after Erdogan’s victory

Selahattin Demirtas' announcement comes amid heated public debate over whether Kemal Kilicdaroglu would resign after he was defeated by President Erdogan in Sunday’s runoff.

Erdogan MBZ

Turkey, UAE ratify $40 billion trade deal after Erdogan's victory

Abu Dhabi’s ratification of the partnership agreement came three days after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s election victory.

Turkish actress Merve Dizdar poses during a photocall after she won the Best Actress Prize for her part in the film "Kuru Otlar Ustune" (About Dry Grasses) during the closing ceremony of the 76th edition of the Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, southern France, on May 27, 2023.

Turkey's conservatives lash out at actress Merve Dizdar after Cannes win

Angry reactions to actress Merve Dizdar’s acceptance speech at the Cannes film festival may foreshadow more crackdowns on the liberal arts sector as Erdogan and a new conservative parliament takes the reins.

Howard Eissenstat and Amberin Zaman

LISTEN: Turkey scholar Howard Eissenstat on the dynamics of Erdogan's enduring success

In the latest episode of Amberin Zaman's podcast "On the Middle East," Howard Eissenstat offers insight on the results of Sunday's runoff election in Turkey, and discusses what lies ahead for Erdogan's next term.

BULENT KILIC/AFP via Getty Images

Turkey's opposition licks wounds with eye on next year's local elections

A morale-sapping defeat in the presidential and parliamentary elections has Turkey's opposition fretting over the March polls, when it will have to defend its 2019 municipal wins.

Portuguese air force F-16 military fighter jets participate in NATO's Baltic Air Policing Mission in Lithuanian airspace near Siauliai, May 23, 2023.

Biden links Turkey's F-16 sale with Sweden's NATO bid in call to Erdogan

US President Joe Biden congratulated Turkey's incumbent president and expressed intent to move forward on F-16 sales to Turkey and Sweden's bid to join NATO.

Washington Connection

Israeli President Isaac Herzog (L) and his Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan shake hands during a press conference in Ankara, on March 9, 2022. (Photo by AFP) (Photo by STR/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Israel quick to congratulate Turkey's Erdogan, expects boost in ties

The phone calls of President Isaac Herzog and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reelected Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reflect Israel’s hope for preserving and expanding rehabilitated bilateral ties.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

Men drink chai in the street the day after President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was re-elected on May 29, 2023 in Istanbul,Turkey. Erdogan won another five-year term after being forced into a runoff with the opposition politician Kemal Kilicdaroglu. Erdogan prevailed despite criticism of his management of the country's economy and the government's response to the devastating earthquakes earlier this year. (Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)

Turkish lira slips to new low as Erdogan forms economic team

Turkey's currency has dropped again in the wake of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s reelection.