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Turkey

Turkey

October 12, 2026

Ankara 10:34 am

21°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

Leader of the Republican People's Party (CHP), Kemal Kilicdaroglu, and the presidential candidate of the Main Opposition alliance, speaks to supporters at a rally while campaigning for the presidential election on April 30, 2023 in Izmir, Turkey. CHP leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu is holding campaign rallies across Turkey ahead of the countries May 14, 2023 presidential and parliamentary elections. The Kilicdaroglu-led Nation Alliance is representing six opposition parties in next month's election against Presi

Turkey’s opposition warns against deepfakes ahead of fateful elections

As the presidential race heats up in the lead-up to Turkey's consequential elections, the country’s main opposition party accuses the government of plotting a cyberwar against Erdogan’s top rival.

A sign directs pedestrians towards the United States on January 16, 2019 in Tijuana, Mexico. Thousands of people from Mexico and Central America, many who arrived in caravans, hope to cross the border daily into America. The U.S. government is partially shut down as President Trump is asking for $5.7 billion to build additional walls along the U.S.-Mexico border and the Democrats oppose the idea. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Israel, Turkey, Saudi Arabia top MidEast recipients of US visas in 2022

Citizens from the MENA region received about 480,000 non-immigrant visas, or about 7% of the total 6.8 million visas issued globally.

An exterior view of the building of US Department of the Treasury is seen on March 27, 2020 in Washington, DC.

US, Turkey blacklist Syrian militants' financial facilitators

The new sanctions target members of US-designated terrorist groups Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and Katibat al-Tawhid wal-Jihad.

Supporters wave flags and chant slogans while waiting for the arrival of CHP Party presidential candidate Kemal Kilicdaroglu during a campaign rally on April 30, 2023 in Izmir, Turkey.

Turkey’s Kilicdaroglu pulls ahead of Erdogan in latest polls as campaign heats up

As the latest polls show a close race against the opposition, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has returned to the hectic campaign trail and confronted his main rival Kemal Kilicdaroglu in the opposition stronghold city of Izmir.

BAKR ALKASEM/AFP via Getty Images

US does not confirm Turkey’s claim of killing Islamic State leader in Syria

The US administration said it had no information to support Ankara’s claim to have killed the Islamic State leader.

Turkey's Republican People's Party (CHP) Chairman and Presidential candidate Kemal Kilicdaroglu speaks on the stage during a rally in Kocaeli, on April 28, 2023. - A sea of umbrellas and hoods at his feet, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the Turkish opposition candidate who will challenge Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the polls on 14 May, smilingly promises "the return of spring". (Photo by Yasin AKGUL / AFP) (Photo by YASIN AKGUL/AFP via Getty Images)

Turkey election pledges foretell bigger budget deficit

A review of economic programs and a supplementary budget appear inevitable for the winner of Turkey’s May 14 elections.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (C) is welcomed by his Sudanese counterpart Omar al-Bashir (2nd-L) and diplomats upon his arrival in Khartoum on December 24, 2017, for a two-day-official visit. / AFP PHOTO / ASHRAF SHAZLY (Photo credit should read ASHRAF SHAZLY/AFP via Getty Images)

Turkey's Erdogan treads cautiously on Sudan, wary of betting on wrong horse

Having avoided a crisis in its ties with Sudan after Bashir’s ouster, Ankara is now refraining from taking sides in an escalating conflict between the country’s military leaders.

Turkey election

Earthquake, refugees, Assad may be keys to Turkey's election

Also, new era of Iran-Gulf cooperation could spill over into energy (PRO).

A couple walks past billboards with the portrait of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (L) and with the portrait of Republican People's Party (CHP) leader and presidential candidate, Kemal Kilicdaroglu (R) in Sanliurfa, south-eastern Turkey on April 28, 2023. (Photo by OZAN KOSE / AFP) (Photo by OZAN KOSE/AFP via Getty Images)

Turkey's 3.5 million expats vote in high numbers as HDP endorses Kilicdaroglu

The millions of Turkish nationals residing abroad have begun heading to the ballot boxes, and their absentee ballots could sway the outcome of the crucial May 14 polls.

A soldier mans a machine gun mounted on an army vehicle during a Turkish and Russian military patrol in the countryside of Rumaylan (Rmeilan), in Syria's northeastern Hasakeh province bordering Turkey, on April 27, 2023. (Photo by Delil souleiman / AFP) (Photo by DELIL SOULEIMAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Syrian refugees abused, shot at by Turkey's border guards: HRW report

Syrian refugees are under mounting pressure in Turkey as the president seeks to mend ties with the Syrian government.

A customer holds US dollar banknotes outside a currency changer on a street in Istanbul on September 6, 2022, as Turkey's economy is suffering its biggest economic crisis in decades ahead of one of the toughest elections of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's rule. - Turkey's official inflation rate barely changed on September 5, in a sign that a year-long crisis that has seen prices soar by 80 percent may finally be starting to ease. The TUIK state statistics agency said that consumer prices rose by 80.2 perc

Turkey's central bank keeps interest rate at 8.5%, citing inflation

The decision will be the bank’s final before Turkey’s crucial election in May.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks via a video link at the opening of Turkey’s first nuclear power plant in Turkey’s Mediterranean port city of Mersin, April 27, 2023.

Turkey's Erdogan makes video appearance following health scare

After canceling a series of campaign events and travel over the past two days due to a health issue, Turkey's president seemed to be recovered but fatigued in a video appearance.