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Turkey

Turkey

October 12, 2026

Ankara 3:45 pm

26°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

ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images

Turkey’s ruling alliance welcomes Islamist parties with misogynist agendas

The New Welfare Party and Huda-Par back the People’s Alliance led by Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party.

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

60,000 Syrians have left Turkey, Turkish defense chief says

Syrian refugees in Turkey remain a central theme ahead of the country's critical May 14 elections.

A supporter of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi stands in the back of a pickup truck bearing his portrait and loudspeakers, in the capital Cairo's Tahrir square on January 25, 2018, as the country marks the seventh anniversary of the 2011 uprising that ended the 30-year reign of former President Hosni Mubarak. / AFP PHOTO / MOHAMED EL-SHAHED (Photo credit should read MOHAMED EL-SHAHED/AFP via Getty Images)

Egypt's Sisi unlikely to reconcile with Erdogan before Turkey's election

The Turkish military presence in Libya remains the key snag in Ankara’s efforts to mend fences with Egypt.

President Biden delivers remarks at the Summit for Democracy in this undated photo.

Turkey left off guest list for Biden’s 2nd democracy summit

Turkey's exclusion from the Biden administration's second Summit for Democracy comes as the country gears up for historic presidential elections in May.

MARKKU ULANDER/Lehtikuva/AFP via Getty Images

Turkish parliamentary committee approves Finland's NATO bid

A Turkish parliamentary committee has unanimously approved Finland's NATO membership.

Leader of the Republican People's Party (CHP) Kemal Kilicdaroglu speaks during his party's group meeting at the Turkish Grand National Assembly in Ankara, Turkey on Jan. 10, 2023.

Meet Kemal Kilicdaroglu, Turkey’s long-derided opposition head who could dethrone Erdogan

The leader of the main opposition Republican People's Party, who will face off against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in presidential elections May 14, is a far more complex figure than meets the eye.

Germany's DW closure in Turkey sparks fears of pre-election media clampdown

Deutsche Welle, which produces news in Turkish, will close its office next week after the government refused it permission to operate.

ISTANBUL, TURKEY - DECEMBER 05: People wallk past a currency exchange shop on December 5, 2016 in Istanbul, Turkey. As the Turkish Lira plunged to record lows in past weeks, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in a speech Saturday said his political enemies were trying to sabotage the economy and urged citizens to convert their foreign currency savings into lira or gold. Borsa Istanbul, Turkey's main stock exchange, became the first institution to act on the presidents call, converting all it's cash assets to li

Increased gold reserves help stabilize Turkey's currency ahead of May elections

The value of Turkey's gold reserves have reached an all-time high of $50.6 billion and account for almost 40% of the central bank's gross foreign assets.

Piero Cingari

Turkey's Republican People's Party (CHP) Chairman and presidential candidate Kemal Kilicdaroglu (C).

Turkey’s pro-Kurdish party won’t field challenger to Erdogan, boosting opposition’s chances

The pro-Kurdish HDP announced that it will not field a candidate in the May 14 presidential elections and will run under the banner of the Green Left Party to circumvent a potential closure and political ban that it faces.

MICHAEL VARAKLAS/AFP via Getty Images

Turkey, Greece take strides in Ankara meeting as aid diplomacy continues

A meeting of senior Turkish and Greek diplomats in Ankara is the latest diplomatic contact spurred by post-disaster diplomacy, and the fourth meeting of the “Positive Agenda” initiative.

Muharrem Ince.

18 contenders jump into Turkey's two-horse presidential race to unseat Erdogan

While voting will be between incumbent Recep Tayyip Erdogan and challenger Kemal Kilicdaroglu, May’s election will see a colorful assortment of would-be presidents.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R).

Turkey, Iraq laud cooperation, but major disagreements remain

Sudani on his first visit to Ankara, stressed the importance of Iraq’s sovereignty in the two countries' fight against terrorism.