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

Turkey

Turkey

October 12, 2026

Ankara 9:15 pm

22°C

Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) fighters arrive in the northern Iraqi city of Dohuk on May 14, 2013, after leaving Turkey as part of a peace drive with Ankara.

Explainer

PKK pulls out of Metina in northern Iraq amid Turkey peace process

The withdrawal comes as the peace process between Turkey and the militant group gains momentum alongside increasing security cooperation between Ankara and Baghdad.

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.

Latest News

Latest defection hands Erdogan’s AKP control of Turkey’s third-largest city

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.

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

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

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry (L) and Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad (R) give a press conference at the Foreign Ministry headquarters, Damascus, Syria, Feb. 27, 2023.

Egypt's FM Shoukry visits Syria, Turkey in renewed earthquake diplomacy

The top Egyptian diplomat's visit to Syria and Turkey marks a first after almost a decade.

A family pass by a ruined building in Hatay, Turkey, Feb. 25, 2023.

New earthquake hits Turkey’s disaster zone, killing one, trapping several

The new quake collapsed several buildings in a province that is among 11 Turkish provinces that were badly hit by the massive Feb. 6 earthquakes.

People fish from the Galata bridge, near Suleymaniye mosque (backround) in the Eminonu district of Istanbul, on January 10, 2023. (Photo by OZAN KOSE/AFP via Getty Images)

Scientists: Time running out to save Istanbul from major earthquake

Seismologists are calling for urgent measures to prepare Istanbul for a major earthquake expected in the near future, warning of catastrophic destruction in Turkey’s most populous city and economic capital.

Turkey quake refugee

A Syrian exodus: Some 30,000 refugees return home after Turkey's earthquake

The UN's refugee agency stresses that Syrian refugees who visit their homeland can return to Turkey later.

DIMITAR DILKOFF/AFP via Getty Images

Ukraine war at year 1: Turkey's balancing act succeeds, but game far from over

Despite his diplomatic gains over the past year, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's cautious dance between Ukraine and Russia can't be declared a success quite yet.

People lay flowers at a makeshift memorial for the victims of the Nov. 13 explosion at the busy shopping street of Istiklal, Istanbul, Turkey, Nov. 14, 2022.

Turkey says it killed major Istanbul bombing suspect in Syria drone strike

The drone strike came a week after a Turkish prosecutor indicted 36 suspects including a top Syrian Kurdish commander, over their alleged links to the bombing attack in 2022.

A ship docks in the port Lebanon's second city Tripoli, on the Mediterranean coast, on Aug. 22, 2022.

Mediterranean Sea change: Ukraine war upsets Middle East status quo

Emboldened by the independent foreign policies of Western allies Israel and Turkey, more countries in the region are weighing where their own interests lie.

Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan attends a joint press conference with his Russian counterpart following their talks in Yerevan on June 9, 2022.(Photo by KAREN MINASYAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Armenia’s FM in Syria as Turkey’s opposition declares solidarity with Assad

In a statement released on Wednesday, the Munich Security Conference and others, called for "urgent action to overcome the political obstacles that are blocking humanitarian assistance" to Syria.

ILYAS AKENGIN/AFP via Getty Images

Turkey's Kurdish opposition says government obstructing quake relief efforts

Opposition politicians say the usurping of municipalities by government appointees has weakened their ability to respond to Turkey's Feb. 6 earthquake disaster.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is seen on a screen set at Red Square as he addresses a rally and a concert marking the annexation of four regions of Ukraine Russian troops occupy - Lugansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, in central Moscow on September 30, 2022. (Photo by ALEXANDER NEMENOV/AFP via Getty Images)

Al-Monitor/Premise poll: Russia's role seen as negative in Turkey, Yemen, Iraq

The Russian invasion of Ukraine hurt the region economically, as supply chain disruptions and food shortages topped respondents concerns in Turkey, Egypt, Yemen and Iraq

SAMEER AL-DOUMY/AFP via Getty Images

Turkey’s Central Bank slashes interest rates after devastating earthquakes

The move is likely aimed at weathering the fallout from the devastating earthquakes in accordance with the Turkish government's economy policy to prioritize economic growth at the expense of inflation.

YASIN AKGUL/AFP via Getty Images

Uproar in Turkey as religious body greenlights marriage with quake orphans

Turks are outraged by the powerful Diyanet religious body ruling it permissible to marry adopted children after thousands were left orphaned by the earthquakes.