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

Turkey

Turkey

October 14, 2026

Ankara 2:28 am

16°C

A shop owner assists one of his customers at Malta bazaar in the Fatih district in Istanbul, on Dec. 6, 2024.

Iran mum as Azerbaijan’s school hijab ban, Israel ties test alliance with Turkey

Azerbaijan’s restrictions on Islamic dress in schools have sparked an unusual public spat with Turkey, exposing tensions beneath the allies’ close political and security ties.

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.

Latest News

Turkey to send Mecca pact to parliament, opening path to Saudi deployment

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.

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.

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

A currency exchange vendor shows a sheaf of Euro currency notes at Tahtakale in Istanbul, on March 22, 2021.

Turkey’s economy stands to suffer from euro’s downturn

The ramifications of the euro’s slide threaten to further stoke Turkey’s currency woes and soaring inflation.

Turkish military tanks drive past the town of Ariha on the M4 highway in Syria's rebel-held northwestern Idlib province on May 7, 2020.

Pentagon warns Turkey against renewed invasion of Syria

A US defense official called for a political process to end Turkey's perpetual battles with Kurdish militants.

Bekir Bozdag

Turkish extradition requests often disregarded by Western allies

Ankara has long viewed foreign courts’ refusal to repatriate suspects as a sign of obstruction by their governments, but the West looks askance at the Turkish judicial system.

Ukraine grain 2732

Ukraine, Russia grain talks in Turkey stir optimism as UN voices caution

Turkey’s defense chief has announced Russia and Ukraine are set to sign an understanding over a series of “fundamental technical” issues that the warring parties agreed on during today’s talk in Istanbul.

Turkish President and leader of the Justice and Development Party Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Turkey’s ruling party members stick with Erdogan

Despite growing public discontent, senior members of Turkey's ruling party stick with President Erdogan.

Health care workers protest, calling on the government to improve working conditions in Ankara, on May 29, 2022.

Murder of Turkish doctor spurs rage against Turkey’s beleaguered health sector

The brutal shooting of a cardiologist in a conservative central Anatolian city has pitted the health sector not only against the government but also the General Directorate of Religious Affairs.

Erdogan Putin

Erdogan, Putin set to meet in Tehran

The Turkish, Iranian and Russian leaders are set to meet in Tehran next week amid lingering Turkish threats against Syrian Kurdish groups. Putin and Erdogan will separately discuss the Ukrainian grain crisis.

YASSER AL-ZAYYAT/AFP via Getty Images

Turkey, UAE continue to mend ties with space agreement

Turkish-Emirati economic ties have gradually strengthened this year, reducing tensions between the two regional powers.

NIKOLAY DOYCHINOV/AFP via Getty Images

Turkey looks to import gas from Turkmenistan, test exports to Bulgaria

Turkey and Turkmenistan are working on a gas deal that will likely extend to Europe in a bid to reduce Western dependency on Russian gas.

Rabbi Mendy Chitrik (L).

Culture

Rabbis forge special bond in Islamic world

Istanbul-based Alliance of Rabbis in Islamic States connects Jewish communities in some 20 predominantly Muslim countries and regions across Africa, Asia and Europe, in an effort to enable them to sustain their faith and thrive in their homelands.

This photo shows the inside of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg, eastern France, on Feb. 7, 2019.

Europe’s top court reprimands Turkey for jailing philanthropist

Today’s decision by Europe's top rights court on Osman Kavala, who has kept behind bars for four and a half years in pre-detention and sentenced to life, inches Turkey closer to suspension of its voting rights or even membership in the Council of Europe.

Ukrainian Ambassador to Turkey Vasyl Bodnar (C) speaks to media as he takes part in a protest against Russia's military invasion of Ukraine at Ulus districit in Ankara, on March 5, 2022.

Ukraine’s Turkey ambassador: strategic ties intact but public unhappy over Turkish stance on Russia

Turkey's ambassador to Kyiv has been summoned to voice Ukraine's displeasure over its grain stolen by Russia and shipped to Turkish ports.