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Turkey

Turkey

October 14, 2026

Ankara 10:30 am

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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

ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images

How Sweden, Finland’s NATO membership could impact Turkey

If Ankara can be tactful about Stockholm and Helsinki’s possible membership in NATO, it has a chance to see its concerns addressed.

Chris McGrath/Getty Images

Turkish government discovers 'astroturfing'

Seemingly acting on social media calls, the Turkish government cracks down on the secular lifestyle, experts warn.

HENRIK MONTGOMERY/TT News Agency/AFP via Getty Images

How long can Erdogan sustain threat to veto Finnish, Swedish NATO bids?

Erdogan shakes up otherwise unified Western alliance on Ukraine war.

OZAN KOSE/AFP via Getty Images

Opposition claims military contractor poses risk to Turkish elections

Kemal Kilicdaroglu has highlighted security company Sadat as a potential threat to polls due over next year.

A real estate advertising offers apartments and houses with the view on the canal, in the small coastal village of Karaburun, near Istanbul, on June 12, 2018.

Erdogan’s home loan incentives threaten to fan inflation

A further increase in already skyrocketing home prices appears inevitable in Turkey following Erdogan’s announcement of loan incentives, a move that many pundits see as pouring fuel on the inflation fire.

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan gives a press conference after the NATO summit at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) headquarters in Brussels on June 14, 2021.

Turkey continues to play hard ball over Sweden, Finland NATO membership

Turkey’s Islamic-leaning Justice and Development Party government is demanding that both countries end their arms embargoes on Turkey over its military intervention in 2019 against the Kurds in northeast Syria.

Recreational boats along the shore of the salt lake of Urmia and Shahid Kalantari causeway crossing it in Iran.

Is a water crisis brewing between Turkey and Iran?

Discord over transboundary waters and dam construction emerges as a major factor underlying the strains in Turkish-Iranian ties.

EVAN VUCCI/AFP via Getty Images

Erdogan dampens Finland, Sweden’s hope to join NATO

Turkey is pumping the brakes on Finland and Sweden’s NATO bids amid the growing confrontation between Russia and the West.

OZAN KOSE/AFP via Getty Images

Culture

Experts warn Istanbul's iconic Hagia Sophia at risk as ancient gate damaged

The Hagia Sophia's damaged 1,400-year-old imperial gate could be the first of many disasters in the world heritage site due to neglect.

Kaftancioglu

Turkey’s top appeals court upholds jail term for prominent opposition figure

Canan Kaftancioglu, head of the CHP’s Istanbul branch, sentenced to nearly five years and barred from politics for insulting Erdogan and the Turkish government.

Students attend a lecture in this undated image at the Nesin's Mathematics Village.

Turkish educational foundation says accounts frozen on bogus charges

The Nesin Foundation, which built Turkey’s famous Mathematics Village, says its accounts were blocked on unfair charges after it conflicted with a neighboring Islamist foundation.

Syrian Kurds demonstrate on June 10, 2021, in the northeastern Syrian city of Qamishli.

Syrian Kurdish unity talks crumble as Turkey escalates anti-PKK campaign

The breakdown between sides serves Turkey’s agenda of keeping its Kurdish foes divided and weak.