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Turkey

Turkey

August 21, 2026

Ankara 7:21 am

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Turkey signals restraint as war of words with Israel escalates over Syria

The Turkish president’s top communications aide says Ankara will not be drawn into the Israeli government's “games” as Washington pushes a Turkey-Israel-Syria deconfliction mechanism.

President Ahmad al-Sharaa meets Turkish Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar at the People’s Palace in Damascus, Syria, on Aug. 19, 2026.

Turkey looks to expand Syria energy footprint into oil, gas

Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said state oil giant TPAO and private companies are ready to explore for oil and gas onshore and offshore in Syria.

Latest News

Analysis

Netanyahu yields to Trump on Gaza, betting Hamas won’t disarm

Ohad Zwigenberg / POOL / AFP via Getty Images)

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

Sudan ramps up Saudi Arabia, Turkey contacts amid growing Red Sea cooperation

Sudanese army soldier stands in front of a tank

Analysis

How Israel's rivalry, defense deals prompted Turkey to join Mecca pact

Fireworks explode over Islamabad

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Samuel Wendel

Senior Market Research Analyst

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 Russian Sukhoi Su-35 fighter jet taxis on a runway during an air show at the Teknofest festival at Ataturk Airport, Istanbul, Turkey, Sept. 17, 2019.

Intel: Pentagon holds 'productive' talks with Turkey over F-35 dispute

All eyes are on next week's Glasgow summit as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan seeks to talk F-35s and F-16s with US President Joe Biden.

Bunches of bananas, which were to be disposed of by a supermarket, sit in a crate at food-waste charity The Felix Project's warehouse in Park Royal on Feb. 27, 2019 in London, England.

Syrians to be deported for eating bananas 'provocatively' in Turkey

As tensions soar between Turks and their country's 4 million refugees, a viral trend of young Syrians posting videos of themselves eating bananas has ended in some set to be deported.

US President Joe Biden (R) speaks with Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

With F-16 deal in limbo, Erdogan-Biden meeting postponed to Glasgow

Following a diplomatic row this week, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told reporters Tuesday he would seek to confirm a divisive F-16 deal with US counterpart Joe Biden at the COP26 conference in Glasgow.

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

Turkey’s parliament votes to extend mandate for troops in Iraq, Syria

The main opposition CHP announced an hour before the session that it would vote against the motion.

OZAN KOSE/AFP via Getty Images

Turkish media erupts with news of Iran spy arrests — three weeks late

The victorious headlines ran in all the pro-government print news media, which are in desperate need of good news amid the deepening economic crisis.

Turkey Israel

Turkey’s spy-bust bombshell unlikely to further worsen ties with Israel

The Turkish media may be abuzz with reports about the foiling of a Mossad-run spy ring, but Israel appears unimpressed, and observers see no further deterioration in the already frosty bilateral relations.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is seen during a official state visit to Angola at the Presidential Palace in Luanda on Oct. 18, 2021.

Erdogan backpedals on threat to expel 10 Western ambassadors

After threatening to expel 10 foreign envoys, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan Monday appeared to de-escalate a diplomatic row sparked by the ongoing imprisonment of Turkish philanthropist Osman Kavala.

Libya grave

Turkey sends mixed signals over Syrian mercenaries in Libya

Turkey’s withdrawal of a limited number of Syrian militia from Libya is aiming to sidestep potential accusations of spoiling the election process in the war-torn nation as December elections near.

A Russian Sukhoi Su-35 fighter takes off during an air show at the Teknofest festival at Ataturk Airport in Istanbul on September 17, 2019.

Intel: Turkey’s Erdogan wants to talk F-35 dispute with Biden in Rome

After boasting about future defense ties with Russia, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says he's hopeful the United States will sell Turkey more F-16s.

People line up to exchange money at a currency exchange office on Oct. 14, 2021, in Istanbul, Turkey.

Global finance watchdog adds Turkey to grey list

Amid high inflation, widespread youth unemployment and deepening poverty, the country's economic situation is looking increasingly grim

A currency exchange office worker counts Turkish lira banknotes.

Is Ankara capitulating to or allowing lira’s depreciation?

Turkey’s central bank shocks financial markets with a bigger-than-expected rate cut, overriding concerns over the slump of the Turkish lira and its bruising impact on the economy.

Chris McGrath/Getty Images

15 spies for Israel's Mossad arrested, reports Turkish press

Turkey's Sabah newspaper reported that a 15-member spy network was arrested on Oct. 15 in an operation carried out across four Turkish provinces.