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

Turkey

Turkey

August 23, 2026

Ankara 2:59 am

20°C

Turkey/Syria border

Analysis

Turkey bets on US deconfliction as Israel widens Syria red lines

As Washington pushes a new deconfliction mechanism between Turkey and Israel, the Jewish state shows little incentive to accept tighter constraints on its freedom of action in Syria, experts say.

Ezgi Akin

Rina Bassist

By Ezgi Akin , Rina Bassist

ANKARA, TURKEY - JULY 7: U.S. President Donald Trump (L)shakes hands with with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) during a formal arrival at the Bestepe Presidential Palace during the NATO summit on July 7, 2026 in Ankara, Turkey. Leaders from NATO's 32 countries, plus NATO allies like Ukraine, gathered in the Turkish capital to discuss a range of issues involving spending targets, defense industrial production, and support for Ukraine, among other topics. (Photo by Emrah Gurel - Pool/Getty Images)

Analysis

Israel fears Turkey’s Syria ambitions and doubts Trump will stop them

Israeli officials remain skeptical of Turkish and Syrian denials over Ankara’s military ambitions in Syria, warning that a deeper Turkish foothold could threaten Israel’s security and strain its ties with Washington.

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

Murat Kocabas / Middle East Images / AFP via Getty Images

Turkey seeks Interpol Red Notices for Netanyahu over Gaza flotilla

The Turkish government’s Interpol move comes amid heightened tensions between Turkey and Israel over Syria.

Latest News

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

Burhaanettin Duran

Turkey looks to expand Syria energy footprint into oil, gas

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.

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

Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) speaks to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) as they attend a press conference on Oct. 10, 2016, in Istanbul. Putin visited Turkey for talks pushing forward ambitious joint energy projects as the two sides try to overcome a crisis in ties.

Turkish-Russian ties marked more by rivalry than cooperation today

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan believed Russia would provide him leverage against the United States and Europe after Turkey’s ties with the West took a nosedive.

Protesters take part in a demonstration outside the US consulate in Istanbul on April 26, 2021, as a banner reads as 'An answer of USA's lies, close the US base in Incirlik', following the decision of US President Joe Biden to recognize the Armenian genocide in 1915-1917.

Turkey vows response to Biden's decision to recognize Armenian genocide

Turkish presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin did not provide details on a reaction, but he said it will be "of different forms, kinds and degrees."

People wave Armenian and US flags in front of the US embassy in Yerevan after US President recognized the 1915 killings of Armenians by Ottoman forces as genocide, on April 24, 2021.

Turkey’s reaction to Biden’s recognition of Armenian genocide more bark than bite for now

Turkey's foreign ministry said the US president's proclamation opened "a deep wound" that undermines Turkish-US ties, yet President Recep Tayyip Erdogan did not immediately respond.

Mor Gabriel Monastery

Court case against priest evokes bitter memories for Turkey’s Assyrians

Turkey’s tiny Assyrian community views a jail term handed to an Assyrian priest on “terrorism charges” as an official strong-arming tactic, while Assyrians around the world call for dismissal of the case.

Catholicos Garegin II, the head of the Armenian Apostolic Church, attends a ceremony commemorating the 105th anniversary of the massacre of 1.5 million of Armenians by Ottoman forces in 1915, at the Tsitsernakaberd memorial in Yerevan on April 24, 2020.

Turkish talk of reconciliation angers Armenians on 106th anniversary of genocide

Turkey has warned the United States that President Joe Biden's expected characterization of the mass killings of the Ottoman Armenians in 1915 as a genocide will derail Turkish-Armenian reconciliation and further damage US-Turkish ties. Armenians say there is no reconciliation process to speak of.

Turkish Cypriot police stand before a portrait of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the disputal coastal town of Varosha, in Famagusta, Cyprus, Nov. 15, 2020.

Erdogan furious as his Islamic ambitions stumble in Turkish Cyprus

A Turkish Cypriot court ruling that reins back on Quranic courses comes as a poignant message to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that Cypriot Turks are unwilling to sign up to his quest to raise “devout generations.”

Armenia's President Serzh Sargsyan (3rd L) and US Vice President Joe Biden (C) cross themselves during a prayer service commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide at the National Cathedral on May 7, 2015, in Washington, DC.

US-Turkey relations to be tested by possible Armenian genocide recognition

US President Joe Biden is reportedly preparing to recognize the 1915 mass killings of Armenians as genocide Saturday in a move that could further strain troubled US-Turkey relations.

A sign reads "Social distance 1.5m" next to the pool of a hotel on June 19, 2020, at Lara district in Antalya, a popular holiday resort in southern Turkey. The novel coronavirus pandemic has hit Turkey's tourism industry, the backbone of the country's economy.

Turkey’s tourism sector fears another disastrous year

Apprehension is growing in Turkey that its tourism sector, a vital hard-currency earner, might fail to recuperate in 2021 amid a new peak in the coronavirus pandemic.

Turkish Trade Minister Ruhsar Pekcan gives a press conference following her meeting with US Secretary of Commerce n Ankara, on Sept. 10, 2019.

Erdogan fires trade minister amid scandal, reshuffles cabinet

In a pair of midnight decrees Wednesday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan dismissed Trade Minister Ruhsar Pekcan over an alleged nepotism scandal and began a long-rumored cabinet reshuffle.

YASIN AKGUL/AFP via Getty Images

Gold mining company to file $1B claim against Turkey over halted project

Canadian mining company Alamos Gold announced Tuesday it would seek $1 billion from Turkey after mining concessions expired for a controversial project in the nation’s northwestern Canakkale region.

Turkish President and leader of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) Recep Tayyip Erdogan addresses his supporters during a political meeting of his ruling party the AKP, in Ankara, March 24, 2021.

Turkey’s ruling Islamists dogged by mounting corruption claims

Allegations of government corruption are adding to public anger as the economy continues to decline.

Smoke from a presumed drone or artillery strike on October 3, 2020, in Stepanakert, Nagorno-Karabakh.

Is Canadian embargo harbinger of more sanctions for Turkey?

The Canadian government’s decision to indefinitely cancel military export permits to Turkey has touched a nerve in the Turkish defense industry and bureaucracy.