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Turkey

Turkey

August 24, 2026

Ankara 11:51 am

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A Turkish soldier from the 1st Border Regiment Command looks out over the border wall to Syria during alert drills at a military outpost on the Turkey/Syria border on March 2, 2017 in Kilis, Turkey.

Analysis

Why Turkey sees Israeli strikes in Syria as warning over its military role, Mecca Pact

Ankara views Israel’s latest strikes in Syria as part of a broader effort to curb Turkey’s military influence in Damascus and a challenge to its regional defense partnerships.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

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

Latest News

Turkey seeks Interpol Red Notices for Netanyahu over Gaza flotilla

Murat Kocabas / Middle East Images / AFP via Getty Images

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

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - NOVEMBER 05: Hillary Clinton and Chelsea Clinton speak onstage at 'Hillary Clinton and Chelsea Clinton discuss their new book 'The Book of Gutsy Women' at The Wilshire Ebell Theatre on November 05, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Emma McIntyre/Getty Images)

Turkey enraged by Clintons' TV show exalting Syrian Kurdish women fighters

Turkey’s state-run press agency is churning out angry coverage of former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and her daughter Chelsea producing a TV series about the Syrian Kurdish women fighters who were key in defeating the Islamic State.

Greece, France sign fighter jet deal amid tensions with Turkey

Athens' roughly $3 billion purchase of 18 Rafale fighter jets comes as Greek officials meet Turkish counterparts for exploratory talks to resolve disputes.

A concrete box placed by the Turkish Army, for use as a guard point, is pictured overlooking the M4 highway near the town of Ariha in Syria's rebel-held northwestern Idlib province on January 4, 2021. (Photo by AAREF WATAD / AFP) (Photo by AAREF WATAD/AFP via Getty Images)

Turkey faces mysterious jihadi enemies in Idlib

Turkish forces continue to expand their presence around the key M4 highway in Idlib as attacks by new groups fuel uncertainties in the rebel-held region.

WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 16: U.S. Vice President Joseph Biden (R) speaks as Prime Minister of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan (L) looks on during a luncheon at the State Department May 16, 2013 in Washington, DC. Prime Minister Erdogan was on a visit in Washington and had talks on Syria with U.S. President Barack Obama. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Erdogan seeks better ties with US and EU, but on his terms

How Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan hopes to improve ties with the United States and the European Union and get Turkey out of its economic morass without making any significant concessions remains unclear.

Turkish National Defence Minister Hulusi Akar gives a press conference at the ministry in Ankara on January 13, 2021. (Photo by Arif AKDOGAN / POOL / AFP) (Photo by ARIF AKDOGAN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Will Turkish defense minister’s Iraq visit yield concrete results?

Although Turkey's defense minister seems to be satisfied with the outcome of his recent visit to Baghdad and Erbil, there are several impediments to Turkey's security demands.

Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan (R) and leader of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) Devlet Bahceli talk on stage during a rally for the upcoming local elections in Ankara, Turkey, on March 23, 2019. - Turkish will cast their ballots for local elections on March 31, 2019. (Photo by Adem ALTAN / AFP) (Photo credit should read ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Political violence in Ankara is more than meets the eye

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s alliance with his nationalist partner appears under growing strain amid a combination of domestic and external pressures.

Turkish Central Bank holds interest rate steady

As forecasted, Turkey’s Central Bank policymakers held a key interest rate steady Thursday, saying they would continue working to reel in the nation’s double-digit inflation.

<<enter caption here>> on May 19, 2017 in Arlington, Virginia.

Turkey's scapegoating of McGurk rooted in revisionism

National Security Council coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa Brett McGurk has worked closely with the Turks for many years on a range of knotty issues, and the growls from Ankara suggest that Turkey continues to pin US policies that it doesn’t like on "rogue" individuals.

Turkey-backed Syrian rebels take part in a military exercise in Ghandoura, in the northeastern countryside of Syria's Aleppo province, on January 14, 2021. (Photo by AAREF WATAD / AFP) (Photo by AAREF WATAD/AFP via Getty Images)

Who is behind recent attacks against Turkish presence in Idlib?

Unknown parties have carried out several operations against some of the Turkish army outposts in Idlib, with some accusing Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and others pointing the finger at Islamic State or regime cells.

Under Biden, US-Turkey relations face delicate balancing act

Analysts expect the Joe Biden administration to take a harder stance than the Trump administration did on diverging US-Turkey policies, while noting Washington will also need to take pains to avoid alienating the key NATO ally.

People pass in front of a crypto currency "Bitcoin Change" shop near the Grand Bazaar on December 17, 2020 in Istanbul. - Leading virtual currency bitcoin on 16 December traded above $20,000 for the first time following a sustained run higher in recent weeks. Bitcoin reached a record-high $20,398.50 before pulling back to $20,145, which was still an intra-day gain of nearly four percent. (Photo by Ozan KOSE / AFP) (Photo by OZAN KOSE/AFP via Getty Images)

Turkey faces alarming increase in public debt

Turkey’s public debt has swelled more than 40% over a year, adding to economic risks despite a relative recovery in the second half of 2020.

Is Erdogan’s anger sign of early elections?

While trying to mend bridges in international affairs and form new alliances domestically, Erdogan targets 50% of Turkey’s residents with anger, but why?