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Turkey

Turkey

August 25, 2026

Ankara 6:50 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

Latest News

Analysis

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

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)

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

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

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

European Union stiffens tone against Turkey, but calls for dialogue

European diplomats consider the decision of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the Hagia Sophia to be a provocation aimed at escalating tensions between Ankara and Brussels.

BERLIN, GERMANY - NOVEMBER 19: Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, President of Egypt, arrives for the Compact with Africa summit at the Chancellery on November 19, 2019 in Berlin, Germany. The summit, hosted by the German government, brings together leaders from 12 African nations and seeks to further the groundwork for increased private investment in those countries. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

Cairo cozies up to Baghdad, condemns Turkish attacks in Iraq

Egypt's efforts to sideline Turkey in Iraq have expanded as Cairo cements economic and military ties with Baghdad.

Prime Minister of Libya's UN-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) Fayez al-Sarraj (R) meets with Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu at the GNA's presidential headquarters in the capital Tripoli on June 17, 2020. (Photo by - / AFP) (Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images)

Is proxy war turning to conventional confrontation in Libya?

Albeit late, Turkey seems to have finally understood the importance of diplomacy in Libya.

It's not safe to insult Erdogan, even from Lebanon

Ankara has successfully pressured Beirut into prosecuting a Lebanese talk show host for criticizing Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in his own country.

Turkish border province has created the country's largest potter's field to bury refugees

A string of deadly incidents involving migrants has shaken Turkey’s eastern province of Van, which borders Iran and lies on a major route of human trafficking to Europe.

A Turkish military convoy is seen parked near the town of Batabu on the highway linking Idlib to the Syrian Bab al-Hawa border crossing with Turkey, on March 2, 2020. - The Syrian government pledged to repel Turkish forces attacking its Russia-backed troops in northwestern Syria as tensions spike between Damascus and Ankara. Since December, Syrian regime forces have led a deadly military offensive against the last major opposition stronghold of Idlib, where Turkey supports some rebel groups. Damascus said i

UN Security Council vote leaves one crossing open between Turkey, Syria

The decision has closed another border point after weeks of disagreement between Russia and other member states.

Erdogan: Turkey on path to ‘unstoppable power’ in region

Turkish president throws his lot in again with Russia and Iran in Syria, expands plans for influence in North Africa and moves to convert the Hagia Sophia back into a mosque.

First confirmed COVID-19 case detected in northwest Syria

The first case of the coronavirus in Idlib follows a veto at the UN Security Council today of a resolution that would have allowed aid to reach the embattled area via Turkey.

People gather to celebrate outside the Hagia Sophia museum on July 10, 2020 in Istanbul after a top Turkish court revoked the sixth-century Hagia Sophia's status as a museum, clearing the way for it to be turned back into a mosque. - The Council of State, the country's highest administrative court which on July 2 debated a case brought by a Turkish NGO, cancelled a 1934 cabinet decision and ruled the UNESCO World Heritage site would be reopened to Muslim worshipping. The sixth-century Istanbul building -- a

Erdogan's order making Hagia Sophia mosque brings cheers, mourning

While many pious Turks and some Muslims throughout the world celebrated the decision to revert the world heritage site to its pre-Ataturk status, others warned of the move's potential to create further domestic polarization.

Foreign investors flee Turkey, Ankara’s isolation grows

An exodus of foreign investors has aggravated Turkey’s economic woes and could prove disastrous for the AKP’s political future.

University students carrying young trees and members of the Middle East Technical Universuty (METU) graduate association protest against a road construction project to be carried out from the METU forests, on September 10, 2017 in Ankara. / AFP PHOTO / ADEM ALTAN (Photo credit should read ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Why can't Erdogan win over Generation Z?

The latest events reveal the diminishing popularity of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan among Generation Z, but will this matter for the next election?

Why Turkey is trying to improve its profile in the Maghreb

In parallel with its military activities in Libya and rising profile in Africa, Ankara moves to strengthen its geostrategic and geo-economic ties with Maghreb countries.