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Turkey

Turkey

August 25, 2026

Ankara 9:58 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

Turkey mulls full lockdown to check coronavirus

Turkey's interior minister says “full isolation” is possible if current measures do not slow the outbreak and Istanbul’s mayor says the country’s biggest city needs a stay-at-home order now.

Turkish government divided over lockdown proposals

Turkish policymakers are split on whether a lockdown approach is the best way to protect Turkey from coronavirus, with some more fearful of the economic fallout than the potential deaths.

Pump jacks operate in an oil field in the countryside of al-Qahtaniyah town in Syria's northeastern Hasakeh province near the Turkish border, on March 11, 2020. (Photo by Delil SOULEIMAN / AFP) (Photo by DELIL SOULEIMAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Turkey appears to want more than Syria’s oil

Like Moscow and Washington, Ankara seems to be coveting the oilfields of Deir ez-Zor in Syrian Kurdistan, which Kurds fear would give Turkey an opening to take over the entire Rojava area.

A Turkish police special forces officer stands guard in front of the Aliaga Prison and Courthouse complex in Izmir, Turkey October 12, 2018. REUTERS/Umit Bektas - RC1DC5DD0C60

Sex offenders may walk as lawmakers mull releasing one in three Turkish prisoners

Turkish women's rights groups have denounced a bill that would reduce sentences for sex offenders and other convicts to stem the spread of the novel coronavirus in prisons.

Coronavirus restrictions leave over 1,000 Algerians stranded in Istanbul’s airport

Algeria has closed its borders, leaving over 1,000 Algerians stranded at an Istanbul airport.

Turkey charges 20 Saudis in Khashoggi murder

Turkey will hold a trial in absentia for the 20 suspects it says participated in the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Turkey and COVID-19: Is another Italy in the making?

Experts warn that Turkey may soon face a calamity similar to what befell Italy and Spain if the government fails to take stronger measures to fight the coronavirus.

A fighter of Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) stands on the back of a pick-up truck, with a weapon installed on it, in Qamishli, Syria March 30, 2019. Picture taken March 30, 2019. REUTERS/Ali Hashisho - RC1961AA5550

SDF calls for humanitarian truce in Syria amid coronavirus crisis

Following the lead of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces call for a cease-fire in order for all warring parties to combat COVID-19 instead.

French State Secretary for European Affairs Harlem Desir arrives for a meeting in Rome, Italy, December 13, 2015. The U.S. and Italy on Sunday led the international diplomatic push to get Libya's warring factions to sign a deal to form a unity government, hoping it will stop the spread of Islamic State militancy in the North African country. REUTERS/Remo Casilli - GF10000264368

Trans-Atlantic official slams US for forcing Turkish broadcaster to register as foreign agent

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe's media freedom representative said TRT's registration under a Nazi-era anti-propaganda law had a “restrictive & negative impact on media freedom.”

A worker sprays disinfectant outside Ortakoy Mosque, to prevent the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Istanbul, Turkey, March 23, 2020. REUTERS/Umit Bektas - RC2MPF983853

Turkey tightens restrictions to curb coronavirus outbreak

As the death toll from COVID-19 reached 37 and cases spread across the country, Turkey pledged to accelerate diagnostic and treatment methods, while introducing new measures to keep people at home, though it has stopped short of a full lockdown.

Turkey says it’s using ‘special’ coronavirus drug sent from China

Turkey has so far recorded 37 fatalities connected to coronavirus, but the country's health minister says patients are being administered a "special drug" from China.

Does Turkey have the will to take on jihadis in Idlib?

Turkey and Russia will continue to be at odds in Syria's Idlib due to radical groups like Hayat Tahrir al-Sham.