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Turkey

Turkey

August 25, 2026

Ankara 4:15 pm

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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

View of old Hasankeyf, which will be significantly submerged by the Ilisu dam being constructed, with the new Hasankeyf in the background in the southeastern town of Hasankeyf, Turkey, June 1, 2019. Picture taken June 1, 2019. REUTERS/Umit Bektas - RC12E749C880

Dead are last to leave ancient Turkish town before submerging

In a grim postscript, former residents of the town Hasankeyf are relocating the remains of the dead before the unique settlement dating back 12,000 years is engulfed by water from the construction of a dam.

An American soldier walks near a Turkish military vehicle during a joint U.S.-Turkey patrol, near Tel Abyad, Syria September 8, 2019. REUTERS/Rodi Said - RC197A15DCF0

Congress aims to restore Syria stabilization aid

Congress is calling for the State Department to spend $130 million on stabilizing Syria next year, a rebuke to the Trump administration’s efforts to zero out the fund in its 2020 budget proposal.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan talk after a joint news conference with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani in Ankara, Turkey, September 16, 2019. Pavel Golovkin/Pool via REUTERS - RC18FEF72E00

Turkey at odds with US and Russia over northern Syria

As Ankara loses ground in Idlib, President Erdogan’s threat of military action east of the Euphrates raises the stakes for Turkey.

A general view of Nizip refugee camp, near the Turkish-Syrian border in Gaziantep province, Turkey, November 30, 2016. REUTERS/Umit Bektas - RC1EA9753170

Erdogan touts grand plans to resettle Syrian refugees in safe zone

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan claims a safe zone in northeast Syria could be used to resettle up to three million refugees currently in Turkey and Europe, but critics doubt his proposal is feasible.

Has Erdogan revealed Ankara’s occupational goals?

Syrian Kurds and Armenians fear a Turkish-run safe zone east of the Euphrates, particularly since Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had threatened to establish a military safe zone east of the Euphrates and labels the Kurdish People's Protection Units as terrorists.

Presidents Vladimir Putin of Russia, Hassan Rouhani of Iran and Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey attend a news conference following their talks in Ankara, Turkey September 16, 2019. Sputnik/Alexei Nikolsky/Kremlin via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. - RC1179072220

What the latest Astana summit tells us about Iran’s position on Syria

Russia, Iran and Turkey continue to negotiate a settlement to the Syrian war that works to their advantage.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is seen during trilateral talks with his counterparts Hassan Rouhani of Iran and Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey in Ankara, Turkey September 16, 2019. Sputnik/Valery Melnikov/Kremlin via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. - RC1A1133AD90

Intel: What’s behind Putin’s arms sale proposal to Saudis

Putin's offer of defense missile systems for the Saudis was political but there's more to this in the runup to his visit to Riyadh.

Supporters of main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) hold a banner with pictures of four former ministers while shouting anti-government slogans during a protest in Ankara December 17, 2014. Main opposition CHP held an anti-government protest in Ankara on the first anniversary of the corruption probe, which became public with police raids on Dec. 17 last year, leading to the resignation of three ministers and prompted Erdogan to purge the state apparatus, reassigning thousands of police and hundred

Don't read too much into Turkey's gag order reversal, warn free press advocates

Turkey’s highest court has struck down a reporting ban surrounding a 2013 corruption probe, but some human rights defenders warn the win for press freedom may prove minor.

Presidents Vladimir Putin of Russia, Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey and Hassan Rouhani of Iran chat following a joint news conference in Ankara, Turkey, September 16, 2019. REUTERS/Umit Bektas - RC1EF10953B0

How latest Astana talks between Turkey, Russia, Iran went beyond Syria

What the Astana guarantors agreed upon in Ankara will have implications for Syria but the way the leaders communicated past each other each is even more telling.

The leader of Turkey's pro-Kurdish opposition Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) Selahattin Demirtas, makes a speech during a rally in Istanbul, Turkey, June 5, 2016. REUTERS/Osman Orsal - D1BETIDULRAB

Lawyers urge Turkish court to free top Kurdish politician

A Turkish appeals court has approved the release of jailed opposition politician Selahattin Demirtas, but he and his lawyers are pessimistic that the judiciary will act independently of political pressure to keep him behind bars.

Supporters of the ruling AK Party (AKP) wave flags as their mayoral candidate Binali Yildirim speaks during an election rally in Istanbul, Turkey, June 21, 2019. REUTERS/Murad Sezer - RC17CE82D9C0

Is Turkish presidential system helping cause fall in AKP membership?

Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s realized goal for Turkey to have an executive presidency may be fast becoming his worst mistake: His party is losing members at the top and from the base and former colleagues are challenging him directly. Can Erdogan survive his party’s decay?

Turkey going full speed ahead with ambitious drone projects

The Turkish defense industry continues intensive work to develop long-range armed drones and cruise missiles, seeking to gain preemptive strike capability to eliminate threats at their source.