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Turkey

Turkey

August 26, 2026

Ankara 4:54 am

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Top EU court says Kavala case exposes erosion of judicial independence in Turkey

Europe's top human rights court has renewed its call for Turkey to immediately release jailed philanthropist Osman Kavala, saying his imprisonment reflects a broader “systemic problem” over independence and impartiality of the judiciary.

Equality and Democracy Party lawmakers

Explainer

Turkey’s Kurdish peace process moves to implementation: What to know and what’s next

Turkey’s peace process with Kurdish militants has entered the implementation phase this week, with authorities setting up working groups to verify the Kurdistan Workers Party’s disarmament.

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani (C) watches as US special envoy for Syria Tom Barrack prepares to sign an agreement in Damascus on September 16, 2025. Shaibani announced on September 16 a plan backed by Jordan and the United States to restore calm to Druze-majority Sweida province, which witnessed deadly violence in July. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP) (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA/AFP via Getty Images)

Exclusive

Israel recalibrates Syria policy, explores path to security deal

Israel is rethinking its hard-line Syria policy and seeking to repair ties with US envoy and Donald Trump's confidant Tom Barrack amid a push for a security agreement with Damascus.

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

Latest News

Analysis

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

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.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Analysis

Turkey bets on US deconfliction as Israel widens Syria red lines

Turkey/Syria border

Ezgi Akin

Rina Bassist

By Ezgi Akin , Rina Bassist

Samuel Wendel

Senior Analyst, Middle East Business & Tech

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

A man scans his thumbprint during a registration process for a new Identification card at al-Bab city council offices in the northeast of Aleppo, Syria July 15, 2018. Picture Taken July 15, 2018. REUTERS/ Khalil Ashawi - RC1F92F66FE0

Syrians in opposition-held areas near Aleppo obtain new IDs

With Turkey’s help, al-Bab’s local council started issuing new IDs to Syrians who had lost them in the war, a move that will soon be applicable in the entire Euphrates Shield area.

Turkey makes payout to families of FSA fighters killed in Afrin operation

The Turkish government has paid the families of Free Syrian Army militants killed in Operation Olive Branch a death gratuity, though the families of those Syrians killed in other operations are still waiting for aid.

Senate Foreign Relations Committee Bob Corker (R-TN) speaks to U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (Not Pictured) as ranking member Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ) looks on during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing titled "An Update on American Diplomacy to Advance Our National Security Strategy" on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., July 25, 2018. REUTERS/Aaron Bernstein - RC1E51F466C0

Washington ratchets up sanctions threats against Turkey

President Donald Trump threatened to impose sanctions on the same day the Senate advanced a bill restricting Turkey’s access to financial assistance.

U.S. President Donald Trump talks to Turkeyís President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium July 11, 2018. Tatyana Zenkovich/Pool via REUTERS - RC1B9A3C2D00

Trump lashes out at Erdogan, threatens sanctions over Brunson

The strain between Turkey and the United States hits another high point as the US president threatened Ankara with "large sanctions" if it does not free detained American pastor Andrew Brunson.

Turkish aid agency caught in Netanyahu-Erdogan crossfire

Israel's National Security Council has advised Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to react to the recent vitriol from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan with sanctions against a Turkish aid agency.

US pastor Andrew Craig Brunson escorted by Turkish plain clothes police officers arrives at his house on July 25, 2018 in Izmir. - Turkey on July 15, 2018 moved from jail to house arrest US pastor Andrew Brunson who has spent almost two years imprisoned on terror-related charges, in a controversial case that has ratcheted up tensions with the United States. Andrew Brunson, who ran a protestant church in the Aegean city of Izmir, was first detained in October 2016 and had remained in prison in Turkey ever si

What prompted Turkey to move US pastor from prison to house arrest?

The United States must determine what best motivates Turkey when it comes to foreign policy and diplomacy: the carrot or the stick.

A prisoner transport vehicle leaves after the trial of US Pastor Andrew Brunson who is datainined in Turkey for over a year on Terror charges, in Aliaga, north of Izmir, on July 18, 2018. - Andrew Brunson, head of a small Protestant church in the western city of Izmir, has been in detention since October 2016. Turkish prosecutors accuse Brunson of links to a group led by US-based Muslim preacher Fethullah Gulen -- who Ankara says was behind a failed 2016 coup -- and the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). (Phot

US pastor granted transfer to house arrest by Turkish court

American pastor Andrew Brunson has won a long-awaited move from prison to house arrest from the Turkish court, which credited "health issues" for its reversal.

Turkey seeks to grab bigger share of halal market

Turkey is setting up a Halal Accreditation Authority in the hope of boosting sales to fellow Muslim countries.

BRUSSELS, BELGIUM - JULY 11: US President Donald Trump walks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the 2018 NATO Summit at NATO headquarters on July 11, 2018 in Brussels, Belgium. Leaders from NATO member and partner states are meeting for a two-day summit, which is being overshadowed by strong demands by U.S. President Trump for most NATO member countries to spend more on defense. (Photo by Jasper Juinen/Getty Images)

Friction with US may affect Turkey's trajectory in NATO

US President Donald Trump and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan shared a fist bump in Brussels, but a figurative fistfight continues between Congress and Ankara.

Turkey's newly appointed Minister of Treasury and Finance Berat Albayrak swears in at the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM) in Ankara, Turkey on July 10, 2018. (Photo by ADEM ALTAN / AFP) (Photo credit should read ADEM ALTAN/AFP/Getty Images)

Turkey declines to raise interest rates, sending lira on another tumble

Turkey's Central Bank has decided to keep interest rates where they are, surprising investors and dashing hopes that Turkish policies might evolve to meet the country's dismal economic reality.

Detained pastor case casting large shadow over Turkish-US ties

Complex criminal cases with political overtones makes the case of the American pastor Andrew Brunson more difficult to resolve than it might have been otherwise.

Students pose for a selfie at Anitkabir, the mausoleum of modern Turkey's founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, during a Youth and Sports Day celebration in Ankara, Turkey May 19, 2018. REUTERS/Murad Sezer TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RC1A167FE350

Turkish woman jailed for insulting Ataturk

Conservative supporters of Turkey's authoritarian president have been uncharacteristically quiet on the arrest of a young woman for insulting Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, whose legacy the ruling party has lately been trying to appropriate.