Turkey - AL-MONITOR: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

Turkey

Turkey

May 8, 2026

Ankara 11:25 am

19°C

People look at a drone on display at the Baykar exhibit at the SAHA International Defence and Aerospace Expo on May 06, 2026 in Istanbul, Turkey.

Turkey, Japan launch defense industry partnership with eye on drones

The initiative could eventually lead to joint UAV development and production as Japan looks to expand drone capabilities amid regional tensions.

Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud and Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan in Ankara, May 6, 2026.

Saudi FM in Turkey as Ankara, Riyadh step up coordination amid Iran war

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan’s visit to Ankara comes amid rapidly expanding Turkish-Saudi coordination as the fallout from the Iran war reshapes Gulf security dynamics.

Latest News

Turkey, Armenia agree to restore medieval bridge in normalization push

A picture taken near Kars on Feb. 28, 2024 shows the ruins of a bridge over Arpacay river, the natural border between Turkey and Armenia.

Turkey hosts Kuwaiti FM as UAE's OAPEC exit fuels Gulf rift

Sabah Fidan

Analysis

Iraq’s Zaidi offers economic promise for Turkey but unknowns loom

Zaidi

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

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

People react near a military vehicle during an attempted coup in Ankara, Turkey, July 16, 2016. REUTERS/Tumay Berkin TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RTSI82W

AKP fingers obscure professor for coup mastermind

Many Turks agree that reviled cleric Fethullah Gulen at least inspired the botched July coup, but as the net tightens on his followers, the authorities' focus on a little-known academic seems a bit of a reach.

Even SpongeBob can’t escape Turkey’s post-coup crackdown

Turkey has shut down the country's first and only Kurdish-language channel for kids, dealing a blow to efforts to keep the children connected to their culture.

A man looks at newspapers at a kiosk in Diyarbakir, Turkey November 2, 2015. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday the nation had voted for stability in a parliamentary election that saw the AK Party he founded win almost 50 percent of the vote, and said the world should respect the result. REUTERS/Stoyan Nenov - RTX1UCZZ

Turks love their language, but also fight over it

Turks proudly celebrate their language, but they have always fought over it.

Men inspect the damage after an airstrike on the rebel held al-Qaterji neighbourhood of Aleppo, Syria September 25, 2016. REUTERS/Abdalrhman Ismail - RTSPBZ8

What's behind Ankara’s 'deafening silence' on Aleppo?

Reconciliation with Russia is preventing Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan from blasting away at Syrian President Bashar al-Assad as he once did.

A Turkish special forces police officer guards the entrance of the Presidential Palace in Ankara, Turkey, August 5, 2016. REUTERS/Umit Bektas - RTSL6LJ

Will state of emergency become the new normal for Turkey?

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan appears to be contemplating extending the state of emergency in Turkey beyond 12 months.

A Kurdish fighter from the People's Protection Units (YPG) rides on a pick-up truck mounted with an anti-aircraft weapon in the Ghwairan neighborhood of Hasaka, Syria, August 22, 2016. The Arabic on the wall reads, "Bashar al-Assad is the glory and the pride of the nation." REUTERS/Rodi Said - RTX2MKNY

Turkey-US ties could fray further as Pentagon mulls arming YPG

Already rocky relations between Turkey and the United States are likely to worsen if the White House approves an expected Pentagon request to provide more weapons to the People's Protection Units.

News anchor Banu Guven is seen on a screen during a news broadcast at a studio of IMC TV, a news broadcaster slated for closure, in Istanbul, Turkey, September 30, 2016. REUTERS/Huseyin Aldemir - RTSQ9GP

Why is the Turkish government now targeting cartoons?

The Turkish government’s onslaught on small broadcasters with predominantly Kurdish, Alevi and leftist audiences sparks fears beyond the issue of press freedom.

A general view of the Harran refugee camp is seen in the Sanliurfa province, Turkey, June 6, 2016. REUTERS/Umit Bektas - RTSGANU

How did Ankara's spending on Syrian refugees jump to $25 billion?

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan recently claimed Turkey spent $25 billion on Syrian refugees, although he had cited $10 billion in February and even the number of refugees did not change.

Turkey's Energy Minister Berat Albayrak addresses the media in Ankara, Turkey July 27, 2016. REUTERS/Umit Bektas - RTSJWB9

RedHackers daunt the Erdogan family

The alleged hacking of email accounts belonging to Berat Albayrak, the son-in-law of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, validates deep-rooted suspicions of AKP corruption, media censorship and intricate intra-AKP rivalries.

U.S. based cleric Fethullah Gulen at his home in Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania, U.S. July 29, 2016. REUTERS/Charles Mostoller - RTSKAK8

Iraqi Kurdistan government seized, sold Gulen schools

The Kurdistan Regional Government, at Turkey's request, has sold educational institutes affiliated with the cleric Fethullah Gulen and seized other Gulenist-run institutions.

Siirt, TURKEY: A village guard poses with his rifle in his cabin in the mountainous southeastern city of Siirt, Pervari province, 28 June 2005. The outlawed Kurdistan Worker's Party (PKK) retaliated by blowing up a train in Bingol at the weekend, killing five people. The unrest marks sharply increased violence between the PKK and the army in the Turkish southeast since April, months after the rebels, 01 June 2004, called off a five-year unilateral ceasefire. AFP PHOTO/MUSTAFA OZER (Photo credit sh

Why Turkey is boosting its budget for dubious 'village guards'

The paramilitary force that Turkey formed to fight the Kurdistan Workers Party has been controversial since the 1980s, so why is the government expanding it now?

The Ottoman era Dolmabahce Palace is decorated with a huge Turkish flag as part of the National Sovereignty and Children's Day celebrations in Istanbul, April 23, 2009. The National Sovereignty and Children's day marks the 89th anniversary of the opening of the Turkey's National Assembly. REUTERS/Murad Sezer (TURKEY ANNIVERSARY POLITICS) - RTXEAOM

Why is Turkey reviving an Ottoman sultan?

A great Ottoman sultan-caliph is being re-popularized in today’s Turkey with a clear political intention: legitimizing authoritarian rule.