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Turkey

Turkey

May 12, 2026

Ankara 12:05 pm

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Turkish Red Crescent's cars and trucks cross the Turkish border as they leave the Syrian city of Tel Abyad on Oct. 19, 2019, in Akcakale, Turkey.

Turkey's border reopening unlocks new sphere of influence in Syria

Turkey reopened the Akcakale-Tell Abyad crossing on Monday, ending an 11-year closure along the Syria border.

ISTANBUL, TURKEY - MAY 06: A man poses for a photograph in front of the newly unveiled, Turkish made intercontinental ballistic missile Yildirimhan at the SAHA International Defence and Aerospace Expo on May 06, 2026 in Istanbul, Turkey. The International Defence and Aerospace Exhibition, showcased Turkish and foreign companies new products and technology. The expo was dominated by UAV products as modern warfare increasingly shifts to drone and unmanned technologies. (Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images)

Analysis

From drones to deterrence: Turkey's ICBM missile signals bigger ambitions

Turkey’s planned test of a 6,000-kilometer missile could boost Ankara’s defense industry prestige, strengthen its deterrence messaging and feed a powerful domestic narrative of technological self-reliance, but it also raises questions about cost, timing and NATO protection.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

MURAT KOCABAS/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images

Culture

How ‘dog mom’ vacuum cleaner ad sparked culture war in Turkey

A Mother’s Day advertisement featuring a “dog mom” triggered a backlash from conservative media, government officials and regulators, turning a soft consumer campaign into a flashpoint over motherhood, declining birth rates, stray dogs and even antisemitism.

Latest News

Turkey, Japan launch defense industry partnership with eye on drones

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.

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 wave Kurdish flags during a gathering celebrating Newroz, which marks the arrival of spring and the new year, in Diyarbakir March 21, 2015. Jailed Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan called on Saturday for his militant group to hold a congress on ending a three-decade insurgency against the Turkish state but stopped short of declaring an immediate halt to its armed struggle. Tens of thousands of Kurds gathered in the southeastern city of Diyarbakir to hear the message from Kurdistan Workers Party (P

Will Erdogan's backtracking torpedo PKK disarmament?

The Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) has dropped plans to convene a congress to renounce its armed struggle after hostile outbursts by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and government officials.

Turkey's Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu addresses members of parliament from his ruling AK Party (AKP) during a meeting at the Turkish parliament in Ankara March 2, 2015. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR4RQ8X

Turkey avoids economic pain with EU trade agreement

Turkey would have suffered heavy economic consequences if it was left out of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, the world’s largest free trade zone.

Supporters of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood take part in a rally to protest against the death penalties for the members of the radical group in Egypt, near the Egyptian embassy in Ankara on April 18, 2014. AFP PHOTO / ADEM ALTAN (Photo credit should read ADEM ALTAN/AFP/Getty Images)

Ankara's relations with Cairo still frosty despite Saudi mediation

Saudi Arabia is reportedly working for a thaw between Ankara and Cairo, but little is likely to change before the general elections in Turkey.

Yazidi candidate hopes for historic first in Turkish election

If the pro-Kurdish HDP passes the 10% threshold in the general elections on June 7, Feleknas Uca will be the first Yazidi member of the Turkish parliament.

Turkish soldiers monitor the border line as they stand guard near the Akcakale border crossing in Sanliurfa province, southeastern Turkey, where Islamic State militants control the Syrian side of the gate, January 29, 2015. An audio message purportedly from a Japanese journalist being held by Islamic State militants said a Jordanian air force pilot also captured by the group would be killed unless an Iraqi female prisoner in Jordan was released by sunset on Thursday. The message appeared to postpone a previ

Turkish military puts brakes on Syrian intervention

While a Turkish military operation against Syria is unlikely, Mosul is another story.

The Church of the Holy Cross, an Armenian church on Akdamar Island in Lake Van, is seen near the eastern Turkish city of Van June 27, 2010. Now a state museum, it has become the latest symbol of the difficult reconciliation between the Armenia and Turkey as the latter prepares to open the site for a one-day religious service next month. Muslim Turkey and Christian Armenia are bitterly divided over their troubled history and the border remains closed despite U.S.-brokered peace accords signed last year. Pict

Armenians refocus on reparations after genocide anniversary

Turkey’s Armenian issue will grow even more complicated with the anticipated demands from Yerevan and the Armenian diaspora for compensation and restitution of property.

Supporters of Zaman daily newspaper wave a giant Turkish flag outside Istanbul's courthouse during a protest against the hugely controversial raids targeting Zaman newspaper and television channel linked to US-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, on December 18, 2014 in Istanbul. Twelve suspects, including the editor-in-chief of daily Zaman, Ekrem Dumanli, and the head of the Samanyolu Media Group, Hidayet Karaca, were sent to court with demands for their arrest, while probation was sought for the other fou

Turkey’s war within the judiciary deepens

There is no clear good versus evil in Turkey’s ongoing war within its judiciary, but it is clear that it will bring more evil than good to Turkey’s troubled democracy.

Kurdish refugees from the Syrian town of Kobani stand in front of their tent at a refugee camp in the border town of Suruc, Sanliurfa province January 31, 2015. The United States and its allies carried out 27 air strikes against Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria since early Friday, the Combined Joint Task Force leading the operation reported on Saturday. Ten of the 17 strikes in Iraq hit near the oil city of Kirkuk, it said. In Syria, Islamic State targets near the border town of Kobani were attacke

Iraq, Syria crises cost billions for Turkey

The amount Turkey has paid for the Iraqi and Syrian crises in the last four years has reached over $16 billion.

Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan makes a speech during a Peace Summit ahead of the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Gallipoli, in Istanbul April 23, 2015. Thousands of Australians, New Zealanders and Turks gathered on Turkey's Gallipoli peninsula on Thursday ahead of the 100th anniversary of one of the bloodiest battles of World War One. A century ago, thousands of soldiers from the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) struggled ashore on a narrow beach at Gallipoli at the start of an ill-fated

Is Erdogan signaling end of secularism in Turkey?

The Religious Affairs Directorate has become the center of the election campaign in Turkey, causing further social discord.

Three F-35 Joint Strike Fighters (rear to front) AF-2, AF-3 and AF-4, can be seen flying over Edwards Air Force Base in this December 10, 2011 handout photo provided by Lockheed Martin. Lockheed Martin Corp on February 25, 2013 said there was no evidence that a lithium-ion battery contributed to a Feb. 14 incident that caused smoke in the cockpit of an F-35 test plane. Lockheed spokesman Michael Rein said initial reviews indicated a potential failure in the plane's cooling system, which had been removed fro

Will the F-35 change Middle East warfare?

Once it appears in Middle Eastern skies, the F-35 fighter aircraft may alter how wars are waged in the region.

Russia's President Vladimir Putin (R) attends a commemoration ceremony marking the centenary of the mass killing of Armenians by Ottoman Turks in Yerevan, Armenia, April 24, 2015. Armenia's president said on Wednesday he was ready to normalize relations with Turkey, two months after he withdrew peace accords from parliament, blaming a Turkish lack of political will to end 100 years of hostility. Speaking ahead of Friday's centenary of the mass killing of Armenians by Ottoman Turks which is at the heart of t

Russia's recognition of Armenian genocide strains ties with Turkey

Moscow’s acknowledgment of the Armenian genocide and President Vladimir Putin’s visit to Yerevan for the genocide commemorations shake Turkish-Russian ties.

Turkish Cypriot politician Mustafa Akinci delivers a speech to supporters after his election victory in Nicosia, April 26, 2015. Mustafa Akinci, standing as an independent, won 60.3 percent of the votes, according to figures provided by the election commission. His rival was incumbent president Dervis Eroglu, a conservative elected five years ago. REUTERS/Yiannis Kourtoglou - RTX1ADHX

Northern Cyprus demands respect from Turkey

The new Turkish Cypriot president, Mustafa Akinci, infuriated Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as soon as he was elected by calling for a dignified relationship between Turkish Cypriots and Ankara.