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Turkey

Turkey

May 13, 2026

Ankara 4:56 am

13°C

The helicopter of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan lands on Abdulhamid Han drill ship, the fourth built by Turkey, in Mersin on Aug. 9, 2022, before being sent for gas exploration to an undisputed area in the Mediterranean Sea, south of Gazipasa.

New Turkey maritime draft bill fuels EastMed tensions with Greece, Cyprus

Turkey’s draft maritime bill seeks to formalize Ankara’s claims in the Aegean, Eastern Mediterranean and Black seas, raising tensions with Greece and Cyprus over contested maritime boundaries and offshore energy rights.

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

Latest News

Culture

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

MURAT KOCABAS/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images

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

Diyarbakir Kurds rally to show support for Prophet Muhammad

About 50,000 people took to the streets of the predominantly Kurdish city of Diyarbakir on Jan. 24, in support of the Prophet Muhammad in the biggest rally in Turkey since the Charlie Hebdo attacks.

Turkey's Energy Minister Taner Yildiz (L) and Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari sign documents in Baghdad January 18, 2015. Yildiz said on Sunday around 450,000 barrels per day (bpd) of Iraqi oil were currently flowing into his country's Ceyhan port. REUTERS/Ahmed Saad (IRAQ -Tags: POLITICS ENERGY) - RTR4LV6E

Iraq, Turkey strengthen energy relationship

The bilateral relationship between Iraq and Turkey is strengthening following recent meetings in which an increased collaboration on oil, natural gas and electric energy production and export was discussed.

Former European Affairs minister Egemen Bagis (R, rear row) and former Environment and City Planning minister Erdogan Bayraktar (L) attend a debate at the Turkish parliament in Ankara January 20, 2015. The parliament is due to vote on Tuesday on whether to commit four former ministers, including Bagis and Bayraktar, for trial over corruption allegations. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS CRIME LAW) - RTR4M6MI

Erdogan stirred, not shaken, by corruption vote

AKP mavericks who voted against the party line to impeach four former ministers are facing accusations of treachery and will most likely be weeded out of the party before June elections.

Supporters of Selahattin Demirtas, co-chairman of the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democracy Party (HDP) and presidential candidate, wave flags and shout slogans during an election rally in Istanbul, August 3, 2014. Turkey will vote for its first directly-elected president on August 10. REUTERS/Osman Orsal (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS ELECTIONS) - RTR412ZU

Win or lose, Turkey's Kurds will advance in June elections

Turkey’s main Kurdish-dominated party could deal a serious blow to the ruling Justice and Development Party if its efforts at attracting broad support succeed in helping it surpass the 10% voting threshold in the June general elections.

Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (L) address the media at the Presidential Palace in Ankara January 12, 2015. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR4L5C4

Did the West write Erdogan off for Israel’s sake?

The Western media’s anti-Erdogan stance is fueled by Erdogan’s own partisan and ideological rhetoric.

A picture shows an Israeli army UAV landing in an airfield, in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights, on January 20, 2015, two days after an Israeli air strike killed six Hezbollah members in the Syrian-controlled side of the Golan Heights. The strike on Syria killed an Iranian general, Tehran confirmed on January 19, as thousands of supporters of Lebanon's Hezbollah gathered to bury one of the six fighters killed in the same raid. AFP PHOTO / JACK GUEZ (Photo credit should read JACK GUEZ/AFP/Getty Image

Why Israel's Hezbollah strike didn't bother Turkey's Islamists

The latest Israeli attack on Hezbollah reveals Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s anti-Assad stance is stronger than his anti-Israel rhetoric.

Turkish gay rights group (LAMBDA) activists wave peace flags infront of a mosque in Istanbul on March 16, 2010 during a demonstration against Family Affairs Minister Aliye Selma Kavaf. Some 60 activists denounced Kavaf and called for her resignation, as they accuse the Family Affairs Minister of insult, incitement to crime and incitement to enmity and hate -- crimes which are punishable by up to two, five and three years in jail respectively. Kavaf, who is also women's minister in the Islamist-rooted gover

Turkey's 'pink prison'

LGBT organizations strongly oppose a prison being built for LGBT inmates, who often end up in solitary confinement for reasons of security, which is illegal.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gestures as he delivers a speech during the launch of his Likud party election campaign in Tel Aviv January 5, 2015. Netanyahu was re-elected head of the right-wing Likud party last week, overcoming his first hurdle toward winning a fourth term in office in a March general election. REUTERS/Baz Ratner (ISRAEL - Tags: POLITICS ELECTIONS) - RTR4K5IA

Netanyahu responds to Erdogan's provocations

For a long time, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has avoided referring to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s attacks against him and Israel, but with the upcoming elections he has apparently decided to abandon his self-restraint policy to prevent being perceived as weak.

Erdogan's solo act

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s chairing of Cabinet meetings, coupled with signs of disagreements between him and the prime minister, are stoking concerns.

Ford Tourneo Courier light commercial vehicles are seen at the Ford Otosan Yenikoy car plant in Kocaeli May 22, 2014. REUTERS/Murad Sezer (TURKEY - Tags: TRANSPORT BUSINESS) - RTR3QFUD

Turkey missed its key economic targets in 2014

Turkey failed to attain most of its key economic targets last year, but was likely to receive a boost from falling oil prices in 2015.

Turkey's Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu speaks during an interview with Reuters in Istanbul January 16, 2015. Davutoglu said on Friday the Syrian city of Aleppo must be protected from bombardment by President Bashar al-Assad's forces before Turkey would consider stepping up its role in the U.S.-led coalition against Islamic State. REUTERS/Murad Sezer (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR4LQJ6

Will Davutoglu say anything new at Davos?

All ears will be on Ahmet Davutoglu at the World Economic Forum, as he will be the first Turkish prime minister to address it in six years.

Chinese paramilitary police in riot gear guard the entrance of the Dong Kuruk Bridge mosque in the centre of the city of Urumqi in China's Xinjiang Autonomous Region July 10, 2009. The passionate anger of the weekend riots, that killed around 150 people, gave way to cold bitterness on both sides of the ethnic divide in China's strife-torn Muslim region of Xinjiang on Thursday, and was likely to last long after the troops go. REUTERS/David Gray (CHINA CONFLICT MILITARY POLITICS IMAGES OF THE DAY) - R

Oppressed by China, Uighurs drawn to Salafist ideas

China’s oppressive policies and the increasing influence of extreme Salafist currents are inflating radicalization among the Uighur population.