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

Turkey

Turkey

May 15, 2026

Ankara 2:16 am

11°C

Mazloum Kobane, commander-in-chief of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), speaks during the pan-Kurdish "Unity and Consensus" conference in Qamishli in northeastern Syria on April 26, 2025.

Interview

Syrian Kurdish commander Kobane says Turkey visit ‘in the making,’ Ocalan meeting possible

The SDF commander-in-chief reflected on a fragile integration deal with Damascus, growing Kurdish backlash and ongoing talks with Turkey as questions mount over Rojava’s political future.

Mazloum Kobane

Mazloum Kobane

SDF commander in chief

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, right, and Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan shake hands before a meeting at Prague Castle in Prague, Czech Republic, Thursday, Oct. 6, 2022.

Turkey, Armenia to launch direct trade in normalization push: What to know

The move removes a decades-old reexport mechanism routed largely through Georgia as Ankara and Yerevan step up normalization efforts.

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.

Latest News

Analysis

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

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)

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Culture

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

MURAT KOCABAS/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images

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

The peril of escalation in Syria

Edward Dark writes that Aleppans will pay the price for any escalation in the war; the UN Security Council votes for humanitarian assistance and calls for greater cooperation to confront al-Qaeda in Syria; 16 female journalists cover the Middle East; and exorcism in the Gaza Strip.

Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan addresses members of parliament from his ruling AK Party (AKP) during a meeting at the Turkish parliament in Ankara February 18, 2014. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTX1915M

Turkey's elections likely to increase political turmoil

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan plans to keep the heat on his political opponents heading into the March 30 local elections.

Shi'ite Muslim cleric Moqtada al-Sadr speaks in Najaf, 160 km (99 miles) south of Baghdad, February 18, 2014. Sadr stuck to his decision to leave political life and dissolve his movement, saying that politics had become a way to inflict injustice. Sadr, who led revolts against U.S. forces in Iraq before their pullout and became a major influence in the government, initially announced his retirement on Saturday via a handwritten statement on his website. REUTERS/Handout/Office of Moqtada al-Sadr (IRAQ - Tag

Is Muqtada al-Sadr retiring or repositioning?

After Iraqi Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr declared his intention to withdraw from politics, signs suggest that it may have been a move aimed at political repositioning before the upcoming elections.

Free Syrian Army fighters sit as a fellow fighter holds an RPG along a street in Deir al-Zor, eastern Syria February 19, 2014. Picture taken February 19, 2014. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) CONFLICT) - RTX1964P

Military escalation will add to Syrian catastrophe

The remilitarization of the Syrian conflict as sophisticated weapons are sent to opposition forces means more violence, including the return of fighting to areas that have achieved cease-fires.

Members of Islamist Syrian rebel group Jabhat al-Nusra carry their weapons as they move towards their positions near Aleppo international airport which is controlled by forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad January 28, 2014. Picture taken January 28, 2014. REUTERS/Ammar Abdullah (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT) - RTX17ZNO

Al-Qaeda-linked group exploits ISIS decline in Aleppo

A recent field study in Aleppo finds Jabhat Al-Nusra and other "Islamic brigades" have benefited from the brutal tactics and unpopularity of the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS).

Palestinian Hamas militants march during a training exercise in Gaza February 17, 2014. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem (GAZA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTX18ZRL

Hamas sinks in polls after cutting salaries to public servants

Hamas' popularity has fallen behind Fatah in the Gaza Strip, according to recent polls, as frustration mounts over its handling of the territory's economic crisis.

Turkish Alawite women pray in a tomb, a holy site to the Alawite community, in the Samandag district of Hatay province, close to the border with Syria, July 27, 2012. An influx of Syrians fleeing President Bashar al-Assad's military onslaught is stoking tension in the area of Turkey known for religious tolerance and setting Turks who share the Syrian leader's creed against their own government. In the Turkish frontier province of Hatay, home to the Antioch of the Bible and a mix of confessional groups rare

Syria war sparks Turkish Alawite anxiety

The Syrian war has led Turkey’s Arab Alawites to embrace their Alawite and Arab identity.

Displaced Somalis queue for food at a centre run by a Turkish aid agency in the Howlwadaag district of southern Mogadishu, January 22, 2012. From Turkey to Brazil, India to Saudi Arabia, a growing number of non-Western donors are bringing fresh funds, a different mindset and their own experience of managing natural disasters to the global humanitarian aid scene. Picture taken January 22, 2012. To match Feature DISASTERS-NEWDONORS/ REUTERS/Feisal Omar (SOMALIA - Tags: SOCIETY POVERTY) - RTR2WVRE

'Cash box’ crops up in Turkey’s Africa opening

The revelation that official Turkish aid to Somalia was delivered in boxes full of cash has raised questions about Turkey’s Africa policies.

A tanker sails in Mediterranean past a jetty at the Ceyhan crude oil terminal near Turkey's southern coastal city of Adana, July 13, 2006. A four-billion dollar project, Baku-Tblisi-Ceyhan crude oil pipeline, to carry oil from the Caspian Sea fields to western markets is inaugurated on Thursday in Ceyhan, southern Turkey. REUTERS/Fatih Saribas (TURKEY) - RTR1FGD4

Turkey defers to Baghdad on oil from Iraqi Kurdistan

Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani has been conducting shuttle diplomacy between Baghdad and Ankara to facilitate an agreement.

US, Russia should agree on a 'secular' Syria

The objective of a revived diplomatic process should be assuring a secular state, not necessarily Assad's departure.

Selahattin Demirtas, co-chairman of the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP), gestures during a rally to celebrate the spring festival of Newroz in Istanbul March 17, 2013. Kurdish parliamentarians set off by boat on Monday to visit Kurdish militant leader Abdullah Ocalan in his island prison where they expected him to summon his fighters to cease fire and leave Turkey to help end a 28-year-old insurgency. The conflict has been a major source of instability in Turkey, a NATO member, and a huge burden

Ocalan extends hand to Armenians

Abdullah Ocalan, head of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), has written a letter that seems to turn a new page in the bitter Armenian-Kurdish relationship.

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson delivers a speech in Washington February 7, 2014. REUTERS/Gary Cameron (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY CRIME LAW) - RTX18D33

New US Syria policy should engage Iran

As the talks on a comprehensive nuclear agreement with Iran commence this week in Vienna, there is also an opening to engage Iran on Syria and terrorism.