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Turkey

Turkey

May 16, 2026

Ankara 3:10 am

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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.

Latest News

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

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.

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

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.

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

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

Helal Sex Shop.JPG

Turkey’s Online 'Halal' Sex Shop Draws Ridicule, Criticism

The Turkish media's response to the nation's first "halal" online sex shop has been a mixture of criticism and ridicule.

Turkey’s Spymaster: The Making of a Hero

An impressive campaign by Hakan Fidan’s media team has made almost an entire nation worship him.

Turkish Airlines pilot Murat Agca talks to media at Istanbul's Ataturk airport October 19, 2013. Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan personally greeted two kidnapped Turkish pilots when they arrived back in Istanbul on Saturday after two months in captivity in Lebanon. The pair were released earlier under a deal whereby nine Lebanese hostages were freed in Syria and allowed to return home via Turkey. The Turkish pilots had been abducted in retaliation for the snatching of the Lebanese. REUTERS/Osman Orsal (TURKEY

Turkey Rescues Its Pilots in Swap Deal

Turkey’s silent diplomacy yielded results on Oct.19, when it rescued the two Turkish Airlines pilots kidnapped in Beirut on Aug. 9.

Turkey: The Self-Fulfilling Prophecy Of the Hakan Fidan Story

During a 10-day holiday break, a series of Western news reports roiled Turkey's pro-government establishment.

Demonstrators hold Kurdish flags and flags with portraits of jailed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Ocalan during a gathering to celebrate Newroz in the southeastern Turkish city of Diyarbakir March 21, 2013. Ocalan ordered his fighters on Thursday to cease fire and withdraw from Turkish soil as a step to ending a conflict that has killed 40,000 people, riven the country and battered its economy. Hundreds of thousands of Kurds, gathered in the regional centre of Diyarbakir, cheered and waved b

Turkish Intelligence ChiefBoth Iconoclast and Target

Hakan Fidan, Turkey’s highly intellectual and pro-West intelligence chief, has drawn a lot of attention and criticism as the architect of the peace process with the PKK.

A U.N. vehicle returns to a hotel where experts from the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) are staying, in Damascus October 11, 2013. The global chemical weapons watchdog charged with overseeing destruction of Syria's chemical weapons stockpile during a civil war won the 2013 Nobel Peace Prize on Friday. The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), a relatively small organisation with a modest budget, dispatched its experts after a sarin gas attack killed more t

Is Saudi Arabia Holding Up The Geneva II Conference on Syria?

While Turkey may be shifting its Syria policy in response to domestic and international pressure, Saudi Arabia appears to be digging in to oppose the trend toward a diplomatic solution.

The construction of a residential tower is seen behind the newly built Mimar Sinan mosque in Atasehir on the Asian side of Istanbul in this September 4, 2012 file photo. Perched on the edge of a wasteland earmarked to become a financial district on Istanbul's Asian side, the curved facades of five massive luxury tower blocks sparkle in the sunshine, the centrepiece of a sprawling new residential complex. It is the sort of development that overseas property buyers in Turkey, mainly from Europe, have usually

Quo Vadis Istanbul?

Istanbul’s future development is also tied to the memories of its past.

Pedestrians look at billboards with the pictures of Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan (R) and his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu (L), in Ankara March 25, 2013. Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday an Israeli apology for the 2010 deaths of nine Turkish pro-Palestinian activists that was brokered by U.S. President Barack Obama met Turkey's conditions and signalled its growing regional clout. The billboard reads, "Israel apologized to Turkey. Dear Prime Minister (Erdogan), We ar

Turkey Prefers Stalemate With Israel

David Ignatius of The Washington Post reported on Oct. 16 that Turkey leaked to Iran the identities of 10 Iranians working for the Mossad.

Saudi Arabia's Finance Minister Ibrahim Alassaf (front, 2nd R) walks with Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Secretary-General Abdulatif al-Zayani (front R) to attend a meeting of Gulf Arab monetary and finance officials in Riyadh October 5, 2013. The central bank of Saudi Arabia, one of the world's top holders of U.S. government bonds, said on Saturday it was not worried by the political deadlock in Washington that could cause the United States to default on its debt. The U.S. Congress must agree on a measure

Saudi Arabia Deepens Its Isolation

The kingdom’s rejection of UN Security Council seat does not convey more proactive foreign policy.

Hakan Fidan 222.JPG

Who's Out to Get Turkey’s Spymaster?

The pressure on Turkish Intelligence head Hakan Fidan may be a sign of concern over a shift in Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s policies toward Syria and Iran.

The cruise liner Mavi Marmara arrives at the port of Istanbul December 26, 2010. Nine Turkish activists died in May when Israeli commandos raided the boat, which was part of a flotilla seeking to break the blockade imposed on the Gaza Strip. REUTERS/Osman Orsal (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTXW0MA

Israeli-Turkish Ties Sink to New Low

The revelation that the head of Turkish Intelligence may have blown the cover of Israeli agents has deepened the crisis in US-Turkey relations.

Members of the Free Syrian Army patrol in the northern Syrian town of Ras al-Ain as they are pictured from the Turkish border town of Ceylanpinar, Sanliurfa province January 26, 2013. REUTERS/Osman Orsal (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS CONFLICT) - RTR3CZ0L

Radical Groups Operate On Turkey’s Border

Turkey is increasingly identified as a country facilitating radical forces in Syria, and thereby isolated among its allies.