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Turkey

May 16, 2026

Ankara 11:13 pm

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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

Lebanese Army soldiers patrol the road leading to Beirut international airport, following the kidnap of a Turkish airlines pilot and his colleague in Beirut, August 9, 2013. A Turkish Airlines pilot and his colleague were abducted in Lebanon on Friday by armed men who forced them from a bus driving from Beirut airport in the early hours of the morning. The Turkish foreign ministry and the airline said they were in close contact with the Lebanese authorities but had no immediate information on who was behind

Turkish Pilots Abducted At Gunpoint in Beirut

Two Turkish Airlines pilots were kidnapped in Beirut early Friday, Aug. 9, to put pressure on the Turkish government to help release nine Shiite Lebanese hostages in Syria since May 2012.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan (L) listens to U.S. President Barack Obama during a joint news conference in the White House Rose Garden in Washington, May 16, 2013. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTXZPB1

Erdogan Looks West

Given Ankara’s misadventures in the Middle East, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s best option to fulfill his vision of a democratic Turkey is to pivot to the West.

Control, Halt, Delete: Gulf States Crack Down on Online Critics

The Gulf states’ heavy-handed response to online criticism was entirely predictable and shows no signs of abating.

Turkish Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit (R) waves beside his doctor
Professor Mehmet Haberal at the entrance of the Baskent University
Hospital, in Ankara, June 26, 2002. Officials announced that, Ecevit,
77, will have a detailed check-up. Ecevit, was hospitalized twice in
May for intestinal problems, a broken rib and vascular infection and
has been recovering at home for the past month. REUTERS/str

WS - RTR6VWK

Controversial Turkish Surgeon Odd Man Out in Ergenekon Trial

A famous surgeon’s unexpected release in the Ergenekon trial deepens Turkey’s political fault lines.

Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan (C) leaves after a wreath-laying ceremony with members of the High Military Council at the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, founder of modern Turkey, in Ankara August 1, 2013. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: MILITARY POLITICS) - RTX126OH

Erdogan Prepares to Face Post-Ramadan Challenges

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan will be walking on eggshells after Ramadan to balance the popular reaction to the Ergenekon verdicts and Kurdish demands to advance the negotiation process.

Men hold Kurdish flags and a poster of Kurdistan leader Masoud Barazani during a Nowruz celebration organized by Kurdish groups at the seaside town of Rawshe in Beirut, March 21, 2013. REUTERS/Sharif Karim (LEBANON - Tags: RELIGION POLITICS) - RTR3FA2H

Kurdish National Congress Seeks Unity Amid Divisions

The Kurdish National Congress, to be held in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region on Aug. 24, will seek a common agenda for Kurds divided over the war in Syria.

Human rights activists sit behind pictures of Armenian victims at Taksim square in central Istanbul April 24, 2013, during a demonstration to commemorate the 1915 mass killing of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire. REUTERS/Osman Orsal (TURKEY - Tags: ANNIVERSARY POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTXYYD8

Turkey’s Secret 'Ancestry Codes' Track Non-Muslim Minorities

Turkey has been secretly coding its Armenian, Greek, Jewish, Syriac and other non-Muslim minorities since the beginning of the republic in 1923.

A protester prepares to throw a stone at Turkish riot police during clashes after protesters tried to march to a courthouse in Silivri, where a hearing on people charged with attempting to overthrow Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's Islamist-rooted government is due to take place August 5, 2013. A Turkish court on Monday sentenced a former military commander to life in prison and dozens of others including opposition members of parliament to long terms for plotting against the government, in a case that has e

Turkish Judicial System Takes Blow in Ergenekon Verdict

Huseyin Celik, spokesman of the ruling Justice and Development Party, says if Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founding father of Turkey, was alive, he would not even allow the defense lawyers in the Ergenekon trials to "peel potatoes."

Protesters hold Turkish flags as they gather near a courthouse in Silivri, where a hearing on people charged with attempting to overthrow Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's Islamist-rooted government is due to take place, August 5, 2013. A Turkish court sentenced retired military chief of staff General Ilker Basbug to life in jail on Monday for his role in the "Ergenekon" conspiracy to overthrow the government of Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan. The court judges, announcing verdicts on the 275 defendants in the

The White, Black and Gray Of the Ergenekon Trial

That fervent belief in secrecy is behind the excesses of the Ergenekon case in Turkey.

Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan (2nd R) gestures as he welcomes Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (2nd L) before holding talks in Istanbul December 22, 2010. They were accompanied by Iran's Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi (L) and Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu. REUTERS/Tolga Bozoglu/Pool (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS) - RTXVYLW

Turkey’s Tentative Iranian Spring

Although Iran is not expected to change its Syria policy, working with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani may help ease regional tensions.

A couple visits the site of the 13th century Haghia Sophia Church in Trabzon January 25, 2007. This sleepy Black Sea town is struggling to understand how it could produce youngsters capable of killing in cold blood. Police have charged Ogun Samast, 17, from Trabzon with the murder of prominent Turkish Armenian editor Hrant Dink, a year after another teenager shot dead an Italian Catholic priest as he prayed in his church in the same city. Picture taken January 25, 2007. To match feature TURKEY-NATIONALIS

Another Byzantine Church Becomes Mosque in Turkey

The recent conversion of a Byzantine church in Trabzon from a museum to a mosque is prompting worries that Hagia Sophia in Istanbul might be next.

Turkish riot police take security measures around a courthouse in Silivri, where a hearing on people charged with attempting to overthrow Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's Islamist-rooted government is due to take place, August 5, 2013. A Turkish court on Monday began sentencing nearly 300 defendants accused of plotting to overthrow the government, handing prison sentences of up to 20 years to some and acquitting 21 others in a case that has exposed deep divisions in the country. REUTERS/Osman Orsal (TURKEY -

How Turks Misinterpret Ergenekon

Following the verdicts of Turkey's Ergenekon case, are Turks having the right kinds of discussions?