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

Turkey

Turkey

May 19, 2026

Ankara 6:45 am

10°C

Ships navigate the Bosphorus Strait on May 02, 2026 in Istanbul, Turkey. Since the outbreak of the US-Israeli war against Iran, forcing the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and together with the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, global shipping routes have been severely impacted. Soaring shipping costs, lengthening delivery times and less efficient routes have seen increased pressure on energy markets and supply chains worldwide. (Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images)

Analysis

Why Turkey sees opportunity in Hormuz crisis to boost Middle Corridor

Ankara seeks to exploit transport disruptions from the Iran, Ukraine wars to push the corridor, but high costs, logistical bottlenecks and South Caucasus politics pose obstacles.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

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

Latest News

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

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.

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.

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

A Free Syrian Army fighter fires his weapon towards positions occupied by forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad in the old city of Aleppo January 7, 2013. REUTERS/Muzaffar Salman (SYRIA - Tags: CONFLICT POLITICS CIVIL UNREST TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)

Armed Syrian Opposition Enables Assad's Hold on Power

Tulin Daloglu reports on how the armed opposition to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has hindered efforts for a political solution in Syria.

Turkey's main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) lawmakers and Parliament Chairman Cemil Cicek (rear C) argue during a debate at the parliament in Ankara February 8, 2012. REUTERS/Stringer (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS)

Are All ‘Turks’ Really Turks?

Mustafa Akyol considers how Turkish identity and citizenship will be defined in the next Turkish constitution.

Syrian Kurds demonstrators hold flags and portraits of jailed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Ocalan during a protest in Derik, Hasakah November 1, 2012. Around 1,000 Syrian Kurds protested in the north-eastern Syrian town of Derik on Thursday, demanding the re-opening of Kurdish-language schools they said were closed by President's Bashar al-Assad's regime. REUTERS/Thaier al-Sudani (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT EDUCATION)

Dealing with Ocalan Not Enough For Erdogan

Kadri Gursel writes that whether the Turkish government’s intention is to stall for time with Ocalan to secure another violence-free election period or whether it is truly an intention to solve the Kurdish issue, the task of the AKP is a formidable one.

Israel's Energy Minister Uzi Landau (rear C) watches as Nasos Ktorides (front C), chairman of DEH Quantum Energy, and Israel Electric Corp (IEC) Chairman Yiftach Ron-Tal (front R) sign a memorandum of understanding in Jerusalem March 4, 2012. Israel and Cyprus began a feasibility study on Sunday for the construction of an underwater electric cable between the two countries that would ensure their energy security and offer Israel a channel to export energy to Europe. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun (JERUSALEM - Tags: P

Turkey-Israel-Cyprus Triangle And Mediterranean Gas

Tulin Daloglu writes that Israel’s strategic partnership with the Republic of Cyprus, including over Mediterranean gas fields, is yet another complication in Israeli-Turkish relations.

A demonstrator holds a flag with a portrait of jailed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Ocalan during a protest in Strasbourg February 18, 2012. Thousands of demonstrators protested in support of Ocalan, who was captured on February 15, 1999, and is currently serving a life sentence in Turkey. REUTERS/Vincent Kessler (FRANCE - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST)

The Transformation of Ocalan

Cengiz Candar writes that officials were once portraying Abdullah Ocalan as the “worst villain” and “greatest Satan,” but in the first days of 2013 Ocalan appears to have become “No. 1 partner” in efforts to resolve Turkey’s No. 1 problem.

Relatives holding pictures and belongings of air strike victims mourn during a funeral ceremony in Gulyazi near the southeastern Turkish town of Uludere, in the Sirnak province, December 30, 2011. Turkish rights groups called on Friday for a U.N.-sponsored investigation after Turkish warplanes killed 35 villagers in an airstrike targeting Kurdish rebels on the Iraqi border that the government has called an operational mistake. REUTERS/Stringer (TURKEY - Tags: CIVIL UNREST DISASTER)

Turkey's Guernica

The Turkish military's attack on the Kurdish town of Uludere (Roboski in Turkish), in which 34 children were killed, evokes memories of the Spanish attack on the Basque town of Guernica in 1937, writes Cengiz Candar.

Turkish Shi'ite women shout Islamic slogans as they mourn during an Ashura procession in Istanbul November 24, 2012. Muslims all over the world mourn the slaying of Imam Hussein during the first ten days of the Islamic month of Muharram. Imam Hussein was killed by his political rivals along with 72 companions in the seventh century battle of Kerbala. REUTERS/Murad Sezer (TURKEY - Tags: ANNIVERSARY RELIGION CIVIL UNREST)

Turkey's Sectarian War With Iran Over Syria and Iraq

Semih Idiz examines the evolution of the sectarian conflict between Turkey and Iran over Iraq and Syria.

A man looks at portraits of people who were executed, disappeared or died in jail during military rule after a 1980 coup, as protesters demonstrate in front of a courthouse in Ankara April 4, 2012. Thousands of mainly leftist protesters gathered outside the court, waving flags and shouting slogans demanding justice and the prosecution of more than just the coup ring-leaders. More than 30 years after the September 12, 1980 military takeover, an Ankara court began hearing the case against 94-year-old Retired

Trial Is Latest Round In AKP Attack on Military

Tulin Daloglu writes that the current trial of former military leaders is another sign that the AKP’s democratization agenda is really about curtailing any threat from the military.

Turkish people look on and record with phones members of the Free Syrian Army gathering as gunfire is heard between them and the armed Kurds of The Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) in the northern Syrian town of Ras al-Ain, November 25, 2012. Iran said Turkey's plans to deploy Patriot defensive missiles near its border with Syria would add to the region's problems, as fears grow of the Syrian civil war spilling across frontiers. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS CONFLICT)

The Third Front in Turkey's 'Kurdish Problem'

Kadri Gursel writes that Turkey may be supporting Salafi groups in northern Syria to prevent a third Kurdish front.

Syrian Kurds demonstrators hold a giant portrait of jailed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Ocalan during a protest in Derik, Hasakah November 1, 2012. Around 1,000 Syrian Kurds protested in the north-eastern Syrian town of Derik on Thursday, demanding the re-opening of Kurdish-language schools they said were closed by President's Bashar al-Assad's regime. REUTERS/Thaier al-Sudani (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT EDUCATION)

Turkey Considers New 'Peace Process’ With PKK

Mustafa Akyol analyzes the prospects for a new peace process using imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan, an approach that failed two years ago.

Members of parliament from the ruling AK Party (AKP) and Republican People's Party (CHP) scuffle during a debate at the parliament in Ankara early March 30, 2012. The Turkish parliament is hotly debating a bill overturning a 1997 law, imposed with the backing of the military, which extended compulsory education to eight from five years and stopped under-15s attending religious "imam hatip" schools. Parliamentarians on Thursday accepted a proposal from Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's AK Party to offer option

The Coming Political Crisis in Turkey

Cengiz Çandar foresees a political crisis in this year as Prime Minister Recep Erdogan's ruling AKP party pushes a draft constitution that would dramatically expand his powers.

Foreign Ministers Hoshiyar Zebari of Iraq, Walid al-Moualem of Syria and Ahmet Davutoglu of Turkey, and Secretary General of the Arab League Amr Moussa (R) chat before their meeting at the Ottoman-era Ciragan Palace in Istanbul September 17, 2009. REUTERS/Osman Orsal (TURKEY POLITICS)

More Uncertainty on Turkey’s Eastern Flank in 2013

Turkey can expect more problems in dealing with both Iraq and Syria in 2013, writes Semih Idiz.