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Turkey

Turkey

August 25, 2026

Ankara 3:06 pm

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A Turkish soldier from the 1st Border Regiment Command looks out over the border wall to Syria during alert drills at a military outpost on the Turkey/Syria border on March 2, 2017 in Kilis, Turkey.

Analysis

Why Turkey sees Israeli strikes in Syria as warning over its military role, Mecca Pact

Ankara views Israel’s latest strikes in Syria as part of a broader effort to curb Turkey’s military influence in Damascus and a challenge to its regional defense partnerships.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Turkey/Syria border

Analysis

Turkey bets on US deconfliction as Israel widens Syria red lines

As Washington pushes a new deconfliction mechanism between Turkey and Israel, the Jewish state shows little incentive to accept tighter constraints on its freedom of action in Syria, experts say.

Ezgi Akin

Rina Bassist

By Ezgi Akin , Rina Bassist

Latest News

Analysis

Israel fears Turkey’s Syria ambitions and doubts Trump will stop them

ANKARA, TURKEY - JULY 7: U.S. President Donald Trump (L)shakes hands with with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) during a formal arrival at the Bestepe Presidential Palace during the NATO summit on July 7, 2026 in Ankara, Turkey. Leaders from NATO's 32 countries, plus NATO allies like Ukraine, gathered in the Turkish capital to discuss a range of issues involving spending targets, defense industrial production, and support for Ukraine, among other topics. (Photo by Emrah Gurel - Pool/Getty Images)

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

Turkey seeks Interpol Red Notices for Netanyahu over Gaza flotilla

Murat Kocabas / Middle East Images / AFP via Getty Images

Turkey signals restraint as war of words with Israel escalates over Syria

Burhaanettin Duran

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

Supporters of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu wave national flags as they gather in front of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality during a protest in Istanbul on December 15, 2022, after a Turkish court sentenced him to more than two years jail and banned him from politics ahead of next year's presidential election. (Photo by Yasin AKGUL / AFP) (Photo by YASIN AKGUL/AFP via Getty Images)

Neck-and-neck race in Turkey between Erdogan, Kilicdaroglu

Challenger Kemal Kilicdaroglu is showing signs of closing the gap on incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

A view of an oil refinery in the Iraqi city of Kirkuk, on June 20, 2014. Kurdish forces took control of Kirkuk and other disputed territory as Sunni Arab militants pressed an offensive that has seen them seize a large chunk of Iraq and sweep federal security forces aside. AFP PHOTO/KARIM SAHIB (Photo by KARIM SAHIB / AFP) (Photo by KARIM SAHIB/AFP via Getty Images)

Iraqi efforts underway to resolve Kurdish oil exports via Turkey

Ankara, Baghdad and Erbil appear willing to negotiate a new mechanism after an international tribunal dealt a blow to Kurdistan’s drive to sell its oil independently.

İYİ Party's İstanbul office was targeted by gunfire on March 31, 2023.

Bullets hit Turkey's opposition party office ahead of critical polls

The suspect held in the incident reportedly told police that he accidentally hit the building.

Finnish MPs attend a plenary session of the Finnish parliament on a vote on the country's entry to NATO in Helsinki, Finland on March 1, 2023. - Finland's parliament on March 1 voted overwhelmingly in favour of joining NATO, ahead of ratifications from Hungary and Turkey, increasing the likelihood it will enter the alliance before Nordic neighbour Sweden. Lawmakers approved a law affirming that Finland accepts the terms of the NATO treaty by 184 votes against seven. (Photo by Heikki Saukkomaa / Lehtikuva /

Turkey ratifies Finland’s NATO membership

Finland’s accession to the alliance will now be finalized by the US State Department and Helsinki.

Turkey ince

Can Turkey's Kemal Kilicdaroglu win over key rival to defeat Erdogan?

While playing hardball, Turkish presidential candidate Muharrem Ince hasn’t ruled out a potential electoral alliance against Erdogan.

AI middle east

Is the Middle East ready for its AI breakthrough?

Many Middle East governments see AI as an essential catalyst for growth and diversification, but the region’s aspirations have yet to materialize. This new Pro Trend Report takes a deep dive into the feasibility of regional AI strategies.

wimmers enter the water in the Bosphorus strait in Istanbul's Bebek district on July 29, 2022. - Istanbul, a historic megalopolis of 16 million people resting between two continents and two sea, does not bring to mind immediate images of a beach resort. But just like the locals of New York, Beirut and a handful of other global cities, Istanbulites can swim all summer long and return home on the metro with salt layering their skin, sand trapped under their sandals. (Photo by Ozan KOSE / AFP) (Photo by OZAN K

Culture

Tunis, Istanbul top Middle East city rankings for 'mindful travelers'

Nine cities from the broader Middle East and North Africa region, including four in Turkey, made it into a ranking of the world's top cities for “mindful travelers."

A reveller flashes the V-sign in front of a bonfire during a gathering of Turkish Kurds for Newroz (or Nowruz) celebrations marking the Persian New Year in Diyarbakir, southeastern Turkey, on March 21, 2023.

'Police beating' of 14-year-old Kurd highlights claims of impunity in Turkey

Kurdish teenager allegedly assaulted and humiliated by officers in Diyarbakir.

ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images

Turkey’s ruling alliance welcomes Islamist parties with misogynist agendas

The New Welfare Party and Huda-Par back the People’s Alliance led by Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party.

An aerial picture shows Syrian refugees living in Turkey waiting to take a bus through the northern Bab al-Hawa border crossing, on February 17, 2023, as they return to Syria in the aftermath of a deadly earthquake. - Turkey this week allowed Syrians under its protection who hold ID cards from one of the quake-hit provinces to leave for between three and six months, a rule change designed to reunite families on both sides of the border hit by the February 6 disaster, which has killed more than 41,000 people

60,000 Syrians have left Turkey, Turkish defense chief says

Syrian refugees in Turkey remain a central theme ahead of the country's critical May 14 elections.

A supporter of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi stands in the back of a pickup truck bearing his portrait and loudspeakers, in the capital Cairo's Tahrir square on January 25, 2018, as the country marks the seventh anniversary of the 2011 uprising that ended the 30-year reign of former President Hosni Mubarak. / AFP PHOTO / MOHAMED EL-SHAHED (Photo credit should read MOHAMED EL-SHAHED/AFP via Getty Images)

Egypt's Sisi unlikely to reconcile with Erdogan before Turkey's election

The Turkish military presence in Libya remains the key snag in Ankara’s efforts to mend fences with Egypt.

President Biden delivers remarks at the Summit for Democracy in this undated photo.

Turkey left off guest list for Biden’s 2nd democracy summit

Turkey's exclusion from the Biden administration's second Summit for Democracy comes as the country gears up for historic presidential elections in May.