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

Turkey

Turkey

August 25, 2026

Ankara 4:15 pm

30°C

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

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (C) disembarks his plane at Paris-Le Bourget Aiport, north of Paris as he arrives for his visit to Paris, on March 8, 2022. (Photo by OLIVIER DOULIERY/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)

Blinken heads to earthquake-hit Turkey in first visit

The US secretary of state will view earthquake relief efforts at Incirlik Air Base and meet with his Turkish counterpart in Ankara.

rescuers of Aleyna Olmez hug in Turkey

248 hours after earthquake, Turkish teen rescued from rubble

Aleyna Olmez, a 17-year-old girl in Kahramanmaras miraculously survived under the rubble of a collapsed building for nearly 11 days.

BULENT KILIC/AFP via Getty Images

How building code spared one Turkish town from earthquake

A mayor in devastated Hatay province says his town escaped the destruction seen elsewhere thanks in part to enforcement of construction codes.

ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images

NATO chief in Turkey, urges swift ratification of Sweden, Finland memberships

In Ankara, NATO chief made first visit after the earthquake, and pressed for Finland and Sweden to join the alliance together.

Armenian rescuers use a dog in search in rescue operations after the earthquake in Aleppo, Syria, February 2023.

Quake disaster delivers diplomatic silver lining for Turkey

Post-quake solidarity has warmed Turkey’s ties with Greece, Armenia and Israel, but no thaw is seen between Turkey and Syria despite their common suffering from the disaster.

Turkey earthquake

Analysis

Will Turkey-Syria earthquake redraw the fault lines of geopolitics?

As in previous decades and centuries, geologic rumblings could be followed by political upheavals in both countries.

Gilles Kepel

By Gilles Kepel

Quake-hit displaced children play near tents set by Turkey's Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD) at Islahiye Atatürk Stadium in Islahiye near Gaziantep on Feb. 14, 2023, a week after a deadly earthquake struck parts of Turkey and Syria.

Earthquake orphans in Turkey, Syria face uncertain future

Thousands of requests poured into Turkey’s Social Affairs Ministry to foster children who survived last week's quakes, but the ministry maintains that its priority is to reunite kids with families or relatives, if they can.

Armenia's Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan delivers a joint press conference with his German counterpart at the Foreign Ministry in Berlin, on Feb. 7, 2023.

Top Armenian diplomat heads to Turkey for landmark visit

Top Armenian diplomat will pay a rare visit to Turkey after two killer earthquakes.

A rescue dog searches for victims and survivors, in the regime-controlled town of Jableh in the province of Latakia, northwest of the Syrian capital, on Feb. 12, 2023, in the aftermath of a deadly earthquake.

Hero canines warm hearts as Turkey's earthquake rescue operations drop off

Some 400 search and rescue dogs are still working to find survivors in Turkey, though such operations are winding down.

Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen meets with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan

In Turkey, Israel's foreign minister meets Erdogan, promises earthquake aid

Meeting with Israel’s Foreign Minister Eli Cohen, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan acknowledged and thanked Jerusalem for its assistance to the victims of the recent earthquakes.

Turkey earthquake rubble

In Turkey, fears grow of Erdogan postponing elections as earthquake toll passes 30,000

As public anger over the government's earthquake response grows, speculation about the possible postponement of Turkey’s elections in May is heating up.

This aerial view shows collapsed buildings during the ongoing rescue operation in Hatay, southeastern Turkey, on Feb. 10, 2023.

Massive earthquake cost to deepen Turkey’s economic woes

The disaster response requires a significant increase in public spending to meet the needs of 13.5 million affected people and rebuild massive destruction, threatening to widen Ankara’s budget deficit.