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Turkey

Turkey

May 18, 2026

Ankara 11:08 am

14°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

ISTANBUL, TURKEY - MAY 29: In this aerial photo taken with a drone, Turkish drilling vessel 'Fatih' sails up the Bosphorus towards the Black Sea on May 29, 2020 in Istanbul, Turkey. (Photo by Burak Kara/Getty Images)

How Mediterranean standoff complicates Turkey's natural gas agenda

Too many factors — especially tensions with Greece — are at play to determine whether recent gas discovery in the Black Sea will translate into massive commercial and political gains for Ankara.

Turkish Foreign Affairs Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu (R) and German Foreign Affairs Minister Heiko Maas (L) hold a joint press conference following their meeting at the Turkish Foreign Ministry in Ankara on August 25, 2020. - The German Foreign minister warned on August 25 that Turkey's standoff with Greece in the eastern Mediterranean was at a "very critical" juncture but stressed that both sides appeared ready to talk. A crisis has been brewing in the eastern Mediterranean, where Turkey is at odds with Greec

Germany appeals for calm as Turkish, Greek navies run drills in EastMed

The Turkish and Greek navies conducted drills in the eastern Mediterranean this week as German Foreign Minister Heiko Mass seeks to bring both nations back to the negotiation table.

TOPSHOT - Members of the Salah Bou-Haliqa brigade, loyal to the country's east strongman Khalifa Haftar's self-styled Libyan National Army, celebrate as they arrive in the eastern city of Benghazi after seizing the central al-Jufra area from the Benghazi Defence Brigades coalition, a rival to Haftar's forces on June 5, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / Abdullah DOMA (Photo credit should read ABDULLAH DOMA/AFP via Getty Images)

Libyan cease-fire casts cloud over Erdogan’s ambitions

Having failed to advance its military intervention in Libya, Ankara has grudgingly endorsed a cease-fire in the conflict, but its ambitions appear intact for the process down the road.

Turkish Foreign Affairs Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu holds a joint press conference with the German Foreign Affairs minister following their meeting at the Turkish Foreign Ministry in Ankara on August 25, 2020. - The German Foreign minister warned on August 25 that Turkey's standoff with Greece in the eastern Mediterranean was at a "very critical" juncture but stressed that both sides appeared ready to talk. A crisis has been brewing in the eastern Mediterranean, where Turkey is at odds with Greece and the Eur

Turkey open to talks with Greece without preconditions: foreign minister

During a meeting with his German counterpart, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said his government is ready for talks with Greece, but without preconditions.

Intel: Washington condemns Erdogan’s meeting with Hamas leadership

The US State Department has condemned the Turkish president’s recent meeting with senior members of the Palestinian militant group Hamas as one that “only serves to isolate Turkey” on the world stage.

Turkish police officers wearing face masks stand in front of Hagia Sophia entrance on July 11, 2020 in Istanbul, a day after a top Turkish court revoked the sixth-century Hagia Sophia's status as a museum, clearing the way for it to be turned back into a mosque. - The United States said on July 10, it was "disappointed" by Turkey's decision to turn the Byzantine-era monument Hagia Sophia back into a mosque and urged equal access for all visitors. (Photo by Ozan KOSE / AFP) (Photo by OZAN KOSE/AFP via Getty

Islamic State operative planning 'sensational' attack nabbed in Istanbul

Ankara has arrested a man suspected of planning “a sensational attack” in Istanbul and six others in raids that point to a festering Islamic State problem in Turkey.

Flooding in Turkey kills at least eight in bitter reminder of climate chaos

The government has pledged to rebuild areas hard hit by a weekend flood, but activists warn the construction of roads, dams and buildings in flood zones means more disasters are likely to follow.

A displaced Syrian boy from Ras al-Ain, a border town controlled by Turkey and its Syrian proxies, fills jerrycans with water at the Washukanni camp in Syria's northeastern Hasakeh province on April 16, 2020. (Photo by Delil SOULEIMAN / AFP) (Photo by DELIL SOULEIMAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Turkey starves Syria’s northeast of water as virus death toll mounts

Turkey has once again cut water supplies to the Hasakeh region of northeast Syria, and the autonomous administration says Ankara is risking hundreds of thousands of lives in the midst of the pandemic and soaring temperatures to placate Syrians living under Turkish occupation.

Turkey says it is institution-building through military training in Libya

A new military training agreement between Ankara, Doha and Tripoli demonstrates Turkey’s institution-building efforts in Libya, but the success of these efforts will mainly depend on the support of Western powers.

Is Turkey’s opposition losing Istanbul to Erdogan?

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is employing a panoply of unfathomable methods to peremptorily take over city municipalities he lost in the last election.

Erdogan converts another historic church into a mosque

The centuries-old Chora church, which has served as a museum since 1945, will soon be open to Muslim worship.

A fight plane of the type F-16 (L) of the Israeli Air Force (IAF) starts from the airbase in N√∂rvenich, western Germany, on August 20, 2020, during the first joint German-Israeli military air exercise "Blue Wings 2020". (Photo by SASCHA SCHUERMANN / AFP) (Photo by SASCHA SCHUERMANN/AFP via Getty Images)

UAE to send F-16s to Crete for training with Greek military amid tensions with Turkey

The UAE is the latest country to show support for Greece amid a tense maritime dispute with Turkey

United Arab Emirates