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

Turkey

Turkey

June 16, 2026

Ankara 10:57 pm

19°C

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan meets with Orthodox Patriarch of Bartholomew at the presidential complex, Ankara, Turkey, June 16, 2026.

Culture

Turkey’s Erdogan meets Orthodox patriarch amid push for reopening Halki Seminary

The meeting comes ahead of US President Trump’s expected attendance at next month's NATO leaders’ summit in Turkey, after Trump personally urged his Turkish counterpart to reopen the Halki Seminary.

Turkey's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan attends the NATO Foreign Ministers' meeting in Helsingborg, Sweden, on May 22, 2026.

Turkey’s Fidan heads to Moscow as S-400 sanctions issue returns to fore

The visit comes weeks before Turkey hosts NATO leaders, on the sidelines of which Ankara hopes to reach a deal with Washington over CAATSA sanctions over its purchase of Russian S-400s.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan received Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Turkish House in New York on Sept. 19, 2023.

Analysis

Erdogan-Netanyahu war of words signals deeper rivalry for regional influence

The latest Erdogan-Netanyahu clash underscored how Turkey-Israel tensions have grown beyond the Palestinian issue and into a wider regional rivalry spanning Syria, Lebanon, Iran and the eastern Mediterranean.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Yasin AKGUL / AFP via Getty Images

Feature

Turkey’s World Cup return clouded by politics, dawn kickoffs

Turkey finally has the World Cup moment it waited 24 years for, but much of the country will either be asleep for it or arguing over efforts to claim it.

Ezgi Akin

In Ankara, reporting on diplomacy, EU-Turkey ties, NATO

Latest News

Explainer

Turkey slams France-Cyprus military pact as East Med rivalries deepen

Cyprus' President Nikos Christodoulides (2nd L) and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron (C) review the honor guard at the Presidential Palace in Nicosia on April 23, 2026, ahead of a meeting on the sidelines of a European summit.

Analysis

As Trump admin drops Halkbank case, S-400 last big hurdle in US-Turkey ties

Russian S-400 anti-aircraft missile launching system is displayed at the exposition field in Kubinka Patriot Park outside Moscow on Aug. 22, 2017 during the first day of the International Military-Technical Forum Army-2017.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

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

FIFA President Gianni Infantino (L) holds a news conference with Turkish Football Federation (TFF) President Yildirim Demiroren in Istanbul, Turkey, 23, 2017. REUTERS/Osman Orsal - RC117EEE72F0

Turkey’s crisis-hit soccer clubs face bitter pills in rescue plan

A “rescue” plan is in the making for Turkey’s cash-strapped soccer clubs, but the operation might result in further political control over the soccer industry.

A general view of Nizip refugee camp, near the Turkish-Syrian border in Gaziantep province, Turkey, November 30, 2016. REUTERS/Umit Bektas - RC137324E500

Debate over Syrian refugees gathers steam in Turkey

Young Syrians celebrating New Year’s Eve in public Istanbul squares ignited false claims that Syrians are enjoying life in Turkey while Turkish soldiers die for their country.

Turkish soldiers stand on top of tanks next to the Syrian-Trukish border fence near the town of Suruc in Sanliurfa province September 23, 2014. Some 138,000 Syrian Kurdish refugees have entered Turkey in an exodus that began last week, and two border crossing points remain open, the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees said. REUTERS/Murad Sezer (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS SOCIETY IMMIGRATION CONFLICT MILITARY) - LR1EA9N0VR52V

New Congress targets Turkey

US lawmakers are still eyeing Turkey warily, even after it released US pastor Andrew Brunson.

People shop in an old bazaar in Istanbul, Turkey, June 14, 2018. REUTERS/Huseyin Aldemir - RC16883D3170

Turkish opposition media ridicule pre-election 'bribe'

With an eye on the March elections, the Turkish government, under the lead of the Justice and Development Party, is providing citizens with relief from credit card debt — a move the opposition deems bribery.

U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton speaks during an interview with Reuters in Jerusalem August 21, 2018. Picture taken August 21, 2018. REUTERS/RonenZvulun - RC1C0BEC6DB0

Fiasco in Ankara: Turkish-US friction on Syria back to square one

US national security adviser John Bolton was snubbed by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan because of the Trump administration's demands that Kurds not be harmed after the United States withdraws most of its troops.

Turks losing trust in religion under AKP

Turkish society is demonstrably distancing itself from religion in what some scholars see as quiet resistance to its power and privilege under the Islamist ruling party.

Turkey's 'horse whisperer' races ahead at the box office

A cinematic homage about the record-breaking racehorse Bold Pilot and his jockey is filling Turkish theaters and bringing audiences to tears.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan addresses members of parliament from his ruling AK Party (AKP) during a meeting at the Turkish parliament in Ankara, Turkey, January 8, 2019. REUTERS/Umit Bektas - RC11DD776AB0

Intel: How Turkey is putting the US on notice in Syria

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan greets members of parliament from his ruling AK Party (AKP) as he arrives at a meeting at the Turkish parliament in Ankara, Turkey, January 8, 2019. REUTERS/Umit Bektas - RC1CE33DB120

Turkish-US tension builds as Syria talks founder

US national security adviser John Bolton left Ankara without a deal in hand that would protect Washington's allies from harm after the United States withdraws most of its troops from Syria.

Uighur refugee women walk where they are housed in a gated complex in the central city of Kayseri, Turkey, February 11, 2015. Thousands of members of China's Turkic language-speaking Muslim ethnic minority have reached Turkey, mostly since last year, infuriating Beijing, which accuses Ankara of helping its citizens flee unlawfully. Turkish officials deny playing any direct role in assisting the flight. Picture taken February 11, 2015. To match Insight TURKEY-CHINA/UIGHURS REUTERS/Umit Bektas - GM1EB7R1LSD01

Turkey abandons Uighurs in favor of Chinese investment

Turkey was once the Uighurs’ prime defender, offering easy citizenship to emigrants and speaking out against their mistreatment, but the recent economic rapprochement between Turkey and China has led Ankara to abandon its ethnic brothers.

U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo attend the Interagency Task Force to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons annual meeting at the White House in Washington, U.S., October 11, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst - RC112D918F90

Rival fiefdoms emerge in scramble over Trump's Syria withdrawal

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and national security adviser John Bolton have offered different messages about President Donald Trump’s intentions for a Syria withdrawal.

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I gives presents to Greek Orthodox faithful after they swam into the Golden Horn during the Epiphany day celebrations in Istanbul, Turkey January 6, 2019. REUTERS/Umit Bektas TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RC1371622270

Patriarch grants Ukrainian Church independence at Istanbul mass

The spiritual leader of the world’s Orthodox faithful recognized a new national church of Ukraine, marking a historic split with Moscow amid a broader geopolitical dispute.