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Turkey

Turkey

June 17, 2026

Ankara 6:19 am

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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

A general view shows a road-and-rail bridge, which is constructed to connect the Russian mainland with the Crimean peninsula, at sunrise in the Kerch Strait, Crimea November 26, 2018. REUTERS/Pavel Rebrov - RC1C9CFF8770

Black Sea simmers as world awaits Kerch Strait fallout

The Russia-Ukraine crisis could expand to affect many countries, and Turkey's position is potentially crucial.

Ankara's efforts to help banks could backfire

The Turkish government's moves to shield public banks against economic woes could discredit its monetary policy and further scare off foreign investors.

Supporters watch large screens as they listen to the Selahattin Demirtas, presidential candidate of the pro-Kurdish People's Democratic Party (HDP) speak during an election campaign in Istanbul on June 17, 2018. - The Turkish president announced on April 18, 2018 that Turkey will hold snap parliamentary and presidential elections on June 24, 2018. The presidential and parliamentary elections were scheduled to be held in November 2019, but government has decided to change the date following the recommendatio

Turkish appeals court upholds conviction of top Kurdish politician

Two weeks after a European rights court calls for Kurdish politician Selahattin Demirtas' release from prison, a Turkish appeals court confirms his conviction.

A general view of a crude oil importing port in Qingdao, Shandong province, in this November 9, 2008 file photo. REUTERS/Stringer/Files ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. THIS PICTURE IS DISTRIBUTED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS. CHINA OUT. NO COMMERCIAL OR EDITORIAL SALES IN CHINA - GF10000374046

Asia buoys Iran as US sanctions hit

Iran is still selling considerable quantities of oil to China, Japan, India and South Korea thanks to US waivers and other mechanisms to circumvent sanctions.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu shakes hands with his Iranian counterpart Javad Zarif during a news conference in Istanbul, Turkey October 30, 2018. REUTERS/Murad Sezer - RC15CF69EA60

Why Turkey will protect trade with Iran from US sanctions

The warming of ties between Iran and Turkey in recent years, coupled with the changing regional landscape, is likely to keep bilateral trade largely impervious to US sanctions.

Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) and his Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan speak during a ceremony to mark the completion of the sea part of the TurkStream gas pipeline, in Istanbul, Turkey November 19, 2018. Sputnik/Mikhail Klimentyev/Kremlin via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. - RC12DCA255B0

Russia, Turkey seek to break deadlock in Syria over Idlib

Russia and Turkey say they will stick to their agreements on Idlib, but recent military developments in the area expose the challenges the countries may encounter in fulfilling their respective commitments.

Businesspeople intervene in bitter ties between Turkey and Iraqi Kurdistan

Turkish businesspeople have launched a campaign to restore ties between Turkey and the Kurdistan Regional Government, which were hit hard last year after Kurdistan's independence referendum.

Turkish doctors say hospital violence out of control

Turkey's health care workers have long asked for government action to curb the verbal and physical assaults they too often face at work, but the government’s latest bill does little to help them.

Can Turkish psychedelic music go global?

Meet the young trendsetters spreading the word about a rich and original period of Turkish music: Turkish rock from the 1960s and 1970s.

A woman walks past destroyed buildings in the government-controlled part of Homs, Syria, September 18, 2018. REUTERS/Marko Djurica SEARCH "SYRIA LIFE" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES. TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RC1EE143EBF0

US Syria envoy: Let's pull the plug on Russia-led talks

US Syria envoy James Jeffrey would like incoming UN Syria envoy Geir Pederson to have a clear path for negotiating a solution for Syria.

Turkish lira banknotes are pictured at a currency exchange office in Istanbul, Turkey August 13, 2018. REUTERS/Murad Sezer - RC179263C1F0

Economists unmoved by pause in Turkish lira's plummet

Though the latest news about Turkey's currency is good, economists still believe Turkey could well be sailing into recession, while at the G-20 summit, the Turkish president is frustrated by how little is being made of the Jamal Khashoggi murder case.

UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura attends the plenary session of Syria peace talks brokered by Iran, Russia and Turkey in Astana on November 29, 2018. (Photo by Stanislav FILIPPOV / AFP) (Photo credit should read STANISLAV FILIPPOV/AFP/Getty Images)

UN Syria envoy's last Astana meeting ends with mixed results

While the UN envoy to Syria lamented the 11th meeting of the Astana talks as a "failed possibility" to make progress, other participants felt differently about the results.