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Turkey

Turkey

January 4, 2026

Ankara 8:48 am

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This photograph taken on April 26, 2023 shows the construction of the Russian-built Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant in Mersin Province. - Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will try to offset his absence from the campaign trail weeks before crucial elections by unveiling the nuclear plant by video link. (Photo by OZAN KOSE / AFP) (Photo by OZAN KOSE/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Mideast nuclear energy goals tested as Turkey, Saudi Arabia eye breakthroughs

Though the region’s nuclear energy boom was supposed to be in full swing by 2025, key projects have all fallen behind schedule or fizzled entirely — but new momentum could be emerging.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Somalis celebrate the victory of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan after he won the presidential run-off election during the celebration organized by the government in Mogadishu, on May 29, 2023.

Analysis

Turkey casts Israel’s Somaliland move as overreach, but Somalia’s fragility poses risks

Israel’s recognition of Somaliland is widely dismissed in Ankara as a strategic overreach, but it is nevertheless exposing the limits of Turkey’s influence in Somalia.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Lay Ren

Interview

Youth, strong AI adoption make MENA leading region for smartphones: OPPO

The Chinese mobile phone manufacturer's Lay Ren, who heads up the company's business in the Middle East and North Africa regions, said the Gulf is the epicenter of regional growth but stressed that North Africa is poised to follow.

YASIN AKGUL/AFP via Getty Images

Culture

Turkish museums celebrate banner year for history, architecture, art

From Italian architect Renzo Piano’s Istanbul Modern to a restored mansion in Izmir, Turkey’s museums swept awards for architecture and visitor experience.

Latest News

Analysis

Israel’s Somaliland gamble: Redrawing influence in the Horn of Africa

Residents wave Somaliland flags as they gather to celebrate Israel's announcement recognizing Somaliland's statehood in downtown Hargeisa, on Dec. 26, 2025.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

Analysis

Trump-Erdogan ties pay off for Turkey in 2025 as Ankara pushes for F-35s

US President Donald Trump and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan gesture as they pose for a photo during a world leaders' summit on ending the Gaza war on Oct. 13, 2025 in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt.

Ezgi Akin

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

Analysis

Iran threats, flattery, unresolved gaps: What Trump really gave Netanyahu at Mar-a-Lago

Joe Raedle/Getty Images

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

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

Ukraine's Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin (R) and his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu attend a news conference in Kiev, Ukraine, February 10, 2017. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko - RTX30F7R

Turkey-Ukraine defense industry ties are booming

Turkey is promoting deals with Ukraine to bypass Western embargoes in the defense industry and share critical military technologies.

TO GO WITH AFP STORY BY DILAY GUNDOGAN
A man sells beer near Taksim Square in Istanbul on June 29, 2014. New alcohol legislation has made it more expensive and harder to buy or sell alcohol in Turkey, with critics accusing the Islamic-rooted government of imposing a religious agenda in the mainly Muslim but officially secular nation. Turkey's sizeable secular population has denounced the new laws as repressive, pointing out the country already has the lowest alcohol consumption among OECD countries. AFP PHO

Turkish bans on Wikipedia and public drinking rouse anger

The Turkish public has reacted with anger to both the Antalya police department's ban on the public consumption of alcohol and a Turkish court's ban on Wikipedia.

American army vehicles drive north of Manbij city, in Aleppo Governorate, Syria March 9, 2017. REUTERS/Rodi Said - RTS126K2

US move to protect YPG could push Turkey into Russia's arms

US special forces have deployed along Syrian border to deter Turkey from further attacks against Syrian Kurdish forces but the United States has no sway over Russian-dominated northwestern Syria, prompting conjecture about a possible Russian-Turkish deal for Idlib.

Who killed exiled Iranian TV executive in Istanbul?

The owner of GEM TV, which airs dubbed Western programs into Iran, was gunned down in the streets of Istanbul.

A U.S. military commander (2nd R) walks with Kurdish fighters from the People's Protection Units (YPG) at the YPG headquarters that was hit by Turkish airstrikes in Mount Karachok near Malikiya, Syria April 25, 2017. REUTERS/Rodi Said - RTS13T7Q

Three reasons Turkey bombed Syria and Iraq

Turkish government officials provided Al-Monitor rare insight into Turkey's mindset, explaining the reasoning behind the controversial attacks on Syrian Kurdish fighters.

A helicopter carrying U.S. military officials arrive at the headquarters of the Kurdish fighters from the People's Protection Units (YPG) that was hit by Turkish airstrikes in Mount Karachok near Malikiya, Syria April 25, 2017. REUTERS/Rodi Said - RTS13T7T

Erdogan tests Trump with attack on Syrian Kurds

US-Turkey relations sink further following airstrikes; Russia’s expanding military presence in Syria.

Fighters from the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) inspect the damage at their headquarters after it was hit by Turkish airstrikes in Mount Karachok near Malikiya, Syria April 25, 2017. REUTERS/ Rodi Said - RTS13V4D

Does Turkey plan to continue airstrikes in Iraq, Syria?

Turkey’s recent bombings of groups it says are linked to Kurdish terrorists give Russia and the United States something else to agree on.

Members of the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) inspect the damage at their headquarters after it was hit by Turkish airstrikes in Mount Karachok near Malikiya, Syria April 25, 2017. REUTERS/ Rodi Said - RTS13V4H

White House still quiet on Turkish airstrike in run-up to Erdogan visit

The general US reactions to Turkish airstrikes in Syria have been loud, but the White House has yet to utter a single rebuke as Turkey's president packs for Washington.

A money changer counts Turkish lira bills at a currency exchange office in Istanbul January 24, 2014. A global flight from emerging market assets gathered pace on Friday, sending the Turkish lira to a record low and setting global shares on course for their worst week this year. European shares fell, especially in firms exposed to emerging markets, and a sell-off on Wall Street was poised to extend into a second day as investors worried about the impact of slower growth in China, U.S. monetary policy and po

Can Turkey disprove IMF's dismal economic growth forecast?

The International Monetary Fund expects the Turkish economy to further slow down in 2017, but Ankara believes it can disprove the forecast.

Kurdish fighters fire shells towards what they said were Islamic State strongholds in Tel Abyad of Raqqa governorate after they said they took control of the area June 15, 2015. Syrian Kurdish-led forces said they had captured a town at the Turkish border from Islamic State on Monday, driving it away from the frontier in an advance backed by U.S.-led air strikes that has thrust deep into the jihadists' Syria stronghold. The capture of Tel Abyad by the Kurdish YPG and smaller Syrian rebel groups means the Sy

Trump's generals wonder: What comes after Raqqa?

A senior US official says Turkish bombing of Syrian Kurdish forces is adding a new level of complexity to US efforts to defeat the Islamic State and retake Raqqa.

A Turkish soldier on an armoured military vehicle surveys the border line between Turkey and Syria, near the southeastern city of Kilis, Turkey, March 2, 2017. REUTERS/Murad Sezer - RTS115OV

Is Turkey trying to disrupt Raqqa operation?

In the lead-up to President Erdogan's Washington visit next month, Turkey's recent air attacks in Syria and Iraq might be a message that Turkey intends to play a more involved role in those countries.

A picture taken on April 7, 2017 at sunset shows a view of Hatay (aka Antakya) in southern Turkey. / AFP PHOTO / OZAN KOSE (Photo credit should read OZAN KOSE/AFP/Getty Images)

YPG, Turkish forces exchange fire on Syrian border

The diplomatic fallout from Turkey’s deadly airstrikes against Kurdish militants is growing as Turkey reacts angrily to US rebukes.