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

Turkey

Turkey

June 27, 2026

Ankara 5:30 pm

26°C

Members of the Jerusalem Armenian community hold placards as they march during commemorations for the 94th anniversary of mass killings of their kin under the Ottoman Empire, Jerusalem's Old City, April 24, 2009.

Explainer

Israel's Armenian genocide recognition marks new front against Turkey

Analysts say the expected vote for recognition is not morally motivated, but intended to spite the Turkish leader.

One of the first three US-made F-35 aircraft in Polish Air Force colors taxis along the runway at the 32nd Tactical Air Base in Lask, central Poland, while fire-fighting vehicles perform a water salute on May 22, 2026.

Trump hints at F-35 breakthrough with Turkey ahead of NATO summit

The administration is moving ahead with planned jet engine sales to Ankara ahead of next month’s NATO summit despite congressionally mandated sanctions on Turkey's defense industry.

Responders arrive to a demolished building at San Bernardino after a magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck Venezuela and other regions in the Caribbean on June 24, 2026 in Caracas, Venezuela.

Israel, Turkey, Iran offer aid as Venezuela’s 2 quakes kill at least 188

Iran, Turkey and Israel were among the first countries to offer assistance to earthquake-hit Venezuela despite their varying diplomatic relationships with Caracas.

Latest News

Turkey detains 233 ahead of NATO summit, including LGBTQ+ activist Yildiz Tar

Demonstrators take part in a rally against the upcoming NATO Summit early July in Ankara, on June 13, 2026.

Culture

Amid political setbacks, Kurds shine at the World Cup

Germany's forward #26 Deniz Undav (2nd R), an ethnic Kurd, scores his team's first goal during the 2026 World Cup Group E football match between Germany and Ivory Coast at the Toronto Stadium in Toronto on June 20, 2026.

Analysis

Turkey eyes gains from US-Iran deal as Ankara balances Tehran, Washington

This photograph shows a Turkish national flag at the Razi-Kapikoy border crossing with Iran next to a black flag on the Iranian side, following the death of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in eastern Turkey on March 2, 2026.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

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

Syria Democratic Forces (SDF) ride vehicles along a road near Manbij, in Aleppo Governorate, Syria, June 25, 2016. REUTERS/Rodi Said - RTX2I6B3

Battle for Syria's Manbij may redraw local alliances

The Syrian Democratic Forces are leading the battle to liberate Manbij, close to the Turkish border, which pushed Turkey to warn the Kurds about expanding their influence in their areas of control.

A Palestinian woman holds a Turkish flag as activists ride a boat during a rally ahead of the 4th anniversary of the Mavi Marmara Gaza flotilla incident, at the seaport of Gaza City May 29, 2014. Nine activists, eight Turkish and one Turkish-American, died on May 31, 2010, when Israeli commandos raided the Mavi Marmara ship, which was part of a flotilla seeking to break the blockade imposed on the Gaza Strip. A Turkish court issued arrest warrants on Monday for four former Israeli military commanders on tri

What Israel's payoff for Turkish civilians means for Palestinians

Now that Israel has agreed to compensate the families of the Mavi Marmara casualties it calls terrorists, Palestinians are hoping to advance their own claims for compensation.

After 20-year break, these Iranian Kurds are taking up arms again

In a surprise development, the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran, which has not used guns against the Iranian regime for 20 years, has resumed fighting, reportedly instigated by regional powers.

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators wave Turkish and Palestinian flags as they await the return of the expelled activists from Israel to Turkey, in downtown Istanbul late June 2, 2010. Israel began expelling all activists seized during a raid on an aid convoy sailing to Gaza that has drawn international outrage and officials on Wednesday vowed to prevent any other ships from reaching the coastal territory. Israel had said it would deport 682 activists from more than 35 countries taken into custody after the marit

How Erdogan’s Israeli gambit may cost him Islamist support

For the first time, the Islamist opposition is raising its voice loudly against Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, decrying the normalization agreement with Israel.

Russia's President Vladimir Putin (L) and Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan sit next to each other during their meeting in Baku, Azerbaijan, June 13, 2015. REUTERS/Alexei Druzhinin/RIA Novosti/Kremlin ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. IT IS DISTRIBUTED, EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS. - RTX1GBHP

Has Turkey finally made nice with Russia?

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s apology appears to have broken the ice with Russia, but the relationship still needs time to thaw.

(L-R) Ayelet, Zur, Lea, Simcha and Haimi, the family of Israeli soldier Lieutenant Hadar Goldin mourn during his funeral in Kfar Saba, near Tel Aviv August 3, 2014. An Israeli air strike killed 10 people and wounded about 30 on Sunday in a U.N.-run school in the southern Gaza Strip, a Palestinian official said, as dozens died in Israeli shelling of the enclave and Hamas fired rockets at Israel. The Israeli military said it was looking into the attack, the second to hit a school in less than a week. And amid

Why Israel-Turkey deal didn't include return of IDF soldiers' remains

Israel's Cabinet ministers made the decision that in the case of the agreement with Turkey, national interest prevailed over the human concern to return the bodies of killed soldiers.

ISTANBUL, Turkey: Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan delivers a speech in Istanbul on 12 October 2005 during the visit of German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder. Their talks were expected to focus on bilateral issues but also on the start of Turkey's membership negotiations with the European Union. AFP PHOTO DDP/MARCUS BRANDT (Photo credit should read MARCUS BRANDT/AFP/Getty Images)

Why Brexit makes life harder for Turkey

By voting to leave the European Union, Britons not only deepened Europe’s crisis, but dealt a blow to Turkey as well.

What airport attack means for Turkey's Syria policy

Until now, Ankara had sought to refocus the anger against IS on Kurdish groups, but does Tuesday’s attack mean this strategy will change?

What's really driving Turkish-Israeli reconciliation?

Turkey has started what looks like a sharp turn in its relations with Israel in consideration of shared security and military priorities, though it will take some time to rebuild ties to their former levels.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan makes a speech during his meeting with mukhtars at the Presidential Palace in Ankara, Turkey, March 16, 2016. REUTERS/Umit Bektas - RTSAPB4

How Erdogan became Turkey’s biggest media boss

A ferocious onslaught on critical media over the past year has left President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as Turkey’s biggest media boss.

Paramedics push a stretcher at Turkey's largest airport, Istanbul Ataturk, Turkey, following a blast June 28, 2016. REUTERS/Osman Orsal - RTX2IR3E

Will airport attack push Ankara to revive peace process with PKK?

If Turks had any delusion of seeing IS somehow less dangerous than the PKK, then they must have been woken by the ferocious attack on the Ataturk airport.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan arrives to take part in the jenazah, an Islamic funeral prayer, for the late boxing champion Muhammad Ali in Louisville, Kentucky, U.S. June 9, 2016. REUTERS/Adrees Latif - RTSGS76

Is Israel's agreement with Turkey a sign of Bibi's leadership?

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu boasted that the reconciliation agreement signed with Turkey reflects leadership on his part, but in truth he had no choice other than to make this decision.