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

Turkey

Turkey

June 30, 2026

Ankara 3:23 pm

31°C

KAREN MINASYAN / AFP via Getty Images

Turkey, Azerbaijan slam Israel’s Armenian genocide recognition as Yerevan mum

Ankara accused Israel of weaponizing history as Armenia avoided public comment amid delicate regional diplomacy.

From (L-R) Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan and Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan attend a meeting in Cairo on June 21, 2026.

Analysis

Why Turkey and Egypt are deepening military ties amid regional turmoil

Turkey and Egypt are expanding military cooperation as overlapping security challenges, from Libya and Sudan to Gaza and the Red Sea, bring the former rivals closer together.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

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.

Latest News

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

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.

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

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.

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

Can Turkish lemons soothe Ankara-Moscow relations?

Turks are wondering why Russia is embargoing everything but lemons and nuts.

The rapid rise and fall of Turkey’s pro-Kurdish party

Selahattin Demirtas, who led the Peoples’ Democratic Party to electoral success in Turkish politics, is now presiding over its downfall.

Palestinians fear Turkey will drop condition that Israel lift Gaza siege

Turkey has long insisted that Israel lift its siege on the Gaza Strip before Turkish-Israeli relations can be normalized, but a recent warming of ties suggests this may change.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan makes a speech during his meeting with mukhtars at the Presidential Palace in Ankara, Turkey, November 26, 2015. REUTERS/Umit Bektas - RTX1VY0U

Turkey lobbyists bring Ankara’s war with Gulen to Washington

Ankara has hired a British law firm to go after Erdogan’s main rival in his self-imposed US exile.

Turkey-Israel dialogue works 'miracle' for Istanbul’s Jews

Turkey’s Jews hold an unprecedented public celebration of Hanukkah amid renewed efforts to normalize Turkish-Israeli ties.

Demonstrators cover their faces as they clash with riot police during a protest against the curfew in Sur district, in the southeastern city of Diyarbakir, Turkey, December 14, 2015. Turkish police fired tear gas and water cannon to disperse a protest against a security crackdown in the main southeastern city of Diyarbakir on Monday, witnesses said, while curfews were declared elsewhere in the region. Turkey's mainly Kurdish southeast has been beset by unrest in recent months as security forces battle Kurdi

Are clashes spreading to western Turkey?

If pressure on the PKK becomes too intense in the clashes in the southeast, there are signs the group might mobilize its proxies to spread violence to western Turkey.

Despite strict alcohol regulations, taverna culture alive in Turkey

Despite increasing alcohol prices and draconian regulations for alcohol licenses, traditional and modern versions of meyhanes are flourishing, offering Turks a place to gather and share raki.

Holidaymakers rest at a beach in the resort town of Bodrum July 14, 2014. As families splash in the sea and lounge in the sun, thoughts of politics and civic duty are a world away for most Turks holidaying on the Aegean and Mediterranean coasts. Only the most committed opponents of Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan leave the beach to queue in a sweltering council building nearby to register to vote in next month's presidential election to prevent what they see as the country's slide towards authoritarianism. Th

Why Turkey’s beaches, hard liquor are losing allure among Iranians

The deteriorating security situation in eastern Turkey coupled with Ankara's hostile rhetoric toward Iran is decreasing the allure of Turkey's liberal beach resorts among Iranians.

Turkey’s foreign policy prospects for 2016 not so promising

Analysts say the AKP government has itself to blame for Turkey’s loss of prestige and influence in its region, where it has more rivals than friends today.

Amid financial hardship, Erdogan looks to Qatar as 'rich daddy'

Turkey’s leadership, increasingly isolated in the region amid spats with Russia and Iraq, knocks on the doors of Israel and Qatar, with the latter providing much-needed foreign investment.

Cyberattacks reveal Turkey’s weaknesses

Computer servers in Turkey have been the targets of a major cyberattack for the past two weeks.

Turkey goes all in on drones

Ankara is rushing to manufacture unmanned aerial vehicles for economic, political and military reasons, but Turkey needs to develop a drone doctrine and consider the ethical ramifications before their use proliferates.