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Turkey

Turkey

July 7, 2026

Ankara 1:56 am

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Analysis

As it hosts NATO, Turkey eyes France's SAMP/T system, F-35 progress with Trump

Turkey is set to host NATO leaders as doubts over US commitment linger prompting Ankara to seeks its own defense deals with Paris and Washington.

Ezgi Akin

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

ABIR SULTAN / AFP via Getty Images

Israel, Greece conduct military drills ahead of NATO summit in Turkey

Photos published by the Greek military showed fighter jets from both countries flying side by side over the Aegean Sea.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan delivers a speech after a signing ceremony with Libyan Government of National Unity prime minister at the Presidential Complex in Ankara, on April 12, 2021.

Analysis

In Libya, maritime dispute could complicate Turkey’s backing of US unity push

Turkey and the US increasingly share an interest in stabilizing Libya through a Tripoli-Benghazi power-sharing deal, though their alignment may hinge on the durability of any such deal and Washington's stance on Ankara's disputed 2019 maritime agreement.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Latest News

Culture

Turkish standup comic detained after act calling Erdogan 'dictator' goes viral

A screenshot of one of Deniz Goktas' standup routines posted to YouTube.

Turkish jets strike al-Shabab targets in Somalia: What to know

Somalia's President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud speaks during the launch of an offshore energy exploration at the port in Mogadishu on April 10, 2026.

Explainer

Turkey eases job rules for 1M+ Syrians under temporary protection: What to know

Syrian textile employees work in a textile workshop in Gaziantep, Turkey, on Jan. 30, 2025.

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

KAREN MINASYAN / AFP via Getty Images

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

Syrian Kurds practise reading the Kurdish language at a school in Derik, Al-Hasakah October 31, 2012. Iraqi Kurdish President Masoud Barzani warned Kurds in Syria against being sucked into the "fires of discord," urging them to preserve Kurdish unity as tensions between rival factions threaten to spillover into violence. Syria's Kurds see the war ravaging their country as an unprecedented opportunity to gain the kind of freedoms enjoyed by their ethnic kin in neighbouring Iraq, where they live autonomously

Erdogan’s 'Now Or Never' Moment In Turkish-Kurdish Peace Process

Pressure is mounting on Turkey’s peace process, with such issues as teaching the Kurdish language in schools proving particularly important.

Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi (R) meets with Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan at the Presidential Palace in Cairo November 17, 2012. REUTERS/Egyptian Presidency/Handout (EGYPT - Tags: POLITICS) FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS. THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. IT IS DISTRIBUTED, EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS - RTR3AINS

Turkey’s 'Precious Isolation' In the Middle East

Foreign policy decisions by the Erdogan government, including on Egypt and Syria, have left Turkey without any influence over events in the Middle East.

A Turkish peacekeeper of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) closes a gate of the Turkish Engineering Construction Company (TURKCOY) of UNIFIL in the village of Shaaytiyeh, southern Lebanon, August 12, 2013. Gunmen abducted two Turkish Airlines pilots in Beirut on Friday, forcing them from an airport bus in the early hours of the morning and prompting Turkey to urge its citizens to leave Lebanon. Turkey warned it citizens against non-essential travel to Lebanon and called on those already i

Turkey Takes Sides, Pays a Price

The kidnappings in Lebanon are only one of the prices of Turkey’s ill-conceived, sectarian-nature foreign policy — which is nothing new.

Turkish Children Steered Toward Religious Education

AKP policies are forcing a majority of children to be pushed toward either religious education or vocational schools.

Fethullah Erdogan.jpg

Is a Power Struggle Brewing Between Erdogan and Gulen?

A major struggle between the two most important players in Turkish politics could be on the horizon.

Visitors leave the "Tracing Istanbul", an exhibition of works by Greek artists, at the Greek Orthodox seminary in Heybeliada island near Istanbul September 4, 2010. An Istanbul seminary closed in 1971 is hosting its first public event in 40 years, raising hopes it may shortly be reopened by Turkey and once again educate priests for the Greek Orthodox community. The European Union and the United States have pressed EU membership hopeful Turkey to reopen the historic school, which occupies a beautiful and com

Patriarch Asks Turkey to End Stalemate Over Shuttered Seminary

The ecumenical patriarch of the Greek Orthodox Church has his fingers crossed that the Turkish government will reopen the theological seminary on Istanbul’s Halki Island.

Smoke rises after what activists said was shelling by forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad in the village of Dourit, in Latakia countryside August 17, 2013. Picture taken August 17, 2013. REUTERS/Khattab Abdulaa (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTX12PMS

Syria's Alawites Torn Between Regime, Opposition

While many analysts inside and outside Syria seem to assume Syrian Alawites support President Bashar al-Assad’s Baathist regime, the reality on the ground is much more nuanced.

A protester supporting ousted Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi carries an injured demonstrator (R) during clashes outside Azbkya police station at Ramses Square in Cairo, August 16, 2013. About 50 people were killed in protests in Cairo on Friday, security officials said. Thousands of supporters of deposed President Mohamed Mursi have been staging nationwide protests against a security crackdown on Islamists. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh (EGYPT - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTX12NQA

The Muslim Brotherhood’s Final Card?

Al-Monitor’s coverage of the bloodshed in Egypt.

Soldiers stand guard on an armoured personnel carrier positioned outside Ramses Square, near al-Fath mosque in Cairo August 17, 2013. Egyptian authorities rounded up more than 1,000 Islamists as the Muslim Brotherhood leadership defiantly called a week of nationwide protests starting on Saturday after a day of carnage. After Friday's bloodshed in which more than 100 people died in clashes that pushed Egypt ever closer to anarchy, tensions were high with supporters of ousted Islamist President Mohamed Mursi

The Aftermath of 72 Tumultuous Hours in Cairo

Egypt’s January 2011 revolution is beyond restoration.

Islamic preacher Fethullah Gulen is pictured at his residence in Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania in this December 28, 2004 file photo. A rare defence from a secretive Islamic movement of its role in Turkish political life has exposed a rift with Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan that could weaken one of modern Turkey's most powerful leaders. The spell of Gulen, a 72-year-old U.S.-based Islamic preacher with a global network of schools, whose supporters say they number in the millions, has long loomed large over Turke

Gulenist-AKP Clash Is Now in the Open

A statement by the Journalists and Writers Foundation of the Gulen movement exposes the clash with the ruling Justice and Development Party.

Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan gestures as he addresses the media before leaving for Turkmenistan at Esenboga Airport in Ankara August 15, 2013. Erdogan called on Thursday for the U.N. Security Council to convene quickly and act after what he described as a massacre in Egypt, during a news conference in Ankara. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX12M4D

Rumors of Erdogan’s Health Problems Ring False

Despite mounting speculations about his health, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan looks pretty healthy for a man who has been alleged with having colon cancer.

Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari speaks at the Diplomatic and Political Joint Coordinating Committee meeting hosted by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry at the State Department in Washington August 15, 2013. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX12MHG

Iraqi Official: Rouhani 'Means Serious Business' With US

Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari says the Iranian leadership could have prevented Hassan Rouhani from becoming president if it wanted to continue hard-line policies toward the United States.