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Turkey

Turkey

September 13, 2026

Ankara 6:52 pm

26°C

People swim next to the Russian-flagged cargo ship OMSKIY-107, which was attacked off the Black Sea coast and eventually ran aground off the shore of the Sile district, Istanbul, Sept. 3, 2026.

Why Turkey has few options to protect Black Sea shipping

The Russia-Ukraine drone war is hitting Turkish commercial interests, exposing the limits of Ankara’s ability to protect shipping while remaining outside the conflict.

Fighters loyal to the Houthi authorities gather during a rally to recruit more fighters in Sanaa on Sept. 10, 2026.

Analysis

Saudi Arabia's Houthi crisis tests alliances with Trump, Turkey and Pakistan

As the Houthis tighten their grip on the Bab al-Mandeb, Saudi Arabia is turning to new regional alliances while Washington resists calls to intervene.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Latest News

Turkey’s defense giants court Egypt at Alamein Airshow: What to know

El Alamein International Airshow

Russia to give Turkey preferential fertilizer access amid Hormuz supply crunch

In this pool photograph distributed by the Russian state agency Sputnik, Russia's President Vladimir Putin and Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan hold a meeting on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Bishkek on September 1, 2026. (Photo by Kristina Solovyova / POOL / AFP via Getty Images)

Culture

Turkish ceramicist Leyla Borovali shapes Aegean heritage into clay

Leyla Borovali at her studio overlooking the Aegean

Analysis

With Hurjet test, Turkey seeks defense dominance beyond drones

TAI Hurjet

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Samuel Wendel

Senior Analyst, Middle East Business & Tech

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 protester prepares to throw a stone at Turkish riot police during clashes after protesters tried to march to a courthouse in Silivri, where a hearing on people charged with attempting to overthrow Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's Islamist-rooted government is due to take place August 5, 2013. A Turkish court on Monday sentenced a former military commander to life in prison and dozens of others including opposition members of parliament to long terms for plotting against the government, in a case that has e

Turkish Judicial System Takes Blow in Ergenekon Verdict

Huseyin Celik, spokesman of the ruling Justice and Development Party, says if Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founding father of Turkey, was alive, he would not even allow the defense lawyers in the Ergenekon trials to "peel potatoes."

Protesters hold Turkish flags as they gather near a courthouse in Silivri, where a hearing on people charged with attempting to overthrow Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's Islamist-rooted government is due to take place, August 5, 2013. A Turkish court sentenced retired military chief of staff General Ilker Basbug to life in jail on Monday for his role in the "Ergenekon" conspiracy to overthrow the government of Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan. The court judges, announcing verdicts on the 275 defendants in the

The White, Black and Gray Of the Ergenekon Trial

That fervent belief in secrecy is behind the excesses of the Ergenekon case in Turkey.

Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan (2nd R) gestures as he welcomes Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (2nd L) before holding talks in Istanbul December 22, 2010. They were accompanied by Iran's Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi (L) and Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu. REUTERS/Tolga Bozoglu/Pool (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS) - RTXVYLW

Turkey’s Tentative Iranian Spring

Although Iran is not expected to change its Syria policy, working with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani may help ease regional tensions.

A couple visits the site of the 13th century Haghia Sophia Church in Trabzon January 25, 2007. This sleepy Black Sea town is struggling to understand how it could produce youngsters capable of killing in cold blood. Police have charged Ogun Samast, 17, from Trabzon with the murder of prominent Turkish Armenian editor Hrant Dink, a year after another teenager shot dead an Italian Catholic priest as he prayed in his church in the same city. Picture taken January 25, 2007. To match feature TURKEY-NATIONALIS

Another Byzantine Church Becomes Mosque in Turkey

The recent conversion of a Byzantine church in Trabzon from a museum to a mosque is prompting worries that Hagia Sophia in Istanbul might be next.

Turkish riot police take security measures around a courthouse in Silivri, where a hearing on people charged with attempting to overthrow Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's Islamist-rooted government is due to take place, August 5, 2013. A Turkish court on Monday began sentencing nearly 300 defendants accused of plotting to overthrow the government, handing prison sentences of up to 20 years to some and acquitting 21 others in a case that has exposed deep divisions in the country. REUTERS/Osman Orsal (TURKEY -

How Turks Misinterpret Ergenekon

Following the verdicts of Turkey's Ergenekon case, are Turks having the right kinds of discussions?

Protesters run after a prison van as an unidentified defendant sticks his fist out as he's driven to a courthouse in Silivri, where a hearing for people charged with attempting to overthrow Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's Islamist-rooted government is due to take place, August 5, 2013. A Turkish court on Monday began sentencing nearly 300 defendants accused of plotting to overthrow the government, handing prison sentences of up to 20 years to some and acquitting 21 others. The court was announcing the verdi

Former Chief of Staff Is a Convicted 'Terrorist'

One needs to worry for younger Turkish generations as to what it means when the courts send Ilker Basbug, a former chief of general staff, behind bars for life as a “terrorist organization leader.”

A protester pushes into Turkish soldiers during clashes near Silivri, where a hearing on people charged with attempting to overthrow Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's Islamist-rooted government is due to take place August 5, 2013. A Turkish court on Monday sentenced a former military commander to life in prison and dozens of others including opposition members of parliament to long terms for plotting against the government, in a case that has exposed deep divisions in the country. Retired military chief of st

Turkey’s Ergenekon Verdicts: Justice or Vengeance?

After a case that lasted five years, more than 250 Turkish defendants were charged with belonging to "Ergenekon" and plotting an overthrow of the Erdogan government and were sentenced to, in some cases, life in prison.

An unidentified defendant waves out of a van as he's driven to a courthouse in Silivri, where a hearing for people charged with attempting to overthrow Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's Islamist-rooted government is due to take place, August 5, 2013. A Turkish court on Monday began sentencing nearly 300 defendants accused of plotting to overthrow the government, handing prison sentences of up to 20 years to some and acquitting 21 others. The court was announcing the verdicts individually. Verdicts on high-pro

Ergenekon Verdicts Mark Milestone for Turkish Democracy

With the Ergenekon verdicts, Turkey is taking a very critical step on the path to true democracy.

Free Syrian Army fighters sit together with Syrian Kurdish fighters inside a house in Ashrafieh, Aleppo August 5, 2013. The Syrian opposition flag (L) hangs next to the Kurdish flag on the wall behind. REUTERS/Aref Hretani (SYRIA - Tags: CONFLICT POLITICS TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTX12B7O

Kurdish Civilians Fear Reprisals in Northern Syria

Syrian Kurdish opposition groups claim rebel forces may be targeting Kurdish civilians.

A Kurdish fighter from the Popular Protection Units (YPG) holds his weapon as he takes position atop a building with a YPG flag in Aleppo's Sheikh Maqsoud neighbourhood, June 7, 2013. Kurdish fighters from the YPG joined the Free Syrian Army to fight against forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad. Picture taken June 7, 2013. REUTERS/Muzaffar Salman (SYRIA - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS CONFLICT) - RTX10USX

Border Clashes Confront Turkey With 'Afghanistan of the Levant'

Clashes adjacent to Turkey's border with Syria have the potential of causing a lot of headache for Turkey, not only for their security implications but also for the international image of Turkey and the country's relations with allies, primarily the United States.

Prince Bandar bin Sultan (R), secretary-general of Saudi Arabia's National Security Council, and Russia's Prime Minister Vladimir Putin enter a hall for a signing ceremony in Moscow July 14, 2008. Picture taken July 14, 2008. RUSSIA/RIA Novosti/Alexei Druzhinin/Pool (RUSSIA) - RTX7XR3

Russia Considers Saudi Angle in Syria

The visit of Bandar bin Sultan, director-general of Saudi Arabia's intelligence agency, to Moscow last month was all about Syria.

A worker fixes a giant portrait of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk at the top of the Ataturk Cultural Center in Istanbul's Taksim Square June 28, 2013. REUTERS/Osman Orsal (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTX114YL

Turkey at Post-Kemalist Crossroads

Turkey is going through a post-Kemalist transition with problems and habits of the former region still prevailing.