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Turkey

US President Donald Trump walks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during a state arrival ceremony at the Bestepe Presidential Complex for the annual NATO Summit on July 7, 2026 in Ankara, Turkey.

Explainer

Why Trump bid to lift CAATSA sanctions on Turkey faces complicated path

Trump's announcement could reset US-Turkey defense ties, but congressional approval and separate legal restrictions stand in the way.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (L) welcomes US President Donald Trump (R) upon his arrival on Air Force One at Etimesgut Air Base near Ankara, on July 7, 2026, before attending the 36th NATO Heads of State and Government Summit. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Trump's F-35 push for Turkey runs into CAATSA — and Israel

Israel fears that Washington may be shifting its strategic options toward Turkey as the two rivals push for regional hegemony.

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

Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney (R) is welcomed by Turkey's Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek upon arrival at Esenboga Airport to attend the 36th NATO Heads of State and Government Summit in Ankara on July 7, 2026. (Photo by Muhammed Abdullah Kurtar / POOL / AFP via Getty Images)

Canada, Turkey launch free trade talks on NATO summit sidelines

Trade between the two countries stood at $4.3 billion in 2025, and officials from both countries will meet to lay the groundwork for the first FTA negotiations.

Latest News

Trump says US will lift CAATSA sanctions on Turkey, consider F-35 sale

Trump Erdogan

Analysis

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

sampt-t

Ezgi Akin

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

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

ABIR SULTAN / AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

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

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.

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

Turkish classical pianist Fazil Say performs during a concert in Ankara October 14, 2010. Internationally acclaimed Turkish classical pianist Fazil Say goes on trial on charges of insulting Muslim religious values in comments he posted on Twitter. REUTERS/Stringer (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST SOCIETY) - RTR399ZY

Turkey’s New 'Sunni Islam' Taboo

The 10-month suspended prison sentence of pianist Fazil Say on grounds of his (re)tweets is the signal for an introduction of a new taboo called “Sunni Islam” in Turkey, writes Kadri Gursel.

Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan makes his address during a meeting with the 'wise people' commission in Istanbul April 4, 2013, in this picture provided by the Turkish Prime Minister's Press Office. Erdogan chaired an inaugural meeting of the 'wise people' commission, who will be consulted on a peace process with Kurdish militants. The commission is made up of academics, journalists and performing artists, and established by the government to promote the peace process nationwide. REUTERS/Kayhan Ozer/

Erdogan Asks 'Wise People' To Make Case for Peace

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has chosen a delegation of "Wise People" to convince Turkish citizens about the benefits of his Kurdish peace plan, writes Kadri Gursel.

Pro-Kurdish BDP party supporters attend a rally in support of Syrian Kurds in Viransehir February 3, 2013. REUTERS/Osman Orsal (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS CONFLICT CIVIL UNREST) - RTR3DAO0

Turkey’s Kurdish Initiative May Affect Syria's Kurds

Cengiz Candar writes on the relationship between Turkey's peace initiative and its policies in Syria.

Sculptures are seen on a hill near the Israeli Syrian border in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights March 24, 2013. Israel said it fired into Syria on Sunday and destroyed a machinegun position in the Golan Heights from where shots had been fired at Israeli soldiers in a further spillover of the Syrian civil war along a tense front. Israel captured the Golan Heights in the 1967 Middle East war and annexed it in 1981 in a move not recognized internationally. REUTERS/Baz Ratner (MILITARY POLITICS) - RTXXW5G

Israel and Muslim Brotherhood Face the Same Enemy

As Israel prepares to celebrate its 65th Independence Day free of conventional threats, Iran's nuclear threat still looms, writes Alon Ben David.

Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal makes a speech during the congress of Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) in Ankara September 30, 2012. Erdogan trumpeted Turkey's credentials as a rising democratic power on Sunday, saying his Islamist-rooted ruling party had become an example to the Muslim world after a decade in charge. Leaders including Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi, Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev and Masoud Barzani, president of Iraq's autonomous Kurdis

Israeli Apology Pushes Hamas Away From Turkey

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s apology to Turkish counterpart Erdogan over the Mavi Marmara incident has brought Turkey closer to Israel but pushed Hamas away, writes Adnan Abu Amer.

Jordan's King Abdullah (L) welcomes Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas at the Royal Palace in Amman March 31, 2013. REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed (JORDAN - Tags: POLITICS) - RTXY3S1

Is There a New 'Jordan Option'?

A meeting in Jordan between King Abdullah II and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, soon after the visit of US President Barack Obama to Jordan, may signal a new role for Jordan, writes Akiva Eldar.

Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a news conference in Ankara October 19, 2011. Turkish troops killed 15 Kurdish militants in clashes in southeast Turkey near the Iraqi border on Wednesday after attacks by the rebels which killed 26 soldiers, security officials in the region told Reuters. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS CONFLICT) - RTR2SUBU

Should the Turkish Government Break The Law For Peace?

Although Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyep Erdogan insists that the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) should withdraw from Turkey without their weapons, this is not likely to happen, writes Kadri Gursel.

Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrives for a news conference as he is flanked by Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu (L), Economy Minister Zafer Caglayan (R) and officials before his flight to Denmark for an official visit at Esenboga Airport in Ankara March 19, 2013. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3F72Z

Turkey Seeks Ottoman Sphere Of Influence

Normalization of ties with the Kurds and Israel are part of a broader strategy for an Ottoman sphere of influence and confrontation with the "Shiite axis," writes Kadri Gursel.

Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan addresses the media before his flight to Denmark for an official visit at Esenboga Airport in Ankara March 19, 2013. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3F72Q

Did Erdogan Really Accept Netanyahu's Apology?

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has accepted the Israeli apology for the Mavi Marmara incident, but sticks to the same anti-Israeli rhetoric as before, writes Arad Nir.

Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahceli addresses his supporters during an election rally in Ankara, June 4, 2011. Turkey will hold parliamentary elections on June 12. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: ELECTIONS POLITICS) - RTR2NA7B

Turkey's Nationalists Threaten Inter-Communal Fighting

The peace process between the Turkish government and the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) has given raise to a nationalist backlash, writes Cengiz Candar.

Members of Armenian community in Romania hold banners during a rally marking the anniversary of mass killings of Armenians in Ottoman Empire in 1915, in downtown Bucharest April 24, 2012. Armenia, backed by many historians and parliaments, says that about 1.5 million Christian Armenians were killed in what is now eastern Turkey during World War One in a deliberate policy of genocide ordered by the Ottoman government. Successive Turkish governments and the vast majority of Turks feel that the charge of genoc

Will Non-Muslims Return to Turkey?

Although Turkey's Minister of Culture Omer Celik of the AKP is inviting Turkey's non-Muslims to return to their country, many do not feel welcome because of a complicted history, writes Orhan Kemal Cengiz.

An Israeli flag flutters in the wind as a naval vessel (not seen) escorts the Mavi Marmara, a Gaza-bound ship that was raided by Israeli marines, to the Ashdod port May 31, 2010. Israeli marines stormed the Turkish aid ship bound for Gaza on Monday and 10 pro-Palestinian activists were killed, triggering a profound diplomatic crisis. REUTERS/Amir Cohen (ISRAEL - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTR2ELLI

Will Israel Warm Up To Moderate Islamists?

Mustafa Akyol argues that its recent apology to Turkey shows Israel can find a way toward peace with Islamists.