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Turkey

Turkey

September 15, 2026

Ankara 4:04 am

14°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

Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, in traditional clothes, greets Syrian refugees with his wife Emine Erdogan as they visit a refugee camp near Akcakale border crossing on the Turkish-Syrian border, southern Sanliurfa province, December 30, 2012. REUTERS/Kayhan Ozer/Prime Minister's Press Office/Handout (TURKEYPOLITICS - Tags: POLITICS CONFLICT) 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 RECEIV

Why Now for Erdogan's Initiative With PKK?

Cengiz Çandar analyzes the links between Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's initiative to negotiate with the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), regional developments and the Turkish elections.

Turkey's European Union Minister Egemen Bagis speaks during a news conference in Istanbul October 12, 2011. European Union candidate Turkey's only goal in talks with the bloc is full membership and no other options are acceptable, Turkish EU Minister Egemen Bagis told a news conference on Wednesday after the release of the latest EU progress report. The Commission urged the European Union to continue talks with Turkey but said no progress was achieved in the last year, adding that it was concerned about ten

Last Hopes for 'European Turkey'

Kadri Gursel analyzes Turkey's European policies, its prospects for EU membership and what this all means for the "Turkish model."

Turkish and Turkish Cypriot flags wave next to a drilling tower 25 km (16 miles) from Famagusta April 26, 2012. Turkish Cypriot Leader Dervis Eroglu and Turkey's Energy Minister Taner Yildiz attended a ceremony marking the start of joint gas and oil exploration works in northern Cyprus between Turkey's state-owned energy company TPAO and the Turkish-Cypriot administration. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (CYPRUS - Tags: POLITICS ENERGY BUSINESS)

Greece Considers Exclusive Zone In Offshore Gas Fields

Tulin Daloglu analyzes the consequences of Greece declaring an exclusionary zone in the eastern Mediterranean Sea's gas fields.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (L) and Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu attend a news conference after their meeting in Istanbul August 11, 2012. REUTERS/Osman Orsal (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS)

Turkey-US Ties 'Closer Than Ever' Says Turkish Ambassador Tan

Semih Idiz writes that Ankara is pleased with the nomination of Chuck Hagel as secretary of defense and US-Turkish relations are stronger than ever, despite some friction over Turkish trade with Iran.

A Free Syrian Army fighter fires his weapon towards positions occupied by forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad in the old city of Aleppo January 7, 2013. REUTERS/Muzaffar Salman (SYRIA - Tags: CONFLICT POLITICS CIVIL UNREST TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)

Armed Syrian Opposition Enables Assad's Hold on Power

Tulin Daloglu reports on how the armed opposition to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has hindered efforts for a political solution in Syria.

Turkey's main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) lawmakers and Parliament Chairman Cemil Cicek (rear C) argue during a debate at the parliament in Ankara February 8, 2012. REUTERS/Stringer (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS)

Are All ‘Turks’ Really Turks?

Mustafa Akyol considers how Turkish identity and citizenship will be defined in the next Turkish constitution.

Syrian Kurds demonstrators hold flags and portraits of jailed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Ocalan during a protest in Derik, Hasakah November 1, 2012. Around 1,000 Syrian Kurds protested in the north-eastern Syrian town of Derik on Thursday, demanding the re-opening of Kurdish-language schools they said were closed by President's Bashar al-Assad's regime. REUTERS/Thaier al-Sudani (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT EDUCATION)

Dealing with Ocalan Not Enough For Erdogan

Kadri Gursel writes that whether the Turkish government’s intention is to stall for time with Ocalan to secure another violence-free election period or whether it is truly an intention to solve the Kurdish issue, the task of the AKP is a formidable one.

Israel's Energy Minister Uzi Landau (rear C) watches as Nasos Ktorides (front C), chairman of DEH Quantum Energy, and Israel Electric Corp (IEC) Chairman Yiftach Ron-Tal (front R) sign a memorandum of understanding in Jerusalem March 4, 2012. Israel and Cyprus began a feasibility study on Sunday for the construction of an underwater electric cable between the two countries that would ensure their energy security and offer Israel a channel to export energy to Europe. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun (JERUSALEM - Tags: P

Turkey-Israel-Cyprus Triangle And Mediterranean Gas

Tulin Daloglu writes that Israel’s strategic partnership with the Republic of Cyprus, including over Mediterranean gas fields, is yet another complication in Israeli-Turkish relations.

A demonstrator holds a flag with a portrait of jailed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Ocalan during a protest in Strasbourg February 18, 2012. Thousands of demonstrators protested in support of Ocalan, who was captured on February 15, 1999, and is currently serving a life sentence in Turkey. REUTERS/Vincent Kessler (FRANCE - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST)

The Transformation of Ocalan

Cengiz Candar writes that officials were once portraying Abdullah Ocalan as the “worst villain” and “greatest Satan,” but in the first days of 2013 Ocalan appears to have become “No. 1 partner” in efforts to resolve Turkey’s No. 1 problem.

Relatives holding pictures and belongings of air strike victims mourn during a funeral ceremony in Gulyazi near the southeastern Turkish town of Uludere, in the Sirnak province, December 30, 2011. Turkish rights groups called on Friday for a U.N.-sponsored investigation after Turkish warplanes killed 35 villagers in an airstrike targeting Kurdish rebels on the Iraqi border that the government has called an operational mistake. REUTERS/Stringer (TURKEY - Tags: CIVIL UNREST DISASTER)

Turkey's Guernica

The Turkish military's attack on the Kurdish town of Uludere (Roboski in Turkish), in which 34 children were killed, evokes memories of the Spanish attack on the Basque town of Guernica in 1937, writes Cengiz Candar.

Turkish Shi'ite women shout Islamic slogans as they mourn during an Ashura procession in Istanbul November 24, 2012. Muslims all over the world mourn the slaying of Imam Hussein during the first ten days of the Islamic month of Muharram. Imam Hussein was killed by his political rivals along with 72 companions in the seventh century battle of Kerbala. REUTERS/Murad Sezer (TURKEY - Tags: ANNIVERSARY RELIGION CIVIL UNREST)

Turkey's Sectarian War With Iran Over Syria and Iraq

Semih Idiz examines the evolution of the sectarian conflict between Turkey and Iran over Iraq and Syria.

A man looks at portraits of people who were executed, disappeared or died in jail during military rule after a 1980 coup, as protesters demonstrate in front of a courthouse in Ankara April 4, 2012. Thousands of mainly leftist protesters gathered outside the court, waving flags and shouting slogans demanding justice and the prosecution of more than just the coup ring-leaders. More than 30 years after the September 12, 1980 military takeover, an Ankara court began hearing the case against 94-year-old Retired

Trial Is Latest Round In AKP Attack on Military

Tulin Daloglu writes that the current trial of former military leaders is another sign that the AKP’s democratization agenda is really about curtailing any threat from the military.