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Turkey

Turkey

December 31, 2025

Ankara 5:47 am

4°C

Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Analysis

Iran threats, flattery, unresolved gaps: What Trump really gave Netanyahu at Mar-a-Lago

At their meeting at Mar-a-Lago, President Donald Trump heaped compliments on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu but offered few concrete achievements.

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

A picture taken at the port of Dilovasi, outside Istanbul, on June 20, 2019, shows the drilling ship Yavuz scheduled to search for oil and gas off Cyprus.

Turkey eyes offshore energy pact with Syria in 2026 amid East Med isolation

Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar has offered up details on a deal with Syria that could unsettle regional rivals in the gas-rich Eastern Mediterranean.

This aerial view shows residents waving Somaliland flags as they gather to celebrate Israel's announcement recognizing Somaliland's statehood in downtown Hargeisa, on Dec. 26, 2025.

Somalia’s president heads to Turkey as Israel’s Somaliland recognition rattles region

The Somali leader’s visit comes amid a heightened Turkish-Israeli rivalry, fueled by Israel’s recognition of Somaliland, in the region and beyond.

Latest News

Australian LNG deal marks latest step in Turkey's energy diversification push

Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

Analysis

Turkey's defense sector enters 2026 with naval progress — and unresolved vulnerabilities

Turkish naval forces patrol vessel TCG F 500 and an unidentified submarine (back) sail during a military naval parade on the Bosphorus in Istanbul on Oct. 29, 2023.

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

ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images

Turkey’s middle class priced out of home ownership

Buying a home has become an elusive dream even for middle-class professionals in Turkey as the country’s economic woes erupt into a perfect storm over the housing market.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg poses with application documents presented by Finland's Ambassador to NATO Klaus Korhonen and Sweden's Ambassador to NATO Axel Wernhoff during a ceremony to mark Sweden's and Finland's application for membership in Brussels, on May 18, 2022.

US assures Sweden, Finland of military support as Turkey delays NATO entry

Turkish Airlines Airbus A321 takes off.

Airport wars flare up in Turkey amid claims of Gulf acquisition

A row over the fate of Istanbul’s iconic Ataturk Airport has escalated in Turkey amid opposition claims that a plan to demolish the facility is designed to gratify Gulf investors interested in operating the city’s newer airport.

ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images

How Sweden, Finland’s NATO membership could impact Turkey

If Ankara can be tactful about Stockholm and Helsinki’s possible membership in NATO, it has a chance to see its concerns addressed.

Chris McGrath/Getty Images

Turkish government discovers 'astroturfing'

Seemingly acting on social media calls, the Turkish government cracks down on the secular lifestyle, experts warn.

HENRIK MONTGOMERY/TT News Agency/AFP via Getty Images

How long can Erdogan sustain threat to veto Finnish, Swedish NATO bids?

Erdogan shakes up otherwise unified Western alliance on Ukraine war.

OZAN KOSE/AFP via Getty Images

Opposition claims military contractor poses risk to Turkish elections

Kemal Kilicdaroglu has highlighted security company Sadat as a potential threat to polls due over next year.

A real estate advertising offers apartments and houses with the view on the canal, in the small coastal village of Karaburun, near Istanbul, on June 12, 2018.

Erdogan’s home loan incentives threaten to fan inflation

A further increase in already skyrocketing home prices appears inevitable in Turkey following Erdogan’s announcement of loan incentives, a move that many pundits see as pouring fuel on the inflation fire.

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan gives a press conference after the NATO summit at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) headquarters in Brussels on June 14, 2021.

Turkey continues to play hard ball over Sweden, Finland NATO membership

Turkey’s Islamic-leaning Justice and Development Party government is demanding that both countries end their arms embargoes on Turkey over its military intervention in 2019 against the Kurds in northeast Syria.

Recreational boats along the shore of the salt lake of Urmia and Shahid Kalantari causeway crossing it in Iran.

Is a water crisis brewing between Turkey and Iran?

Discord over transboundary waters and dam construction emerges as a major factor underlying the strains in Turkish-Iranian ties.

EVAN VUCCI/AFP via Getty Images

Erdogan dampens Finland, Sweden’s hope to join NATO

Turkey is pumping the brakes on Finland and Sweden’s NATO bids amid the growing confrontation between Russia and the West.

OZAN KOSE/AFP via Getty Images

Culture

Experts warn Istanbul's iconic Hagia Sophia at risk as ancient gate damaged

The Hagia Sophia's damaged 1,400-year-old imperial gate could be the first of many disasters in the world heritage site due to neglect.