Turkey - AL-MONITOR: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

Turkey

Turkey

July 12, 2026

Ankara 7:46 pm

27°C

Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer (L) and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan pose after signing a defense partnership agreement on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, Wednesday, July 8, 2026.

Analysis

From S-400s to SAMP/T: Turkey’s defense pivot gathers pace after NATO summit

Turkey is seeking to turn the diplomatic momentum from the Ankara NATO summit into a broad defense realignment spanning US sanctions relief and fighter technology, European air defenses and deeper military cooperation with the UK.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Lebanese PM Salam in Turkey as Erdogan seeks wider regional role

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam’s visit to Turkey comes after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan recently warned that Israeli attacks against Lebanon and Syria threaten Turkey’s security.

Latest News

In first, Russia confirms S-400 talks with Turkey amid transfer reports to acquire F-35

AFP via Getty Images

Turkey brokers intra-Somalia talks as federal rifts test Ankara’s influence

Minister of Energy and Natural Resources of Turkey Alparslan Bayraktar speaks during the launch of an offshore energy exploration at the port in Mogadishu on April 10, 2026.

Trump 'undecided' on Turkey's F-35s as Congress seeks answers on S-400

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

Turkish prosecutor shares grisly details of Khashoggi killing

Turkey is pressing on with its campaign to force the kingdom to admit its culpability in the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan leave after a news conference at the chancellery in Berlin, Germany, September 28, 2018. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch - RC1176EAE300

Is the Turkish-German spring illusive?

Turkey and Germany are demonstrating willingness to set aside political rows and focus on economic ties, but the thaw in the relationship guarantees neither the investments Turkey expects nor the solution of accumulated problems.

Jailed businessman and philanthropist Osman Kavala's lawyers attend a press conference on October 31, 2018 to ask Osman Kavala's release, - Osman Kavala was arrested a year ago by Turkish authorities and has still to be charged with an offence. (Photo by OZAN KOSE / AFP) (Photo credit should read OZAN KOSE/AFP/Getty Images)

Lawyers demand freedom for Turkey's Osman Kavala after year in prison

Turkey’s best-known public intellectual Osman Kavala has been held in pre-trial detention without even an indictment in what his lawyers believe constitutes “torture” and observers say is an attempt to stifle dissent.

A crane is seen at the construction site of a new building in Zeytinburnu, a middle-class residential neighborhood of Istanbul, Turkey September 24, 2018. Picture taken September 24, 2018. REUTERS/Murad Sezer - RC1742CAB9D0

Turkey’s crisis-hit construction sector threatens big fallout

Once a driving force of economic growth, Turkey’s construction sector is among the first victims of the country’s economic turmoil, threatening a contagion effect on an array of other sectors.

The U.S. flag flutters on a military vehicle in Manbej countryside, Syria May 12, 2018. REUTERS/Aboud Hamam - RC1B2D4114E0

Northern Syria heats up as next likely US-Turkey flashpoint

Despite speculation that Turkey and the United States might repair their tense relations now that one key issue is settled, an Erdogan adviser called Turkey's shelling east of the Euphrates River “a friendly message to the US.”

Saudi public prosecutor Saud Al Mojeb arrives at Saudi Arabia's consulate in Istanbul, Turkey October 30, 2018. REUTERS/Osman Orsal - RC1ECBB267E0

Intel: Why Turkey refuses to share Khashoggi evidence with Saudis

Turkey holds evidence back from Saudi investigators as it tries to get Riyadh to extradite suspects and reveal the location of Khashoggi's body.

One vote, three corpses

How a referendum in Turkey tore apart a village and a family

A picture taken on April 30, 2018 shows an electoral banner for the Iraqi Turkmen Front hanging beneath the flags of Iraq (L) and the Iraqi Turkmen (C, white crescent and stars on a blue background) above a pedestrian crossing in the oil-rich and multi-ethnic northern city of Kirkuk. - The past seven months have seen a dramatic turn of events in Kirkuk, the "Jerusalem of Kurdistan", where hopes of independence for Iraqi Kurdistan were dashed after Baghdad retaliated against a referendum held in September. (

Why Iraqi Turkmens are excluded from the new government

Iraqi Turkmens say they have been excluded from the new Iraqi government because they refuse to follow a sectarian approach to politics.

Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan, his wife Emine Erdogan and officials make a virtual plane take off during the official opening ceremony of Istanbul's new airport, in Istanbul, Turkey, October 29, 2018. REUTERS/Murad Sezer - RC189236A290

Erdogan inaugurates Istanbul’s new airport as 'monument to victory'

The airport is set to eventually become the world’s biggest, making Turkey a global transportation hub, but critics lament the environmental and economic costs as well as the plight of the laborers who built it.

Turkey, Russia seek European input on Syria settlement

The heads of four nations gathered in Istanbul last week, all seeking to promote their countries' own national interests in Syria. But it's unclear if they'll eventually be able to negotiate a peaceful solution to the Syrian crisis that Damascus will accept.

A Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army fighter fires from a tank in Rajo, Syria March 3, 2018. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi - RC140AB204D0

Turkey raises stakes in Syria with shelling of Kurdish targets

The Turkish military has fired on Syrian Kurdish positions east of the Euphrates River for the first time in a move that could heighten tensions with the United States.

A Syrian shop owner, Mustafa Turkmen, poses during an interview on May 1, 2018 in Gaziantep, southwestern Turkey. - In the Turkish city of Gaziantep, home to around half a million Syrians who fled the civil war south of the border, hundreds of Syrian businesses are thriving in a boost both for the displaced community and their host country. (Photo by OZAN KOSE / AFP) (Photo credit should read OZAN KOSE/AFP/Getty Images)

Syrian businessmen succeed in Turkey

Syrian businessmen continue to partner with Turks in Turkish enterprises, even though such Turkish sponsorship is no longer required by law.