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

Turkey

Turkey

July 17, 2026

Ankara 9:14 am

22°C

DAVOS, SWITZERLAND - JANUARY 22: U.S. President Donald Trump (C) sits in between Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan (L) and Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev during a signing ceremony for the “Board of Peace” at the World Economic Forum (WEF) on January 22, 2026 in Davos, Switzerland. The US-backed “Board of Peace” is intended to administer the fragile ceasefire in the Gaza Strip after the war between Israel and Hamas. The final makeup of the board has not been confirmed. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/G

Trump taps Russia-born investor to oversee $200M+ fund backing Armenia-Azerbaijan corridor

The appointment of Chicago-based investor Konstantin Sokolov to oversee a $200 million fund marks a new phase for Washington's proposed trade and transportation route linking Azerbaijan, Armenia and Turkey.

Ozgu Ozel

Turkish opposition leader Ozgur Ozel could launch new party by August

Ozgur Ozel’s remarks on a potential new party came as the legal crackdown on the main opposition widened further this week with the arrest and suspension of the mayor of Cankaya, one of the party’s most secure and symbolically important strongholds in the heart of Ankara.

Visitors stand inside Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque in Istanbul on April 14, 2025.

Russian couple faces deportation from Turkey after Bible reading at Hagia Sophia

The couple were detained after reading from the Bible inside the Istanbul landmark, which remains one of Christianity’s most important historic sites despite its conversion into a mosque.

Latest News

Turkey, Egypt expand military ties with cooperation frameworks: What to know

Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler and his Egyptian counterpart, Lt. Gen. Ashraf Salem Zaher, met at the Turkey’s Defense Ministry in Ankara, July 13, 2026.

Analysis

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

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.

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

Power failure can't stop World Music Day in Egypt

The French-sponsored Fete de la Musique fuses traditional, electronic and other genres of music, drawing large audiences in the Middle East.

KILIS, TURKEY - MARCH 02: Turkish soldiers from the 1st Border Regiment Command run through alert drills at a military outpost on the Turkey/Syria border on March 2, 2017 in Kilis, Turkey. The military exercises were held to display the new border wall and new security measures such as thermal scanning and patrols by the new Tactical Armoured Reconnaissance vehicles (Kobra-2) that are being used to tighten Turkey's border. The government announced this week that more than half of the 511-kilometer wall ha

Turkey aims to cripple, not contain, PKK

Turkish security forces are taking a much more aggressive approach against the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), but how will Turkey transform operational military success into a sustainable and peaceful political resolution?

Turkish soldiers march during a parade marking the 93rd anniversary of Victory Day in Ankara, Turkey, August 30, 2015. REUTERS/Umit Bektas - RTX1Q9PW

Turkish military hit by food poisoning scandal

With hundreds of conscripts hospitalized and one dead from food poisoning, Turks from all political stripes demand answers.

People stand near by military vehicles displayed by Turkish company Otokar on June 13, 2016 during the the Eurosatory defence and security international exhibition in Villepinte, near Paris. / AFP / Jacques DEMARTHON (Photo credit should read JACQUES DEMARTHON/AFP/Getty Images)

Turkey's Altay tank project not ready to roll after all

Now that Turkey's government has rejected Otokar's bid for the Altay tank contract, other companies will participate in the tender, including BMC — a Turkish/Qatari partnership whose chairman is a close friend of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

A demonstrator chants slogans during a protest against detention of main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) lawmaker Enis Berberoglu, in Istanbul, Turkey June 15, 2017. The placard reads "Justice". REUTERS/Murad Sezer - RTS176U2

Turkish opposition struggles to unite amid government crackdown

In response to the arrest of one of its deputies, leader of Turkey’s secular opposition party Kemal Kilicdaroglu called for a popular march, but the protest move isn't distracting critics from his timid response to the president's increasing authoritarianism and fraud allegations.

The pictures of Qatarís Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al-Thani (L) and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan are seen on a car during a demonstration in support of him in Doha, Qatar June 11, 2017. REUTERS/Naseem Zeitoon - RTS16KYO

Turkey's economic interests dictate balanced stance in Gulf crisis

Through analyzing Gulf investment into Turkey, it is obvious that taking sides in the GCC dispute could have a detrimental effect on Turkey's economy.

Enis Berberoglu, a lawmaker from the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), arrives at the Justice Palace, the Caglayan courthouse, to attend a trial in Istanbul, Turkey March 1, 2017. Picture taken March 1, 2017. REUTERS/Murad Sezer - RTS171YV

Opposition MP joins other lawmakers in Turkish prison

Republican People’s Party member Enis Berberoglu has joined several other imprisoned lawmakers, convicted of revealing state secrets surrounding the MIT truck scandal of 2014.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan (R) and Chief of Staff General Hulusi Akar attend a funeral ceremony for Army officer Seckin Cil in Ankara, Turkey, February 18, 2016. Army officer Cil was killed during the clashes between Turkish security forces and Kurdish militants in Sur district of the southeastern city of Diyarbakir. REUTERS/Umit Bektas - RTX27IP3

Turkey’s top commander may be on his way out

The Turkish president soon will decide whether to keep his embattled chief of general staff for a while or replace him immediately.

U.S President Donald Trump listens to Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as they give statements to reporters in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, U.S. May 16, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque - RTX363JL

Qatar crisis opens gates of anti-Trumpism in Turkey

Pro-government Turks who support Qatar have been hesitant to directly blame Saudi Arabia for the recent intra-GCC rift, preferring instead to scapegoat US intelligence services and President Donald Trump.

Orwell casts his shadow on Istanbul’s culture scene

Orwell’s legacy is reinterpreted in Istanbul’s Pera Museum’s exhibition “Doublethink: Double vision.”

Turks unite to save olive culture

Citizens of a small olive-producing town played a key role in defeating a government proposal to allow industrial development among Turkey's olive groves.

ANTALYA, TURKEY - JULY 12: Tourists take part in an aqua aerobics session at an all inclusive Russian themed resort on July 12, 2016 in Antalya, Turkey. Russian President Vladimir Putin last month officially lifted travel restrictions on tourism to Turkey. Russia had banned agency tours to Turkey after a diplomatic crisis erupted when Turkey downed a Russian jet on the Turkey - Syrian border in November 2015. Turkey's tourism is currently in crisis after a series of terrorist attacks, most recently the bom

Moscow festival reflects hope for Turkey’s tourism sector

Russian tourists are returning to Turkey’s relatively warm climes as relations between the countries thaw.