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Turkey

Turkey

July 19, 2026

Ankara 8:28 pm

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Recep Tayyip Erdogan, president of Turkey, greets Donald Trump, president of United States, during a welcome ceremony of allied heads of state and government, on July 8, 2026, in Ankara, Turkey.

Analysis

As Turkey eyes US naval revival, here is why big warship deals are unlikely

Turkey's shipbuilding industry could help ease pressure on overstretched US naval yards, though political, technological and financial hurdles make support work more likely than building major US warships.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

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.

Latest News

Turkish opposition leader Ozgur Ozel could launch new party by August

Ozgu Ozel

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

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

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 President Tayyip Erdogan leaves after a news conference following the National Security Council and cabinet meetings at the Presidential Palace in Ankara, Turkey, July 20, 2016. REUTERS/Umit Bektas TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RTSIXEM

Turkey's domestic policy losing its foreign friends

Turkey’s foreign relations continue to deteriorate, especially with Europe.

Kurdish fighters from the People's Protection Units (YPG) carry their weapons as they take positions in the northeastern city of Hasaka, Syria, August 20, 2016. Picture taken August 20, 2016. REUTERS/Rodi Said TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RTX2MEE9

A look at battle for Raqqa from a Kurdish perspective

A YPG commander told Al-Monitor in an interview that Kurdish militias will help the Syrian Democratic Forces liberate Raqqa but won’t remain in the city after the Islamic State is expelled.

U.S. President Barack Obama (R) and Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan (L) deliver remarks after their bilateral meeting alongside the G20 Summit, in Hangzhou, China September 4, 2016. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst - RTX2O1AM

US promises Turkey role in Raqqa in surprise Ankara meeting

The United States has reached out to Turkey, which is fuming over US support for Kurdish-led forces in Syria, by sending its chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to meet with his Turkish counterpart in Ankara and discuss Raqqa.

Turkish soap operas turn Istanbul into Paris of the East

Popular Turkish TV series are filling state coffers by attracting tourists from as far away as South America.

Demonstrators shout slogans during a protest against a purge of thousands of education staff since an attempted coup in July, in front of the main campus of Istanbul University at Beyazit square in Istanbul, Turkey, November 3, 2016. REUTERS/Osman Orsal - RTX2RP4T

Turkish universities latest domino in Erdogan's path

Under the state of emergency, the president of Turkey now has the power to appoint the heads of all state-run as well as private universities.

Post-coup shake-up at Turkey's intelligence agency

Director of Turkish Intelligence Hakan Fidan with radical changes signals his continuing importance and solid reputation.

Riot police stand guard in front of a courthouse during a gathering to protest against the arrest of pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) lawmakers, in the southeastern city of Diyarbakir, Turkey, November 4, 2016. REUTERS/Sertac Kayar - RTX2RWR1

Is Turkey on the fast track to fascism?

The July 15 coup in Turkey failed, but for many citizens, the country's upheaval carries all the signs of a regime change nonetheless.

Police detain Sebahat Tuncel, co-chair of the pro-Kurdish Democratic Regions Party (DBP), during a protest against the arrest of Kurdish lawmakers, in the southeastern city of Diyarbakir, Turkey, November 4, 2016. REUTERS/Sertac Kayar - RTX2RWQJ

Turkey crosses new thresholds in descent to autocracy

As Ankara has expanded its crackdown on opposition quarters and crossed some critical thresholds in what now seems a drive to lay the foundations of an autocratic regime, is the country at the ultimate breaking point with democracy?

Riot police detain a demonstrator during a protest against the arrest of the city's popular two joint mayors for alleged links to terrorism, in the Kurdish-dominated southeastern city of Diyarbakir, Turkey, October 26, 2016. REUTERS/Sertac Kayar - RTX2QIYH

Why Kurds in southeast Turkey are not taking to the streets

For the first time in 36 years, Diyarbakir has a government-appointed trustee to run its municipality — why was there not the expected popular reaction to the arrests of the city's elected co-mayors?

Turkish army officers stand at attention during a Republic Day ceremony at Anitkabir, the mausoleum of modern Turkey's founder Ataturk, to mark the republic's anniversary in Ankara, Turkey, October 29, 2016. REUTERS/Umit Bektas - RTX2QXNK

Turkey's new 'Erdogan Doctrine'

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's aggressive foreign and security policies are coalescing into a clear doctrine of pre-emptive action that he seems to be using both to drum up domestic support and for leverage in negotiations with the West.

TOPSHOT - Protesters hold copies of the latest edition of the the Turkish daily newspaper "Cumhuriyet" as they shout slogans during a demonstration outside the newspaper's headquarters in Istanbul on November 1,2016 a day after its editor in chief was detained by police.
Turkish police detained the editor-in-chief of the opposition newspaper Cumhuriyet, state media reported, while the daily said several of its writers were taken into police custody. Murat Sabuncu was detained while authorities searched for

Turkey's post-coup crackdown reaches media giants

The few remaining opposition newspapers still able to report on Turkey's economic floundering are losing their own foreign investors in a dramatic demonstration of the trend the ruling Turkish party is trying to suppress.

Turkish armoured personnel carriers drive towards the border in Karkamis on the Turkish-Syrian border in the southeastern Gaziantep province, Turkey, August 27, 2016. REUTERS/Umit Bektas/File Photo - RTSRWBD

Abadi says 'we are ready' if Turkey wants war

As Turkey's behavior grows more erratic and aggressive by the day, the United States is scrambling to head off a dust-up among its anti-Islamic State coalition partners.