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Turkey

Turkey

May 17, 2026

Ankara 3:07 pm

18°C

Ships navigate the Bosphorus Strait on May 02, 2026 in Istanbul, Turkey. Since the outbreak of the US-Israeli war against Iran, forcing the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and together with the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, global shipping routes have been severely impacted. Soaring shipping costs, lengthening delivery times and less efficient routes have seen increased pressure on energy markets and supply chains worldwide. (Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images)

Analysis

Why Turkey sees opportunity in Hormuz crisis to boost Middle Corridor

Ankara seeks to exploit transport disruptions from the Iran, Ukraine wars to push the corridor, but high costs, logistical bottlenecks and South Caucasus politics pose obstacles.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Mazloum Kobane, commander-in-chief of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), speaks during the pan-Kurdish "Unity and Consensus" conference in Qamishli in northeastern Syria on April 26, 2025.

Interview

Syrian Kurdish commander Kobane says Turkey visit ‘in the making,’ Ocalan meeting possible

The SDF commander-in-chief reflected on a fragile integration deal with Damascus, growing Kurdish backlash and ongoing talks with Turkey as questions mount over Rojava’s political future.

Mazloum Kobane

Mazloum Kobane

SDF commander in chief

Latest News

Turkey, Armenia to launch direct trade in normalization push: What to know

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, right, and Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan shake hands before a meeting at Prague Castle in Prague, Czech Republic, Thursday, Oct. 6, 2022.

New Turkey maritime draft bill fuels EastMed tensions with Greece, Cyprus

The helicopter of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan lands on Abdulhamid Han drill ship, the fourth built by Turkey, in Mersin on Aug. 9, 2022, before being sent for gas exploration to an undisputed area in the Mediterranean Sea, south of Gazipasa.

Turkey's border reopening unlocks new sphere of influence in Syria

Turkish Red Crescent's cars and trucks cross the Turkish border as they leave the Syrian city of Tel Abyad on Oct. 19, 2019, in Akcakale, Turkey.

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 Abdullah Gul (L) and Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan arrive at an opening ceremony of a new line of the Ankara Metro in Ankara February 12, 2014. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX18NXZ

Gul calls out Erdogan at iftar

Abdullah Gul, Turkey's former president and co-founder of the Justice and Development Party, calls for an urgent revision of Ankara’s foreign policy.

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu arrives at a meeting with his AK Party local officials at the party headquarters in Ankara, Turkey, June 11, 2015. Davutoglu said on Thursday history had shown that coalition governments were not suitable for Turkey but that his ruling AK Party was open to all options. "We've used the coalition eras of the 1970s and 1990s as an example to show that coalitions are not suitable for Turkey and we still stand by that stance," Davutoglu told a meeting of AKP local officials

AKP ponders what went wrong

While skeptics of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the Justice and Development Party are still not very vocal, reality seems to be on their side.

Turkey's brides-to-be flock to vintage look

The old dowry chests of middle-aged Turkish women are full with precious, handmade embroideries, some of which are now re-emerging and making their way to luxury stores.

Members of the Turkish police counter attack team guarding President Tayyip Erdogan stand in front of a mosque after the President left following Friday prayers in Istanbul, Turkey, May 29, 2015. REUTERS/Murad Sezer - RTR4Y0MZ

Ankara cracks down on IS; but is it too little too late?

Turkey has recently moved to counter Islamic State recruitment in the country, but it faces a difficult time reintegrating jihadist returnees from Syria and Iraq, some of whom have been traumatized by their experiences.

A black flag belonging to Islamic State is seen near the Syrian town of Kobani as a Turkish army vehicle takes up position on the Turkish-Syrian border near the southeastern town of Suruc in Sanliurfa province October 7, 2014. Islamic State fighters advanced into the south west of the Syrian Kurdish town of Kobani overnight, a monitoring group said on Tuesday, taking several buildings to gain attacking positions from two sides of the city. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: CIVIL UNREST MILITARY CONFLICT

Is the Islamic State really a terrorist group? Turkey's lawyers don't think so

Turkish security services have only recently began to consider the Islamic State (IS) as a security threat, but the legal system in Turkey still does not recognize IS as a terrorist organization.

Workers, with emptied old buildings in the background, pause at a construction site at Beyoglu district in central Istanbul August 29, 2014. The Turkish Parliament amended the commercial code to allow landlords to eject tenants of 10 years or more without cause. The rule, which went into effect in July, scraps a tradition of renter-friendly laws, potentially hitting millions of businesses and residents Picture taken August 29, 2014. To match TURKEY-GENTRIFICATION/ REUTERS/Murad Sezer (TURKEY - Tags: BUSINES

Istanbul’s Disneyfication

State-led gentrification of Istanbul might be the most important and irreversible legacy of the conservative Islamist AKP government.

Turkey's main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu addresses his supporters during an election rally for Turkey's June 7 parliamentary election, in Ankara, Turkey, May 31, 2015. REUTERS/Umit Bektas - RTR4Y93D

CHP leader predicts early elections in Turkey

In an interview with Al-Monitor, Turkey’s main opposition leader, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, said it is unlikely the AKP will be able to form a coalition government and expressed the urgent need to turn the economy around.

A Kurdish Peshmerga fighter takes up position with his weapon as he keeps watch, on the outskirts of Mosul January 26, 2015. Kurdish Peshmerga fighters are digging trenches and building defense berms in Wadi al-Ghorab (Valley Of The Crows), less than 2 km away from the IS-held Sultan Abdullah village, which demarcates the new border of their autonomous region. The Kurds have enjoyed de facto self rule since the first Gulf War in 1991. They are now closer than ever to achieving their dream of full independen

Who has 'boots on the ground' in fight against IS?

A mismatch in priorities between the United States and its Sunni allies is obliging the Obama administration to rely more on Iran-backed forces to fight the group that calls itself the Islamic State.

Coffins of victims killed in air strikes are carried by villagers during a funeral ceremony in Gulyazi near the southeastern Turkish town of Uludere, in 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: POLITICS) - RTR2VQMB

Turkey shuts down smugglers by shooting mules

The tension in villages of Uludere in Turkey that lost 34 people in an airstrike by the Turkish air force three years ago persists and frequently develops into confrontations with Turkish soldiers.

Turkey’s lively Ramadan tables

The fast-breaking Ramadan dinner in Turkey is a crowded affair where people come together to share and socialize, entertain themselves and even make political statements.

A dinghy (R) with Syrian refugees is towed by a Greek coast guard patrol boat into the port on the Greek island of Kos, following a rescue operation in a part of the Aegean Sea between Turkey and Greece, early May 31, 2015. According to local media, an average of over 200 immigrants on small dinghies have been arriving in Kos every day in the last two months. REUTERS/Yannis Behrakis - RTR4Y74I

A Turkish plan to bail out Greece?

After decades of disputes, can Turkey and Greece once again look to each other as allies?

Demonstrators set fire to a Chinese flag during a protest against China near the Chinese Consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, July 5, 2015. China warned its citizens travelling in Turkey to be careful of anti-Beijing protests, warning them that some Chinese tourists have recently been "attacked and disturbed". The notice, posted on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs website on Sunday, said that there have recently been "multiple" demonstrations in Turkey targeting the Chinese government. The notice gave no details r

China, Turkey: friends or foes?

Turkey's manipulative news reports of China's massacres of fasting Uighurs recently upended China-Turkey relations.