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Turkey

Turkey

May 17, 2026

Ankara 7:59 pm

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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

Syrian refugees from Tel Abyad wait on the Turkish-Syrian border after crossing into Turkey near the Akcakale border gate in Sanliurfa province, Turkey, June 14, 2015. Kurdish-led militia backed by U.S.-led air strikes fought Islamic State near a Syrian town at the Turkish border on Sunday, a monitoring group and a Kurdish official said, in an advance that has worried Turkey. Concerned about an expansion of Kurdish sway in Syria, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said Kurdish groups were taking over areas ev

Erdogan fears fall of Syria's Tell Abyad

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is angry with the joint Kurdish-Arab operation to get the Islamic State out of Tell Abyad.

Turkish TV channels compete for Ramadan viewers

Turkey's TV channels promote their shows and entertainment programs in the runup to Ramadan, revealing rifts among moderate and more pious Muslims, as well as the battle between the Justice and Development Party and the Gulen movement.

Supporters wave Turkish national and party flags as they shout slogans outside the AK Party headquarters in Ankara, Turkey, June 7, 2015. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan's hopes of assuming greater powers suffered a serious blow on Sunday when the ruling AK Party failed to win an outright majority in a parliamentary election, partial results showed. With 94 percent of ballots counted, the AKP had taken 41 percent of the vote, according to broadcaster CNN Turk, a result which will leave it struggling to for

Will AKP's losses spark Turkish re-think on Syria?

The ruling Justice and Development Party lost Kurdish support over President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Syria policies; Eastern patriarchs meet in Damascus to reassure Middle East Christian communities.

Selahattin Demirtas (C), co-leader of pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), talks to the media in Diyarbakir, Turkey, June 12, 2015. The leader of Turkey's pro-Kurdish opposition party on Friday accused figures within the state of links to violence in the largely Kurdish southeastern province of Diyarbakir this week, which left four dead. The violence between different Kurdish factions came days after a parliamentary election which saw the ruling AK Party lose its majority, casting doubt over stalled

Turkish politics no longer one-man show

Turkey's June 7 parliamentary elections signaled a resounding loss for the ruling Justice and Development Party, so what are its options?

Women protest against the government and violence against women, a day after International Women's Day in Istanbul March 9, 2014. On March 8 activists around the globe celebrate International Women's Day, which dates back to the beginning of the 20th Century and has been observed by the United Nations since 1975. The UN writes that it is an occasion to commemorate achievements in women's rights and to call for further change. REUTERS/Osman Orsal (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTR3GB8T

Turkish court makes landmark ruling on women’s murders

In a first for Turkey, a court has penalized the state for failing to protect a woman who was killed by her husband.

Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan makes a speech during a graduation ceremony in Ankara, Turkey, June 11, 2015. President Erdogan on Thursday urged the country's political parties to work quickly to form a new government, saying egos should be left aside and that history would judge anyone who left Turkey in limbo. In his first public appearance since Sunday's parliamentary election, Erdogan said no political development should be allowed to threaten Turkey's gains. He said he would do his part in finding a

Will AKP's loss benefit Israel?

Many in Israel reveled over the AKP's loss in the parliamentarian elections, but their defeat might actually harm the normalization process between the two countries.

Soldiers carry the coffin of Turkey's former army chief and president Kenan Evren during his funeral in Ankara, Turkey, May 12, 2015. Kenan Evren, who led a 1980 coup and came to symbolize the military's decades-long dominance over politics, died at 97 on May 9, 2015. REUTERS/Umit Bektas - RTX1CL3P

Eyes return to Turkish military after elections

The turbulence in the wake of the recent elections may offer the Turkish military opportunities to return to politics — and even if a serious deadlock ensues, the situation still may work in the military's favor.

Committee Chairman Representative Jeb Hensarling (R-TX) (L) presides over a House Financial Services Committee hearing on the Export-Import Bank's reauthorization, on Capitol Hill in Washington June 3, 2015. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst - RTR4YP2O

Gulf countries rake in billions in Ex-Im Bank subsidies

Several Middle East nations are taking full advantage of a US export financing program whose loans and guarantees supporters say create American jobs and critics claim undermine the US economy. Scroll down to see our interactive table.

Jund al-Aqsa fighters part of a coalition of rebel groups called Jaish al Fateh (Conquest Army), drive in a tank on a highway which connects Damascus to Aleppo, near Psoncol town after saying they had taken control of it, in the Idlib countryside, Syria June 6, 2015. REUTERS/Mohamad Bayoush - RTX1FDZA

The future of Turkey's Syria policy

Election results have made Turkey’s current Syria policy hard to implement.

Selina Dogan Ozuzun (2nd R), an Armenian candidate for the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), poses with her supporters during an election rally for Turkey's June 7 parliamentary election, in Istanbul, Turkey, June 2, 2015. Candidates from the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community - along with Christians, Roma and members of dozens of other ethnicities and cultures - are running for parliament this weekend in large numbers for the first time. In a country that once viewed its divers

New Turkish parliament to be more inclusive

Following Turkey's general elections on June 7, Armenian, Syriac, Yazidi, Roma, Kurdish, and Alevi deputies are entering parliament, for the first time ever or after an extended absence.

Supporters wave Turkish national and party flags outside the AK Party headquarters in Ankara, Turkey, June 7, 2015. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan's hopes of assuming greater powers suffered a serious blow on Sunday when the ruling AK Party failed to win an outright majority in a parliamentary election, partial results showed. With 94 percent of ballots counted, the AKP had taken 41 percent of the vote, according to broadcaster CNN Turk, a result which will leave it struggling to form a stable government

Pro-government media blame 'external forces' for AKP’s loss

Unable to accept defeat, journalists who supported Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the Justice and Development Party see foreign and domestic plots behind Sunday’s elections.

Fireworks explode as supporters of the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) celebrate along a street after the parliamentary election in Diyarbakir, Turkey, June 7, 2015. Partial results from Turkey's parliamentary election on Sunday put the ruling AK Party on 43.6 percent of the vote, with just under two-thirds of ballots counted, a level which could leave it struggling to form a single-party government. The results, broadcast by CNN Turk, put the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) at 10.6

Diyarbakir celebrates after HDP election breakthrough

The historic Kurdish breakthrough in Turkey’s parliamentary elections sparks boisterous celebrations across the southeast and boosts hopes for a negotiated settlement of Kurdish grievances.