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Turkey

Turkey

December 5, 2025

Ankara 11:10 am

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Syrian Kurds lift placards and flags during a rally calling for an autonomous administration and Kurdish rights in Syria's predominantly Kurdish northeastern city of Qamishli, on Sept. 17, 2025.

Ankara: Jailed PKK chief favors unitary Syria, no separate Kurdish defense force

The militant leader called for “police-like” security units in Syrian Democratic Forces areas during his landmark meeting with a Turkish parliamentary delegation, according to a transcript summary.

Chris McGrath/Getty Images

Turkey defense firms break record with $10B in revenues: SIPRI

Turkey set a new record with five companies in the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute's Top 100 for 2024, which included nine Middle Eastern countries for the first time amid conflict-driven arms demand.

A boy sits outside the entrance to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) building complex in Gaza City, on Sept. 6, 2025.

Interview

UNRWA plans Turkey office to boost Gaza, Syria aid as pledges dip

Speaking exclusively to Al-Monitor, UNRWA’s Tamara Alrifai said the upcoming Turkey office would help the agency to expand its operations not only in Gaza but also in Syria.

Latest News

Culture

Young artists pull traditional Turkish art into zeitgeist

Cagri Izdar's mix of miniatures, puppets and and dance macabre (Photo Baris Ozcetin/Offgrid)

Analysis

Trump’s Muslim Brotherhood move reignites Israel’s battle over Raam

Mansour Abbas, head of Israel's conservative Islamic Raam party, speaks to the press before casting his ballot at a polling station in the northern Israeli village of Maghar on November 1, 2022. - Israelis began voting in their fifth election in less than four years, with veteran leader Benjamin Netanyahu campaigning for a comeback alongside far-right allies. (Photo by AHMAD GHARABLI / AFP) (Photo by AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP via Getty Images)

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

Exclusive

Top PYD official Aldar Khalil: 'Syria is telling Kurds to separate'

Kurdish official Aldar Khalil, who played a key role in establishing Syria's semiautonomous Kurdish region in 2013, during an interview in Qamishli on Dec. 22, 2018.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

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

This aerial photograph shows scaffolds installed on the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque in Istanbul on April 14, 2025.

Turkey: Istanbul jolted by 5.3 magnitude earthquake, no casualties reported

Turkey’s disaster management body said no casualties or significant damage were reported after the quake, which was felt in surrounding provinces.

Iran's defense minister, Aziz Nasirzadeh, attends a meeting in eastern China's Shandong province on June 26, 2025.

Iran defense chief visits Turkey to boost military ties: What to know

The Iranian defense chief met with his Turkish counterpart as Tehran seeks to enhance its defense ties with Ankara.

An activist waves the Palestinian flag as a boat carrying Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg and activists.

Israeli navy begins intercepting Gaza-bound international aid flotilla

The Israeli Navy has begun its operation against an international Gaza flotilla carrying humanitarian supplies to the enclave.

Manifest

Culture

Turkey's women, LGBTQ artists top targets of Erdogan's drive for cultural hegemony

From pop stars to performers, Turkey’s secular arts scene faces increasing pressure under Erdogan’s conservative push.

The al-Ruya Tower in Gaza City's Rimal area collapses amidst smoke after Israeli bombardment, on September 8, 2025, following Israel's announcement that it would target tall buildings identified as being used by Hamas ahead of its forces' planned conquest of the urban hub. Israel has been warning for weeks of a new assault on the territory's largest city, without issuing a timeline. It has stepped up air strikes and ground operations on the city's outskirts, sparking fears it could worsen already dire condi

Hamas faces red line in Trump's take-it-or-leave-it Gaza plan

The clock is ticking for Hamas to respond to a deal that would require its disarmament in exchange for an end to the war.

Activists and human rights defenders ride aboard a vessel departing from Tunisia's northern port of Bizerte on Sept. 14, 2025.

Turkey vows to support Gaza-bound flotilla, defying Israeli warnings

The Turkish Defense Ministry said its navy vessels and rescue units in the Eastern Mediterranean were monitoring the flotilla and would provide search-and-rescue support if needed.

Win McNamee/Getty Images

Analysis

Trump offers Netanyahu cover as Israel's far right recoils at Gaza peace plan

The latest peace plan for Gaza offers something previous ones lacked: a way for the Israeli prime minister to save face.

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

kaan

Turkey scrambles to contain fallout after Fidan says KAAN jet dependent on US

Critics say the admission underscores vulnerabilities in Turkey’s armed forces and highlights the challenges of achieving independence from Western suppliers.

ELEFTHERIOS ELIS/AFP via Getty Images

Turkey evacuates passengers as Gaza aid flotilla vessel malfunctions

Ankara has yet to publicly pledge direct support for the flotilla’s mission amid Israeli warnings despite increasing calls from Turkish activists and pro-Palestinian opposition parties.

"Woman" by Philippe Depuich, 2024

Culture

Afro-Turks seek visibility in Turkey’s cultural mosaic

Often mistaken for tourists in their own land, Afro-Turks are using ritual, art and oral history to assert their place in Turkey’s story.

US President Donald Trump (L) greets Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) upon his arrival at the White House in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 25, 2025.

From F-35s to Ukraine: Erdogan-Trump talks signal reset, but sanctions obstacles remain

The summit underscored both leaders’ personal chemistry while highlighting the limits of what the partnership can deliver.