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Turkey

Turkey

May 18, 2026

Ankara 1:11 am

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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

Workers prepare helva, a traditional Turkish sweet prepared with sesame oil, at Konya Seker Sugar Factory in Cumra, a small town about 50km (31 miles) south of the central Anatolian city of Konya January 27, 2012. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: BUSINESS FOOD) - RTR2WYOL

Semolina halva unites Turks in times of joy, sorrow

Semolina halva, a centuries-old dessert of the Levant, serves a social function that brings together families, friends and neighbors in Turkey.

Pro-Islamist demonstrators hold a banner that reads "Coup leaders can't trial Mursi" during a protest in support former President Mohamed Mursi at the courtyard of Fatih mosque in Istanbul, Turkey, May 17, 2015. An Egyptian court on Saturday sought the death penalty for former president Mohamed Mursi and 106 supporters of his Muslim Brotherhood in connection with a mass jail break in 2011. Mursi and his fellow defendants, including top Brotherhood leader Mohamed Badie, were convicted for killing and kidnapp

How Morsi matters in Turkish politics

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is convinced that the forces that toppled former Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi would have toppled him as well, had he not stood his ground against them.

Rakel Dink (C), widow of slain Turkish-Armenian editor Hrant Dink, walks toward the Agos newspaper office during a demonstration to mark the eighth anniversary of his death, in Istanbul January 19, 2015. Editor of the bilingual Turkish-Armenian weekly Agos and Turkey's best known Armenian voice abroad, Dink was shot in broad daylight in a busy Istanbul street as he left his office. Dink had angered Turkish nationalists with articles on Armenian identity and references to a Turkish "genocide" of Christian A

First street protest by Turkey's Armenians

Armenians in Turkey are becoming increasingly politicized, as shown in recent protests over the demolition of Armenian orphanage Camp Armen, which housed slain Armenian journalist Hrant Dink.

A woman holds a child as she begs for money near Taksim Square in Istanbul June 19, 2013. REUTERS/Marko Djurica (TURKEY - Tags: SOCIETY POVERTY TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTX10SP4

Turkey's poverty figures look bad for ruling AKP

Turkey’s ruling party, under opposition fire for failing to combat poverty, took a fresh blow in the run-up to elections as official statistics put 22.4% of Turkish households below the poverty line.

Pro-AKP TV shows face dwindling audiences

Pro-AKP dramas are failing miserably in cinemas and on TV.

Turkey's Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu (front row, 4th L) poses with his AK Party Istanbul candidates for the upcoming general elections, during a presentation in Istanbul April 17, 2015. REUTERS/Murad Sezer - RTR4XRJT

Turkey's election system becomes graveyard for political parties

More than 90 political parties are currently active in Turkey, but the 10% electoral threshold means that the upcoming parliamentary polls will be a race between four of them.

People speak on their mobile phones next to a banner of Istanbul Film Festival at the entrance of Atlas movie theatre in Istanbul April 14, 2015. Nearly two dozen filmmakers and a group of international critics have pulled out of the Istanbul Film Festival after the government prevented the screening of a film about Kurdish militants, in the latest outcry over censorship in Turkey. At least 22 films from the roughly 200 submitted were withdrawn this week and the festival competition cancelled, according to

Turkey’s 4G tender gets bad reception from Erdogan

The Turkish president’s interference in establishing a 4G network in Turkey could harm the country's prospects for future technological developments.

A money changer holds Turkish lira banknotes next to U.S. dollar bills at a currency exchange office in central Istanbul April 15, 2015. Turkish Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci said on Wednesday the lira's slide to record lows was not a cause for concern and reflected global developments, arguing against forex intervention and saying the currency will find its own balance. He also told a meeting in Istanbul that he expected first quarter year-on-year growth of around 1.5 percent, and full year growth exceed

No questions asked about Turkey's suitcases full of cash

Pundits fear that the new Customs Code will turn Turkey into a haven for money launderers and terror financiers.

Turkey's Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu attends the opening of the Geneva-2 peace conference in Montreux January 22, 2014. Syria's government and opposition, meeting face to face for the first time at a U.N. peace conference, angrily spelled out their hostility on Wednesday as world powers also restated contrasting views on the future of President Bashar al-Assad. REUTERS/ Jamal Saidi (SWITZERLAND - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX17PGV

The Turkey-Saudi axis against Damascus

Will the US support the gains of Islamist opposition in Syria?

A worker carries out a routine check in a natural gas control centre of Turkey's Petroleum and Pipeline Corporation, 35 km (22 miles) west of Ankara, January 5, 2009. The European Union on Monday scheduled talks with Russia to press for a speedy resolution of a dispute with Ukraine that has hit gas supplies to countries in eastern and southern Europe facing freezing temperatures. Turkey has increased gas delivered direct from Russia via the Blue-Stream pipeline under the Black Sea to compensate for a slight

Is Turkish Stream a pipe dream?

Turkey and Russia appear keen on the Turkish Stream pipeline project, setting aside differences, but analysts suggest there is more political than economic logic involved.

Libya's internationally recognized Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thinni attends a meeting with ministers as well as leaders of the Libyan army in Benghazi, February 1, 2015. Thinni and his ministers visited the eastern city of Benghazi in a show of support for his troops battling Islamists groups. Thinni's forces, together with troops loyal to army general Khalifa Haftar, launched an offensive against Islamist fighters in Benghazi in October - part of turmoil gripping the oil producer four years after the down

Libyan air force attacks Turkish ship

Turkey’s foreign policy was the real target when Libyan forces struck a Turkish freighter off the coast of Derne, killing one crew member and wounding five others.

Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan meets with lawmakers from Azerbaijan (left row) as he is flanked by his officials (right row) in Ankara October 14, 2009. An agreement signed by Turkey and Armenia on Saturday, which would reopen the border and restore ties poisoned by a century of hostility, could help stabilise the south Caucasus with its vulnerable energy corridor and ease Armenia's geographical isolation. Both parliaments must approve it. But it is resisted by nationalists in both countries as well

Erdogan ends discussion on 'Armenian opening'

Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s statement last week seemed to confirm that the Turkish-Armenian rapprochement was indeed an effort driven mainly by Abdullah Gul and blocked mainly by Erdogan.