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Turkey

Turkey

May 18, 2026

Ankara 8:42 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

Kurdish peshmerga fighters ride their vehicles along a road on Mount Sinjar December 22, 2014. On Sunday, Kurdish and Yazidi fighters battled to take the Sinjar back from Islamic State after breaking a months-long siege of the mountain above it. Seizing the town would restore the majority of territory Iraq's Kurds lost in Islamic State's surprise offensive in August. Picture taken December 22, 2014. REUTERS/Stringer (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT) - RTR4J2WC

Kurdish rivalry delays victory in Sinjar

Kurdish forces celebrated a joint victory at Kobani, but they have become rivals in the fight against the Islamic State in the Mount Sinjar area.

Supporters hold up a portrait of Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan while waving Turkish and AK Party (AKP) flags during an election rally in Istanbul March 23, 2014. Erdogan, rallying hundreds of thousands of cheering supporters in Istanbul, said on Sunday that political enemies accusing him of corruption would be crushed by their own immorality. REUTERS/Murad Sezer (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS ELECTIONS) - RTR3I96X

What turned Erdogan against the West?

The Turkish ruling party’s fast-rising anti-Western rhetoric may be a reaction to Western “meddling in our domestic affairs” rather than opposition to the West’s “imperialist” foreign policy.

Independent Greeks leader Panos Kammenos leaves the Syriza offices after a meeting with Syriza's leader on January 26, 2015. The small Greek nationalist Independent Greeks party will join a coalition government under anti-austerity party Syriza, their leader said on January 26, 2015. "From this moment on there is a government, we will give a vote of confidence to the new prime minister," Independent Greeks leader Panos Kammenos said after meeting Syriza leader Alexis Tsipras, the winner of Sunday's general

Ankara turns wary eye on Greece's new defense minister

Greece's new Defense Minister Kammenos led the Turkish and Greek navies and air forces into an unfriendly confrontation on Jan. 30, in what Ankara hopes was a one-time provocation.

Syrian refugees who live in the streets stand in a public garden in central Ankara on November 23, 2014. There are about 2 million Syrian refugees who fled the civil war in their country living in Turkey . AFP PHOTO/ADEM ALTAN (Photo credit should read ADEM ALTAN/AFP/Getty Images)

Beating exposes brutal realities for Turkey's street children

Turkey has made tremendous progress in lowing child mortality, but poverty leaves Kurdish and Syrian refugee children vulnerable to physical and sexual abuse.

Israeli soldiers stand on concrete blocks near the border with Lebanon January 29, 2015. Israel and Hezbollah signalled on Thursday their rare flare-up in fighting across the Israel-Lebanon border was over, after the Lebanese guerrillas killed two Israeli troops in retaliation for a deadly air strike in Syria last week. REUTERS/Ammar Awad (ISRAEL - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY CONFLICT) - RTR4NHGX

Hezbollah, Israel claim victory, reset deterrence

Nasrallah steps back from confrontation with Israel after attack; Iran sanctions in perspective; Netanyahu plan may backfire; Kurdish victory in Kobani a setback for Turkey; Are Iraqi Kurdish land grabs sowing future conflict?

Human rights lawyer Amal Alamuddin Clooney arrives to attend a hearing at the European court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, January 28, 2015. Clooney and her colleague Robertson will represent Armenia during a hearing on the case of Dogu Perincek, Chairman of the Turkish Workers Party, against Switzerland. Perincek was found guilty of racial discrimination by a Swiss Police Court for having publicly denied the characterisation of genocide, without calling into question the existence of massacres and deporta

Amal Clooney attracts attention at Armenian genocide trial

The case before the European Court of Human Rights concerns the right of Dogu Perincek, the leader of the Turkish Workers Party, to deny that Armenians had suffered a genocide.

Turkey’s Central Bank caves on interest rates

Under fire from the government and the president, Turkey’s Central Bank has abandoned its cautious approach and moved to lower interest rates.

Demonstrators hold placards with some featuring a picture of Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan during a protest against internet censorship in Istanbul May 15, 2011. Thousands of people marched in central Istanbul to protest against the government's plan to filter the internet. REUTERS/Murad Sezer (TURKEY - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS) TEMPLATE OUT - RTR2MG6Y

Why is Turkey censoring lingerie, antique books?

Turkey's Web watchdog is turning into a "wicked" censorship monster that can arbitrarily target any website, from global prosperity indexes to LGBT forums.

Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan (L) receives a gift from Somalia's President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud (R) after addressing a joint news conference in Somalia's capital Mogadishu January 25, 2015. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan travelled to the Somali capital Mogadishu under heavy security on Sunday, making his second visit in four years to promise further investment in the country as it struggles to rebuild after two decades of conflict. REUTERS/Feisal Omar (SOMALIA - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR4MTPA

Erdogan's Africa tour

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose aspirations for regional leadership have failed, has begun trying to acquire leadership of the Islamic world on his Africa tour.

People gather to celebrate in the Kurdish-dominated city of Diyarbakir in southeastern Turkey, after Kurdish forces said they took full control of the Syrian town of Kobani, January 27, 2015. Kurdish forces battled Islamic State fighters outside Kobani on Tuesday, a monitoring group said, a day after Kurds said they took full control of the northern Syrian town following a four-month battle. REUTERS/Sertac Kayar (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT) - RTR4N6SW

Kurdish victory in Kobani defeat for Turkish policy

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has expressly ruled out the northern Iraq model for Syria's Kurds.

Employees work at the assembly line of a Karsan automotive factory in Bursa February 17, 2011. Turkish automotive company Karsan began production after it signed a strategic partnership deal with Italian bus builder BredaMenarinibus to manufacture Italian company's buses in its Akcalar plant in Bursa. REUTERS/Murad Sezer (TURKEYTRANSPORT - Tags: TRANSPORT BUSINESS) - RTR2IPVU

Turkey foreign investment slowdown

Dutch entrepreneurs topped the list of foreign investors in Turkey in 2014, as the number of foreign companies exceeded 41,000, despite the insecure climate that has emerged in Turkey in terms of democracy and the rule of law.

A CH-47 Chinook helicopter from the 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade lands to pick up U.S. soldiers from the 3rd Cavalry Regiment after an advising mission at the Afghan National Army headquarters for the 203rd Corps in the Paktia province of Afghanistan December 21, 2014. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson (AFGHANISTAN - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS MILITARY TRANSPORT) - RTR4IUN7

Turkey’s arms procurement raises questions

There are questions being raised about the wisdom of Turkey's expensive defense expenditures — but not by the public.