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Turkey

Turkey

May 19, 2026

Ankara 7:32 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

Turkish soldiers stand next to a portrait of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, founder of modern Turkey, as they attend a farewell ceremony at the headquarters of the NATO Rapid Deployable Corps-Turkey (NRDC-T), Turkish 3rd Corps, in Istanbul January 11, 2005, on the eve of their departure to Afghanistan. Turkish 3rd Corps (NRDC-T) troops, who will start to deploy to Afghanistan on January 12, will take over the leadership of ISAF VII in Kabul between February and August 2005. REUTERS/Fatih Saribas FS/MD - RTRK9J3

Turkish military support to Afghanistan rises

While most countries are downsizing their military assistance to Afghanistan, Turkey is offering more military support and training.

An election campaign banner of Turkey's Prime Minister and presidential candidate Tayyip Erdogan is seen near a mosque in Istanbul August 9, 2014. Erdogan is set to secure his place in history as Turkey's first popularly-elected president on Sunday, but his tightening grip on power has polarised the nation, worried Western allies and raised fears of creeping authoritarianism. REUTERS/Murad Sezer (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS ELECTIONS) - RTR41T1P

From Ataturk to Erdogan: Turks rewrite history

In the 1930s, Ataturk promoted a radical revision of history to boost the morale of Turks, while today President Recep Tayyip Erdogan seems to be engaging in another historical revision to boost the morale of fellow Muslims.

French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve (2nd R) hosts a meeting of the European G6 interior ministers on November 6, 2014 in Paris. Interior ministers of Spain, Germany, UK, Italy and Poland were meeting with Cazeneuve on November 6 to discuss the fight against terrorism and in particular the problem of "foreign fighters" traveling in Syria and ways to combat their recruiting online. The Turkish and Canadian interior ministers, as well as the American Ministers of Justice and Homeland Security were invit

EU ministers discuss jihadist travel to Syria, border security

While the G6 meeting of interior ministers on Nov. 6 focused on jihadists traveling from Europe to Syria via Turkey, the European Parliament is considering putting in place more stringent security checks and travel restrictions.

Turkey's Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu (R) walks with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry at the prime minister's office in Ankara September 12, 2014. Kerry met Turkish leaders on Friday to try to win support for U.S.-led military action against Islamic State, but Ankara's reluctance to play a frontline role showed the difficulty of building a coalition for a regional war. REUTERS/Brendan Smialowski/Pool (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR460SV

Davutoglu's wishful thinking

Remarks by Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu that US President Barack Obama is coming around to Ankara’s position on Syria are not supported by statements from Washington.

Kurdish refugees watch from a hilltop as thick smoke rises from the Syrian town of Kobani during heavy fighting between Islamic State and Kurdish Peshmerga forces, seen from near the Mursitpinar border crossing on the Turkish-Syrian border in the southeastern town of Suruc in Sanliurfa province October 26, 2014. REUTERS/Yannis Behrakis (TURKEY - Tags: MILITARY CONFLICT POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTR4BNM6

Watching Kobani

The writer gives a personal account of his trip on Nov. 15-16 to Suruc, across from Kobani on the Turkish side of the border, and relates how locals believe that the Kobani battle may bring an end to the Islamic State in military terms.

How a German doctor became a PKK hero

"Dr. Medya," a physician from Hamburg, talks about her more than 20 years in the Kurdistan Workers Party in a rare interview.

Kemal Kilicdaroglu (2nd L), leader of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), releases a dove during an election rally in Adana, southern Turkey, March 27, 2014. Turkey's main opposition party has barely dented support for Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan despite months of anti-government protests, an investigation into government graft and hours of incriminating conversations leaked online. Kemal Kilicdaroglu, head of the Republican People's Party (CHP), at campaign rallies in more than 70 cities

Will CHP face its dark past?

For the Republican People’s Party (CHP) to become a real alternative to the Justice and Development Party (AKP), its leader, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, should start an honest dialogue about the party’s past.

Members of trade unions chant slogans against Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan as they march at Taksim Square in Istanbul June 5, 2013. Turkish trade unionists marched into an Istanbul square on Wednesday, joining unprecedented protests against Erdogan over what they see as his authoritarian rule. REUTERS/Yannis Behrakis (TURKEY - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS BUSINESS EMPLOYMENT) - RTX10CIK

New Turkish law deals blow to unions

Turkey's unionized workforce has dropped from 57.5% to 9.6% over the past decade, with Ankara offering weak solutions to the problem, including a hotline where workers can report their bosses.

Iraq's Kurdistan Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani (R) speaks with Turkey's Energy Minister Taner Yildiz (L) at the Iraq-Kurdistan Oil and Gas Conference at Arbil in Iraq's Kurdistan region, December 2, 2013. Turkey said on Monday it stood by a bilateral oil deal with Iraq's Kurdistan region that bypassed central government but wanted to win Baghdad's support by drawing it into the arrangement. Reuters reported that Turkey and Iraqi Kurdistan signed a multi-billion-dollar energy package last week, infuriatin

Turkey's Kurdish client state

Turkey has tremendous financial and security influence over the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, exposing Erbil to economic and political vulnerabilities.

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Politics strain Turkey's first Kurdish-language institute

Turkey’s first Kurdish-language institute has been torn between the government and the Kurdish movement, while attracting scholars from all four parts of Kurdistan.

Activists hold pictures of Armenian victims during a demonstration to commemorate the 1915 mass killing of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, in Istanbul April 24, 2014. Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan offered on Wednesday what the government said were unprecedented condolences to the grandchildren of Armenians killed in World War One by Ottoman soldiers. In a statement issued on the eve of the 99th anniversary of the deeply contested deaths, Erdogan unexpectedly described the events of 1915 as "inhuman

Armenians dig out their Ottoman land deeds

Armenians might count on Ottoman title deeds, preserved and passed down to generations for 100 years, to claim their abandoned properties next year.

The Fener Greek highschool with the Mosque of Yavuz Selim in the background overlooks the Fener district in Golden Horn where the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate complex is located in Istanbul November 21, 2006. Pope Benedict will pay an official visit to Muslim but secular Turkey on November 28 to December 1 and will hold talks with Patriarch Bartholomew, spiritual head of the world's Orthodox Christians, at the Patriarch's residence in Istanbul. REUTERS/Fatih Saribas (TURKEY) - RTR1JKES

Pope's visit to Turkey is a chance to bridge ancient divide

Pope Francis’ visit to Turkey on Nov. 28-30 is not really about Turkey, instead it offers new opportunities to mend the schism with the Orthodox Church.