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Turkey

Turkey

June 11, 2026

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Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan buttons up his jacket during a press conference after the conclusion of the G20 Leaders' Summit at the Nasrec Expo Centre in Johannesburg on November 23, 2025.

Explainer

Turkey-Israel tensions flare over Syria, Lebanon, East Med: What to know

The Turkish president has accused Israel of threatening Turkey through its military actions in Syria, Lebanon and the Eastern Mediterranean, triggering a sharp exchange with the Israeli prime minister.

Aamir QURESHI / AFP via Getty Images

Explainer

Turkey names new envoys to Iran, Oman, Qatar in regional reshuffle

Turkey’s latest ambassadorial changes mark a partial return to career diplomacy in Tehran and the Gulf as Ankara maintains a balancing act amid the Iran war.

Latest News

Analysis

Turkey's probe into pro-secular tycoon goes beyond crude Kurdish joke

Rahmi Koc

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Explainer

Saudi Arabia, Turkey advance plans to revive historic Hejaz Railway

An old locomotive sits outside the Hejaz rail station in old Damascus on February 23, 2010. The Hejaz railway ran from Damascucs to Medina in Saudi Arabia and was part of the Ottoman railway network. AFP PHOTO/LOUAI BESHARA (Photo credit should read LOUAI BESHARA/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Will Pashinyan’s victory in Armenia be enough to unlock peace with Turkey, Azerbaijan?

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met on the sidelines of the 79th session of the UN General Assembly in New York, Sept. 24, 2024.

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

Syrian refugees are seen in a refugee camp on the Syrian side of the border with Turkey, near Idlib January 29, 2013, in this picture provided by Shaam News Network. Picture taken January 29, 2013. REUTERS/Muhammad Najdet Qadour/Shaam News Network/Handout (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT SOCIETY IMMIGRATION POVERTY) ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. REUTERS IS UNABLE TO INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE AUTHENTICITY, CONTENT, LOCATION OR DATE OF THIS IMAGE. FOR EDITORIAL U

Turkey’s endless Syrian refugee crisis

There may be a limit to Turkey’s open-door policy for Syrian refugees, one that is taxing Turkey’s economy and society.

Free Syrian Army fighters ride a tank as they patrol a street in Rif al-Muhandisin at the Western countryside of Aleppo March 27, 2014. Picture taken March 27, 2014. REUTERS/Abdalghne Karoof (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT) - RTR3IYY0

My perilous journey from Aleppo to Turkey

The journey from Aleppo to the Turkish border once took 45 minutes but is now a 6.5-hour drive fraught with danger.

Flowers are seen after being placed beside the names of World War Two Nazi concentration camps during a ceremony entitled "Unto Every Person There is a Name," marking Holocaust Remembrance Day in the Hall of Remembrance at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem, April 28, 2014. Israel on Monday marked the annual memorial day commemorating the six million Jews killed by the Nazis during World War Two. REUTERS/Ammar Awad (JERUSALEM - Tags: ANNIVERSARY CONFLICT) - RTR3MWTB

Israel has moral duty to recognize Armenian genocide

On the eve of Holocaust Remembrance Day, Israelis must rethink their stance on the Armenian genocide and act out of a moral imperative, not political considerations vis-a-vis Turkey.

Palestinians wave national flags as they celebrate after an announcement of a reconciliation agreement in Gaza City April 23, 2014. The Gaza-based Islamist group Hamas and President Mahmoud Abbas's Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) agreed on Wednesday to implement a unity pact, both sides announced in a joint news conference. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa (GAZA - Tags: POLITICS TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTR3MBX7

Abbas goes big with Hamas deal; the Temple Mount fault line

PLO Chairman Mahmoud Abbas plays the Hamas card; watch out for the "Hebronization" of the Temple Mount; Al-Monitor launches Arabic, Hebrew, Turkish newsletters.

Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev (L) and Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan address the media in Ankara November 13, 2013. Erdogan said on Wednesday work on the Trans-Anatolian natural gas pipeline project (TANAP), which will carry Azeri natural gas, will begin in early 2014. Turkey, which has a 20 percent stake in TANAP, and Azerbaijan, which controls 80 percent, are looking at ways to cooperate on shipping Azeri gas to the Balkans, Erdogan also said after talks with Azeri President Ilham Aliyev in

Can Erdogan overcome Azeri obstacle in ties with Armenia?

Turkey’s support for Azerbaijan in the dispute over Nagorno-Karabakh is blocking improved ties between Turkey and Armenia.

Senior Fatah official Azzam Al-Ahmed (L), head of the Hamas government Ismail Haniyeh (C) and senior Hamas leader Moussa Abu Marzouq hold their hands after announcing a reconciliation agreement in Gaza City April 23, 2014. The Gaza-based Islamist group Hamas and President Mahmoud Abbas's Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) agreed on Wednesday to implement a unity pact, both sides announced in a joint news conference.REUTERS/Suhaib Salem (GAZA - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3MC27

Israel should give Palestinian reconciliation a chance

The Fatah-Hamas reconciliation took Israel and others by surprise, and while intelligence sources are skeptical about the move, it should be given a chance because Hamas might be ready to enter the negotiating tent.

Senior Fatah official Azzam Al-Ahmed (L) shakes hands with senior Hamas leader Moussa Abu Marzouq after announcing a reconciliation agreement in Gaza City April 23, 2014. The Gaza-based Islamist group Hamas and President Mahmoud Abbas's Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) agreed on Wednesday to implement a unity pact, both sides announced in a joint news conference.REUTERS/Suhaib Salem (GAZA - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3MBRU

Hamas-Fatah reconciliation an opportunity for Israel

Israel should realize that, by virtue of Hamas' integration into PLO institutions, the group has tacitly come to terms with Israel's existence.

Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan arrives during a ceremony at the Constitutional Court in Ankara April 22, 2010. Armenia's ruling coalition on Thursday said it had decided to freeze the ratification in parliament of accords with Turkey aimed at normalising ties between the historic foes. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR2D3ZW

Erdogan surprises with condolence message to Armenians

What is the calculation behind Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s unprecedented statement of condolence to Armenians?

Senior Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh speaks about Israel's seizure of a Gaza-bound aid ship, during Friday prayers at al-Omari mosque in Gaza City June 4, 2010. Israeli marines stormed the Turkish aid ship bound for Gaza on Monday and at least nine pro-Palestinian activists were killed, triggering a diplomatic crisis and an emergency session of the U.N. Security Council. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem (GAZA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTR2ER1A

Fatah, Hamas battle for control of mosques

Fatah is tightly controlling mosques in the West Bank, claiming to shield them from political interference, but its adversaries accuse it of using mosques for its own political purposes.

Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan addresses members of parliament from his ruling AK Party (AKP) during a meeting at the Turkish parliament in Ankara April 8, 2014. Turkey's first directly elected president will be a more powerful figure than the current largely ceremonial role, Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan was quoted on Tuesday as saying, boosting expectations he may run for the post in August. Erdogan is barred by the rules of his ruling AK Party from standing for a fourth term as prime minister and

Get ready for the next Erdogan decade

It seems that Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's game plan is to rule Turkey in a very centralized and personalized presidential system at least until 2024.

Kuba Kahve.jpg

Turkey's first Communist mayor offers 'another left'

A small town in Turkey has become the first municipality to elect a Communist mayor.

Turkey's atheists get organized

Turkey’s Association of Atheists faces negative public perceptions, but is a sign of a trend in Turkish civil society of groups seeking recognition and rights.