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Turkey

Turkey

July 29, 2026

Ankara 2:41 am

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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan greets Iraq Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi upon his arrival in Ankara, July 28, 2026.

Explainer

Erdogan hosts Zaidi, touts ‘historic step’ in Turkey-Iraq energy ties

The Turkish president outlined Ankara’s priorities with the new Iraqi government during the Iraqi leader’s first visit to Turkey: security, energy cooperation and the Development Road.

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi speaks during a meeting with US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth (not pictured) at the Pentagon on July 14, 2026 in Arlington, Virginia.

Zaidi to meet Erdogan as Turkey-Iraq ties take off, Kurds feel sidelined

The Iraqi prime minister's visits to Ankara and Riyadh underscore Baghdad's push to deepen regional ties as Turkey seeks closer cooperation on energy and security.

Latest News

Analysis

Iran war puts Turkey’s inflation fight, lira under fresh pressure

Vendors sell dry food as people shop by a banner reading " No to Inflation" near the New Mosque area in Istanbul's Eminonu district on Nov. 6, 2018.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Analysis

What challenges await Erdogan’s new rival and Turkey’s new opposition party?

Ozgur Ozel

Halil Karaveli

By Halil Karaveli

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

Palestinian labourers wait to cross into Israel at dawn at Hashmonaim checkpoint near the West Bank village of Nilin, west of Ramallah March 14, 2013. Israel's system of checkpoints and restrictions in the occupied West Bank inflicts long-term damage on Palestinians' ability to compete in the global market, the World Bank said on Tuesday. REUTERS/Darren Whiteside (WEST BANK - Tags: POLITICS BUSINESS EMPLOYMENT) - RTR3EYTV

Israel pushes West Bank toward economic disaster

Turning the West Bank into the economic twin of the Gaza Strip will provoke new threats to Israel's security, which is why the US administration leans toward cooperating with the new Palestinian unity government.

A security checkpoint guarded by Syrian Kurd Asaish officers (R) is seen at Derik in Al-Hasakah October 31, 2012. Iraqi Kurdish President Masoud Barzani warned Kurds in Syria against being sucked into the "fires of discord," urging them to preserve Kurdish unity as tensions between rival factions threaten to spillover into violence. Syria's Kurds see the war ravaging their country as an unprecedented opportunity to gain the kind of freedoms enjoyed by their ethnic kin in neighbouring Iraq, where they live a

Syrian Kurdish mother killed at Turkish border

The killing of Saadet Dervis of Rojava by Turkish soldiers in front of her children while trying to cross the border into Syria has led to new scrutiny of Turkey’s Syria policy.

A view shows the Standard & Poor's building in New York's financial district February 5, 2013. The U.S. government is seeking more than $5 billion in a lawsuit against rating agency Standard & Poor's over mortgage bond ratings, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said on Tuesday. The civil suit against S&P and its parent McGraw-Hill Cos Inc is the first federal enforcement action against a credit rating agency over alleged illegal behavior related to the 2007-2009 U.S. financial crisis. REUTERS/Brendan McDerm

S&P dashes Turkey’s hopes, again

Standard & Poor's defies expectations for a positive revision of Turkey’s economic outlook, adding fresh chill to its troubled relations with Ankara.

A woman walks past a Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) campaign poster for Iraq's parliamentary elections in Sulaimaniya April 28, 2014. Picture taken April 28, 2014. To match IRAQ-ELECTION/KURDS REUTERS/Jacob Russell (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS ELECTIONS TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTR3N0GU

Would PUK cut separate deal with Maliki?

The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) did well in the Iraqi national elections, and may be flirting with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to strengthen its hand in Iraqi Kurdish politics.

Supreme leaders of Iran, the late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini (L) and Ayatollah Ali Khameni (R), are seen on the top of a hill from the Turkish side of the border near the Esendere crossing between Turkey and Iran on June 25, 2012 in Yuksekova, a district of the Turkish province of Hakkari. AFP PHOTO/BULENT KILIC (Photo credit should read BULENT KILIC/AFP/GettyImages)

Turkey locked in regional rivalry with Iran, Saudi Arabia

Differences over Egypt and Syria are far from resolved, despite some feints at strengthening regional cooperation.

Israeli soldiers stand on a field overlooking Syria in the Golan Heights March 19, 2014. Israel launched air strikes on Wednesday against Syrian military sites in response to a roadside bombing that wounded four of its soldiers, but both sides signalled they were not seeking further escalation. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun (CIVIL UNREST MILITARY POLITICS) - RTR3HQDT

Israel adjusts to Syrian insurgents on Golan border

Israel is assessing the consequences and contingencies for dealing with Syrian insurgents on its northern border and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's holding on to power.

TO GO WITH AFP STORY BY PHILIPPE ALFROY
A view of a vineyard near the Tamay Wine House on the island of Bozcaada in Turkey on September 4 ,2013. Off the coast from the mythical city of Troy, the Turkish island of Bozcaada has an ancient tradition of wine making that is both a source of cultural pride and important for local tourism. However many people on the wine-producing island feel their culture is now threatened by the conservative AKP ruling party's new legislation on alcohol which amongst other meas

Are Greeks returning to Turkey?

Ankara’s softening minority policies have encouraged several Greek families to return to their native lands in Turkey, but a genuine reconciliation requires farther-reaching steps.

Turkey's Energy Minister Taner Yildiz speaks 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, infuriating a central Baghdad government which claims sole authority over

Turkey pivots to Baghdad to close deal on Kurdish oil

Turkey has realized it can’t sell Kurdish oil without Baghdad’s blessing.

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 29, 2014. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3N1XI

Turkey’s Erdogan problem

Events in Turkey since the March 30 elections have seen problems mostly of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s making.

A miner waits in front of the coal mine in Soma, a district in Turkey's western province of Manisa, after a coal mine explosion, May 17, 2014. Rescue workers began winding up their operations on Saturday after finding the bodies of two more miners, believed to be the last remaining in the mine, bringing the death toll in Turkey's worst industrial disaster to 301, the energy minister said. REUTERS/ Osman Orsal (TURKEY - Tags: DISASTER ENERGY) - RTR3PKPJ

In mining tragedy, Erdogan doesn't learn from past mistakes

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s disastrous response to the Soma mining tragedy reflects a narrow and defensive approach to politics.

Destroyed buildings are pictured, after the cessation of fighting between rebels and forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad, in Homs city, May 10, 2014. Picture taken May 10, 2014. REUTERS/Ghassan Najjar (SYRIA - Tags: CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT) - RTR3ON0N

US should test Iran on Syria

The United States and Iran can build on shared interests in combating al-Qaeda and terrorist groups, disarmament of Syria’s chemical weapons and opening humanitarian aid corridors.

Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal attends the opening of an Arab foreign ministers emergency meeting to discuss the Syrian crisis and President Bashar al-Assad's regime, at the Arab League headquarters in Cairo, March 9, 2014. The Arab League on Sunday endorsed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's rejection of Israel's demand for recognition as a Jewish state, as U.S.-backed peace talks approach a deadline next month. The United States want Abbas to make the concession as part of effort

Saudi invitation a first step with Iran

Resolving the problems that mar Saudi-Iran relations remain out of reach for now, but Saudi Arabia’s invitation to the Iranian foreign minister to visit the kingdom is an opportunity to calm tensions.