Turkey - AL-MONITOR: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

Turkey

Turkey

June 12, 2026

Ankara 1:22 pm

27°C

Cyprus' President Nikos Christodoulides (2nd L) and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron (C) review the honor guard at the Presidential Palace in Nicosia on April 23, 2026, ahead of a meeting on the sidelines of a European summit.

Explainer

Turkey slams France-Cyprus military pact as East Med rivalries deepen

Ankara says a defense deal between France and the Republic of Cyprus risks upsetting the island’s delicate balance, as defense ties among Cyprus, Greece, Israel and France deepen.

Russian S-400 anti-aircraft missile launching system is displayed at the exposition field in Kubinka Patriot Park outside Moscow on Aug. 22, 2017 during the first day of the International Military-Technical Forum Army-2017.

Analysis

As Trump admin drops Halkbank case, S-400 last big hurdle in US-Turkey ties

The move eases a key source of friction with Turkey ahead of a NATO summit in Ankara.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Latest News

Explainer

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

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

Aamir QURESHI / AFP via Getty Images

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

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

A woman wearing a traditional head-scarf smokes a cigarette inside a damaged bus used by anti-government protesters as a barricade in Istanbul's Taksim square June 10, 2013. REUTERS/Yannis Behrakis (TURKEY - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS) - RTX10IVP

Demand for women-only buses in Istanbul

Demands for women-only buses indicate a deeper debate about Islamization of Turkish public space.

Turkey's European Affairs Minister Egemen Bagis addresses a joint news conference with European Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fule (R) after EU-Turkey accession talks in Brussels November 5, 2013. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir (BELGIUM - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX150NB

Turkey and EU attempt to re-energize ties

Despite their half-century of hot-and-cold relations, Ankara and the European Union are trying to mend fences for Turkey's EU membership bid.

A member of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant carries his weapon as he looks through a hole in a wall in Sheikh Saeed neighbourhood December 4, 2013. REUTERS/Molhem Barakat (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT MILITARY) - RTX163J6

Syrian FSA fades in shadow of Saudi-backed opposition front

This week, the United States and the United Kingdom suspended nonlethal aid to the Syrian opposition, fearing equipment could fall into the wrong hands.

Lebanon's Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah addresses his supporters during a religious procession to mark Ashura in Beirut's suburbs November 14, 2013. Ashura, which falls on the 10th day of the Islamic month of Muharram, commemorates the death of Imam Hussein, grandson of Prophet Mohammad, who was killed in the 7th century battle of Kerbala. REUTERS/Khalil Hassan
(LEBANON - Tags: POLITICS RELIGION) - RTX15CVK

Hezbollah escalates rhetoric against Riyadh

While Hezbollah and Saudi Arabia have been at odds for months over their opposing positions in the Syrian war, Hezbollah has recently escalated its rhetoric, directly accusing Riyadh of waging open warfare against the party.

Protesters shout slogans during a demonstration against Turkish security forces, after an incident in the Lice district of Diyarbakir province killed one person and wounded seven on Friday, in Istanbul June 29, 2013. Turkish security forces killed one person and wounded seven on Friday when they fired on a group of people protesting against construction of a new gendarmerie outpost in Kurdish-dominated southeastern Turkey, security sources said. The incident happened in the village of Kayacik in the Lice di

Kurdish peace process is on knife edge — again

Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) members kidnapped four Turkish soldiers on Sunday only to release them early Monday; this has caused people to question the progress of talks with PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan.

Oman's Interior Minister Saud bin Ibrahim al-Busaidi attends the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Interior Ministers' Conference in Manama November 28, 2013. REUTERS/Stringer (BAHRAIN - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX15WB1

Omani rejection of GCC union adds insult to injury for Saudi Arabia

The Omani stance may force the kingdom to pause in its regional policies.

Kurdish girls wearing traditional clothes shout as they march in Moscow March 6. About 1,000 Kurds marched in the Russian capital, demanding freedom for jailed guerrilla leader Abdullah Ocalan.

CVI/NS/ - RTRMJW1

Will Russia play the Kurdish card?

Russia’s connections to the region’s Kurdish communities present both opportunities and risks for Moscow’s interests in the Middle East.

A Turkish F-16 fighter jet approaches the tarmac of Incirlik airbase in the southern Turkish city of Adana July 3, 2012. Turkey's armed forces command said on Tuesday it had scrambled F-16 fighter jets for a third consecutive day on Monday after Syrian transport helicopters were spotted flying near to the Turkey-Syrian border, but there was no violation of Turkish airspace. It said in a statement a total of six jets, four from a base in Incirlik in the south and two from Batman in eastern Turkey were scramb

Turkish fighter jet: Rolls Royce ambitions with Rover resources?

Turkey may seek to boost its defense industry with a program to build its own fighter jet.

Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan addresses members of his ruling AK Party (AKP) during a meeting in Istanbul December 5, 2013. REUTERS/Osman Orsal (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX164WX

Erdogan getting hit in AKP-'Cemaat' war

Critical news of the AKP-Cemaat war leaked to the media on the eve of elections strains Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Turkish journalist charged with espionage

The Turkish Prime Ministry, National Security Council and the National Intelligence Organization all filed criminal cases against the daily Taraf and its staff writer Mehmet Baransu for publishing a highly classified state document.

People sit in the back of a truck as they celebrate what they said was the liberation of villages from Islamist rebels near the city of Ras al-Ain in the province of Hasakah, after capturing it from Islamist rebels November 6, 2013. Redur Xelil, spokesman for the armed wing of the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD), said Kurdish militias had seized the city of Ras al-Ain and all its surrounding villages. Syrian Kurdish fighters have captured more territory from Islamist rebels in northeastern Syria

Syrian Kurds discuss differences over Geneva II

At the core of Syrian Kurd differences is tension between Kurdistan Democratic Party leader Massoud Barzani and Kurdistan Workers Party leader Abdullah Ocalan.

Turkey's highest court boosts credibility by watershed ruling

A landmark ruling by Turkey's Constitutional Court is causing discomfort within the ruling Justice and Development Party.