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Turkey

June 12, 2026

Ankara 8:30 pm

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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

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

Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan (R) speaks as Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev listens during a news conference following a signing ceremony in Istanbul June 26, 2012. Turkey and Azerbaijan signed an inter-governmental agreement on Tuesday on the $7 billion Trans-Anatolian natural gas pipeline project (TANAP), planned to carry Azeri natural gas across Turkey to Europe. Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan and Azeri President Ilham Aliyev signed the deal at an Istanbul ceremony to launch a project

Turkey’s restart in regional and foreign energy policies

Ankara is recasting its policies toward Cyprus, Israel, Azerbaijan and Iraq.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu addresses the media during a joint news conference with Iraq's Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari at the Foreign Ministry headquarters in Baghdad, November 10, 2013. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX157TO

Turkey charts new course in Iraq

Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu's recent visit to Baghdad, Najaf and Karbala is the latest sign of a new, dual-track policy on Iraq that is endorsed by the United States.

Iranians embrace foreign cuisine

Foreign restaurants in Tehran are thriving despite international sanctions.

Turkey's Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu (R) shakes hands with his Iraqi counterpart Hoshiyar Zebari after a news conference in Ankara October 25, 2013. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX14NP6

Turkey returns to balance in Baghdad, KRG ties

Turkey is flirting with Baghdad while dancing with Erbil.

A Syrian Alawite refugee woman sits with her children in a tent at the courtyard of Pirsultan Abdal Cemevi in Istanbul October 11, 2013. As Syria's conflict takes on an increasingly sectarian dimension, a growing number of those fleeing to Turkey are shunning the refugee camps on its southern border and venturing instead to its major cities, as far from the war as possible. Picture taken October 11, 2013. REUTERS/Murad Sezer (TURKEY - Tags: SOCIETY IMMIGRATION POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT) - RTX14L6X

Syrian Alawites hope for change in Turkey

Syrian Alawite refugees face discrimination and hardship in Turkey.

People with the national flags visit Anitkabir, mausoleum of the founder of secular Turkey Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, in central Ankara October 29, 2013. Thousands of people gathered for a march in the Turkish capital of Ankara on Tuesday to mark the 90th anniversary of the Republic Day. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS ANNIVERSARY) - RTX14SLN

Turks visit Ataturk’s mausoleum in record numbers

More than a million Turks visited Anitkabir on Nov. 10, marking the 75th anniversary of the death of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founding father of modern-day Turkey, in protest of the current Islamist-based government.

An Ethiopian worker argues with a member of the Saudi security forces as he waits with his countrymen to be repatriated in Manfouha, southern Riyadh, November 11, 2013. Thousands of mostly African workers gathered in Riyadh on Sunday seeking repatriation after two people were killed in overnight rioting that followed a visa crackdown by Saudi authorities. One of those killed was a Saudi, said a government statement, and the other was not identified. An Ethiopian man was killed in a visa raid last week. Ethi

Saudi Arabia cracks down on illegal immigrants

The latest crackdown raises larger questions about the role of foreign labor in Saudi Arabia.

Iraqi Shi'ite radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr (L) attends a joint news conference with Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu (R) during his visit to Najaf, 160km (100 miles) south of Baghdad, November 11, 2013. REUTERS/Alaa Al-Marjani (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX1597Z

Turkey's approach toward Iraq's Shiites will reduce sectarianism

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has visited the holy Shiite cities of Najaf and Karbala, as Ankara shifts its approach toward Iraqi Shiites.

Members of the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) carry their weapons as they gather in Tal Arqum, near the city of Ras al- Ain, after capturing it from Islamist rebels November 5, 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, a Kurdish militant group said on Monday

Syrian Kurdish Party declares transitional government

The move by the Democratic Union Party (PYD) is opposed by Turkey and the Syrian National Coalition.

Turkey's President Abdullah Gul (R) and Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan (L) chat as President of Somalia Hassan Sheikh Mohamud sits between them during the opening ceremony of Marmaray, a subway links Europe with Asia some 60 metres below the Bosphorus Strait, in Istanbul October 29, 2013. Turkey opened the world's first underwater rail link between two continents on Tuesday, connecting Asia and Europe and allowing Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan to realise a project dreamt up by Ottoman sultans more than a cen

The Gul Alternative

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s harsh manner may lead his party to consider President Abdullah Gul to run for re-election rather than back Erdogan for president in 2014.

Islamists, members of the brotherhood, and supporters of Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi shout slogans during a protest around the Raba El-Adwyia mosque square in the suburb of Nasr City, Cairo, June 28, 2013. Egypt's leading religious authority warned of "civil war" on Friday and called for calm after a member of the ruling Muslim Brotherhood was killed ahead of mass rallies aimed at forcing the president to quit. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany (EGYPT - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTX114YI

Crisis of democracy for Islamic parties

While Islamic parties in the Middle East have been keen to use democracy as a way to reach power and maintain their authority, they do not apply democratic principles when it comes to other aspects of governance.

Iraqi security services infiltrated by terrorists

Extremist militias are acquiring official security and military uniforms and equipment which allow them to further compromise the country’s already unstable security situation.