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

Turkey

Turkey

July 30, 2026

Ankara 10:11 pm

19°C

A Saudi navy ship is pictured docked at King Faisal navy base in Jeddah before the departure of a team to Port Sudan to help with the evacuation efforts of people fleeing Sudan, on April 29, 2023.

Turkey, Pakistan among 14 countries backing Saudi Arabia's anti-Houthi Red Sea alliance

Riyadh won political backing from 14 countries for its proposed maritime defense coalition, but members have yet to commit to joining as Washington weighs its position.

Erdogan and Aoun

Turkey ready to participate in post-UNIFIL force in Lebanon, Erdogan tells Aoun

Aoun paid a one-day visit to Ankara amid Lebanon's push to secure an Israeli withdrawal and end the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.

Latest News

Explainer

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

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

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

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.

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

Members of the media are fired upon by a water cannon during protests at Kizilay square in central Ankara, June 16, 2013. The unrest, in which police fired teargas and water cannons at stone-throwing protesters night after night in cities including Istanbul and Ankara, left four people dead and about 5,000 injured, according to the Turkish Medical Association. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST MEDIA) - RTX10Q1Q

EU Gives Turkey a Failing Mark On Media Freedom

While the European Parliament report on Turkey gives the government low marks on media freedom, the media industry may be mostly responsible for this outcome.

An activist of the women's rights group Femen prepares for a protest against domestic violence in Istanbul March 8, 2012. REUTERS/Osman Orsal (TURKEY - Tags: CIVIL UNREST) TEMPLATE OUT - RTR2Z1A9

Can Nude Feminism Succeed in Turkey?

In Turkey, the nude protesters of women's rights group FEMEN face a larger obstacle than male supremacy: They don't quite understand the real issues that strain Turkish politics and society.

Turkey's Energy Minister Taner Yildiz addresses the audience during a ceremony in Famagusta April 26, 2012. Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu and Yildiz attended the ceremony marking the start of joint gas and oil exploration works in northern Cyprus between Turkey's state-owned energy company TPAO and the Turkish-Cypriot administration. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (CYPRUS - Tags: POLITICS ENERGY BUSINESS) - RTR318P5

International Oil Companies Gamble on Turkey’s Shale Gas

While information on Turkey's hydrocarbon reserves remains elusive, some shale investors are willing to take the risk.

Turkey's Choice: Chinese Missile Defense Or NATO?

If Turkey moves ahead with the purchase of a Chinese missile defense system, Ankara will be opting out of a NATO system.

Lebanese Interior Minister Marwan Charbel (C) speaks to soldiers in Beirut's southern suburbs September 23, 2013. Lebanese security personnel were deployed today in the southern suburbs of Beirut, part of a move to take over the checkpoints set up by Hezbollah after recent car bombings targeted the area, according to the local media. REUTERS/Sharif Karim (LEBANON - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTX13WWZ

Lebanon Gains From Hostage Deal, Regional Trends

Qatar and the Palestinian Authority, which are at odds with Hezbollah, seem to have played key roles in releasing Lebanese hostages close to Hezbollah.

Police fire tear gas to disperse university students demonstrating against reconstruction plans that include a part of their campus in Ankara early October 19, 2013. The municipality plan, opposed by the students, involves building a road across the Middle East Technical University campus and uprooting a large number of trees in the area. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST EDUCATION ENVIRONMENT TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY BUSINESS CONSTRUCTION) - RTX14GBU

Turkish Politics Is Lost At Meeting People's Needs

The regularly scheduled speeches by party leaders on Tuesdays are turning people off of politics.

Cemil Bayik, a founding member of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), speaks during an interview with Reuters at the Qandil mountains near the Iraq-Turkey border, October 19, 2013. Kurdish rebels are ready to re-enter Turkey from northern Iraq, Bayik, the head of the group's political wing said at his mountain hideout, threatening to rekindle an insurgency unless Ankara resuscitates their peace process soon. Picture taken October 19. To match Interview TURKEY-KURDS/PKK REUTERS/Stringer (IRAQ - Tags: PO

Turkey’s Kurdish Peace Effort At Crossroads

The likelihood of a resumption of violence with the Kurds in Turkey is not a distant possibility.

Fans of the Egypt team celebrate during their World Cup 2014 African zone qualifying soccer match against Ghana at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium in Kumasi October 15, 2013. REUTERS/Luc Gnago (GHANA - Tags: SPORT SOCCER) - RTX14CVU

Egypt-Qatar Relations Sour Over World Cup Broadcast Rights

Qatar’s ties with Egypt have been further strained by a dispute over broadcast rights for soccer matches.

Hasankeyf: Civilization Condemned to Death

The countdown has started for unique, 12,000-year-old historical monuments in the Tigris Valley to be submerged by the waters of a dam promising an annual revenue of 300 million Turkish lira.

Palestinian children hoping to cross into Egypt, look out of a bus window at the Rafah crossing between Egypt and the southern Gaza Strip October 8, 2013. Egypt partially reopened its border crossing with the Gaza Strip for four days on Tuesday for the humanitarian needs of patients seeking treatment, and students studying outside of Gaza, a Palestinian official said. REUTERS/Ahmed Zakot (GAZA - Tags: POLITICS TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY SOCIETY IMMIGRATION) - RTX143OA

Solidarity Visits to Gaza Dwindle

International solidarity delegations to Gaza have struggled to enter the territory since Egypt's tightening of its blockade, cutting off a vital source of essential medical assistance.

Protesters argue with municipality workers during a demonstration against reconstruction plans that include a part of the Middle East Technical University campus in Ankara October 21, 2013. The municipality plan, opposed by the students, involves building a road across the Middle East Technical University campus and uprooting a large number of trees in the area. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST EDUCATION) - RTX14IMG

Why Turks Are Fighting Over Trees

The controversy over thousands of trees to be uprooted on a university campus in Ankara for a construction project is reminiscent of Gezi Park.

A man cleans apples for sale in the city of Aleppo October 5, 2013. REUTERS/Muzaffar Salman (SYRIA - Tags: FOOD SOCIETY BUSINESS) - RTR3FMF8

Aleppo's war economy

Residents of Aleppo have moved beyond the initial shocks of war and are adjusting to make ends meet.