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Turkey

June 15, 2026

Ankara 4:51 pm

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President Recep Tayyip Erdogan received Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Turkish House in New York on Sept. 19, 2023.

Analysis

Erdogan-Netanyahu war of words signals deeper rivalry for regional influence

The latest Erdogan-Netanyahu clash underscored how Turkey-Israel tensions have grown beyond the Palestinian issue and into a wider regional rivalry spanning Syria, Lebanon, Iran and the eastern Mediterranean.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Yasin AKGUL / AFP via Getty Images

Feature

Turkey’s World Cup return clouded by politics, dawn kickoffs

Turkey finally has the World Cup moment it waited 24 years for, but much of the country will either be asleep for it or arguing over efforts to claim it.

Ezgi Akin

In Ankara, reporting on diplomacy, EU-Turkey ties, NATO

Latest News

Explainer

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

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.

Analysis

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

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.

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

Turkish soldiers salute during a ceremony marking the 91st anniversary of Victory Day at the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, founder of modern Turkey, in Ankara August 30, 2013. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY) - RTX131DP

Turkey Should Postpone Bill On Sending Troops Abroad

It is not time for Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to ask the parliament to pass a new bill authorizing sending troops abroad, including Syria.

Turkey's EU Affairs Minister Egemen Bagis talks during an interview with Reuters in Istanbul June 26, 2012. Turkey expects France to unblock talks that are essential if it is ever to join the European Union, now that Socialist President Francois Hollande has replaced Nicolas Sarkozy who was outspoken in opposing the Muslim country's bid to join the bloc. Picture taken June 26, 2012. To match Interview TURKEY-EU/ REUTERS/Murad Sezer (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3483U

Is Turkey Giving Up on EU Membership?

Turkey’s Middle East policies would benefit from joining the European Union.

Turkish soldiers patrol on the Turkish-Syrian border in the town of Ceylanpinar in Sanliurfa province July 19, 2013. Kurdish militias have sought to consolidate their grip in northern Syria after exploiting the chaos of the country's civil war over the past year by seizing control of districts as President Bashar al-Assad's forces focused elsewhere. The clashes have reduced to the odd burst of gunfire, but days of heavy exchanges last month sent stray shells and bullets crashing onto the Turkish side. The T

Impressions From Turkey’s Syrian Frontier

A visit to Turkey’s border with Syria provides context for the complexity of Ankara’s choices in dealing with the Syria war.

A demonstrator gestures as he stands behind burning barricades during a protest in the Tuzlucayir neighbourhood of Ankara September 9, 2013. Billed as a symbol of peace between two faiths, a new place of worship has turned Tuzlucayir, a poor suburb of Ankara, into a battleground and exposed wider sectarian tensions within Turkey. The project's blueprint envisages a Sunni mosque rising side by side with a new cemevi, or assembly house, to be used by Alevis, Turkey's biggest religious minority. But with its c

Alevi Anger Boils Over in Ankara

Simmering anger in Ankara’s iconic Alevi neighborhood of Tuzlucayir suggests that the prime minister might be too late in addressing Alevi grievances.

Russia's President Vladimir Putin (2nd L) shakes hands with his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani (L) during a meeting at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Bishkek, September 13, 2013. Rouhani said on Friday that he wanted a swift resolution to a dispute over Tehran's nuclear programme, which Western states fear is aimed at developing nuclear weapons. REUTERS/Mikhail Klimentyev/RIA Novosti/Kremlin (KYRGYZSTAN - Tags: POLITICS) ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD

Rouhani Heads to New York, Offers Help On Syria Talks

Al-Monitor’s analysis and coverage of what to expect at the UN General Assembly this week.

A woman participates in a silent protest held by the Arab Doctors Union outside the British Embassy in Cairo July 12, 2011. The protesters demanded the release of Sheikh Raed Salah, leader of the northern branch of the Islamic Movement in the Palestinian Territories and Imam of Al-Aqsa mosque, who has been detained in London on charges of entering Britain illegally. REUTERS/MOHAMED ABD EL-GHANY (EGYPT - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS RELIGION) - RTR2OSIA

Radical Islam Movement Gains Momentum Among Israeli Arabs

The leader of the extremist northern faction of the Islamic movement, Raed Salah, drew tens of thousands of Muslims to a rally in support of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood and against coexistence within Israeli society.

Kurdish Parties Build Alliance To Curb Barzani’s Power in Syria

On the eve of elections in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, the Kurdish question in Turkey, Iraq, and Syria becomes even more entangled.

Policemen secure a police compound in Ankara September 20, 2013. The police compound was struck by three rockets on Friday, Interior Minister Muammer Guler said. Two buildings belonging to the national police directorate in the district of Dikmen were hit, but no one was hurt, Guler said. A third rocket fell into the grounds. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS CRIME LAW) - RTX13STZ

Attack on Ankara Police Station Leads to New Questions for AKP

An attack on police headquarters further deepens mutual suspicions between anti and pro-AKP Turks.

Russia's President Vladimir Putin (L) and Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan (2nd R), with Foreign Ministers Sergei Lavrov of Russia (2nd L) and Ahmet Davutoglu of Turkey (R) in the background, applaud during a signing ceremony in Istanbul December 3, 2012. REUTERS/Murad Sezer (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3B64Z

Russia Rescues Turkey From Syrian Chemical Threat

The accord to destroy Syria’s chemical weapons has marginalized Ankara’s Syria policy while removing the threat against Turkey.

People gather at a site hit by what activists said was missiles fired by a Syrian Air Force fighter jet from forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad, at the souk of Azaz, north of Aleppo, January 13, 2013. REUTERS/Zain Karam (SYRIA - Tags: CONFLICT TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTR3CEBT

Turkey’s Syria Nightmare Goes From Bad to Worse

Al-Qaeda-affiliated groups fighting the Syrian government are setting up camp on Syria’s border.

Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al Faisal (L) talks with Qatar Foreign Minister Khalid Al Attiya following their meeting with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and members of the Arab Peace Initiative at the United States Embassy in Paris, September 8, 2013. REUTERS/Susan Walsh/Pool (FRANCE - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX13CWG

US-Russia Syria Deal Affects Saudi Regional Strategy

The US-Russia deal on Syria chemical weapons gives momentum to possible settlement and may mean changes for regional players.

Ferhat Savun aged 11, works on his homework in his home in town of Cizre in Sirnak province, near the border with Syria March 23, 2013. Turkey's fledgling peace process with the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militant group is all over the headlines. After three decades of war, 40,000 deaths and a devastating impact on the local economy, everybody seems ready for peace. Pro-Kurdish politicians are focused on boosting minority rights and stronger local government for the Kurds, who make up about 20 percent o

PKK's Kurdish Education Demands Spark Debate in Turkey

Turkey continues to fear that education in languages other than Turkish will divide the nation, despite a growing demand for mother-tongue instruction and regional success stories.