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

Turkey

Turkey

June 15, 2026

Ankara 8:06 pm

20°C

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

A woman is attacked by water cannon during protests in Kizilay square in central Ankara, June 16, 2013. The unrest, in which police fired teargas and water cannon 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 TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTX10PPE

Women Protesters in Turkey Brave Sexual Harassment

The systematic sexual harassment of female Turkish protesters in custody is used as a weapon to deter them and marginalize the protest movement.

A boy wearing a Guy Fawkes mask displays his wooden sword behind a barricade at Gezi Park in central Istanbul June 12, 2013. Turkish riot police fought running battles with pockets of protesters overnight, clearing the central Istanbul square that has been the focus of nearly two weeks of protests against Turkey's prime minister. By dawn, Taksim Square, strewn with wreckage from bulldozed barricades, was largely deserted and taxis crossed it for the first time since the troubles started. Several hundred rem

How Happy Is the One Who Says 'I am a Turk'?

Turks seem to be content, but perhaps not all that happy.

Sawssan Abdelwahab, who fled Idlib in Syria, walks with her children outside the refugees camp near the Turkish-Syrian border in the southeastern city of Yayladagi February 16, 2012. REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra (TURKEY - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS) - RTR2XYH9

On Turkey-Syria Border, Despair Over War

Syrians in Antakya are pessimistic about the future.

Anti-government Alevi protesters shout slogans during a demonstration in Istanbul June 23, 2013. The European Union is on the verge of scrapping a new round of membership talks with Turkey, a move that would further undermine Ankara's already slim hopes of joining the bloc and damage its relations with Brussels. Germany, the EU's biggest economic power, is blocking efforts to revive Turkey's EU membership bid, partly because of its handling of anti-government protests that have swept the country in the last

Is Syria War Additional Spark To Alevi Protests in Turkey?

The war in Syria and the fallout from the Gezi Park demonstrations may be revealing a fault line in Turkish politics.

Art Goes Indoors At Istanbul Biennial

Amid the continuing street protests in the city, the 13th Istanbul Biennial’s decision to withdraw from public spaces aims to make the demonstrations and their message more visible.

Anti-government Alevi protesters shout slogans during a demonstration in Istanbul June 23, 2013. The European Union is on the verge of scrapping a new round of membership talks with Turkey, a move that would further undermine Ankara's already slim hopes of joining the bloc and damage its relations with Brussels. Germany, the EU's biggest economic power, is blocking efforts to revive Turkey's EU membership bid, partly because of its handling of anti-government protests that have swept the country in the last

Syria Crisis Prompts Turkey's New Openings to Its Alevis

Turkey’s new liberalization package for its largest religious minority is linked to Syria.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (L) speaks next to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov as they answer questions from the media, following meetings regarding Syria, at a news conference in Geneva September 14, 2013. The United States and Russia have agreed on a proposal to eliminate Syria's chemical weapons arsenal, Kerry said on Saturday after nearly three days of talks with Lavrov. REUTERS/Larry Downing (SWITZERLAND - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTX13KRV

Obama’s Syria Policy Has Potential For Breakthrough on War

Al-Monitor’s analysis and coverage of US policy toward Syria.

An Israeli military vehicle drives along Israel's border with Egypt's Sinai desert, near the Nitzana crossing August 20, 2013. Egypt began three days of official mourning for 25 policemen killed on Monday by suspected Islamist militants in the Sinai near the desert border with Israel. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun (ISRAEL - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX12RGP

Israel-Egypt Forge New Ties Over Sinai

The United States is no longer the glue between Israel and Egypt.

Egyptian activists and pro-government protester demonstrate outside the Turkish embassy in Cairo on August 24, 2013, against Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Erdogan criticised Washington for its response to his claims of Israel's involvement in the Egypt crisis. AFP PHOTO/MOHAMED EL SHAHED (Photo credit should read MOHAMED EL-SHAHED/AFP/Getty Images)

How Did Turkey Lose Egypt?

Statements by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the coup in Egypt have set back Egyptian diplomacy and popularity with the Egyptian street.

Improvised mortar shells that are colored are seen inside a box at a weapons factory in Aleppo September 4, 2013. REUTERS/Hamid Khatib (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT) - RTX1372R

Court Case Reveals Turkey Arms Flow To Syrian Rebels

The transfer of Turkish weapons to the Free Syrian Army is documented in a court case in Hatay.

A man holds posters depicting Egypt's top general, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi as Turkish supporters of Egypt's ousted President Mohammed Morsi demonstrate outside the Egyptian embassy in Ankara on August 8, 2013. AFP PHOTO / ADEM ALTAN (Photo credit should read ADEM ALTAN/AFP/Getty Images)

Turkish Opposition Builds Bridge to Egypt

Two prominent diplomats affiliated with the Republican People's Party are trying to repair ties between Ankara and Cairo.

Syrian boys from the northern Syrian town of Ras al-Ain attempt to cross the border back into Syria at the Turkish border town of Ceylanpinar, Sanliurfa province, November 24, 2012. Syria on Friday condemned Turkey's request for NATO to deploy Patriot defence missiles near their common border, calling it "provocative", after a spate of clashes there that has raised fear of the Syrian civil war embroiling the wider region. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh (TURKEY - Tags: CIVIL UNREST MILITARY POLITICS CONFLICT) -

Turkey’s Syria Border on Edge

A first-hand account of Turkey’s Syrian border suggests that Turkey continues to provide sanctuary for both rebels fighting the Syrian government and Kurdish forces alike.