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Turkey

Turkey

June 17, 2026

Ankara 6:19 am

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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan meets with Orthodox Patriarch of Bartholomew at the presidential complex, Ankara, Turkey, June 16, 2026.

Culture

Turkey’s Erdogan meets Orthodox patriarch amid push for reopening Halki Seminary

The meeting comes ahead of US President Trump’s expected attendance at next month's NATO leaders’ summit in Turkey, after Trump personally urged his Turkish counterpart to reopen the Halki Seminary.

Turkey's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan attends the NATO Foreign Ministers' meeting in Helsingborg, Sweden, on May 22, 2026.

Turkey’s Fidan heads to Moscow as S-400 sanctions issue returns to fore

The visit comes weeks before Turkey hosts NATO leaders, on the sidelines of which Ankara hopes to reach a deal with Washington over CAATSA sanctions over its purchase of Russian S-400s.

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

Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan addresses members of parliament from his ruling AK Party (AKP) during a meeting at the Turkish parliament in Ankara May 7, 2013. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS) - RTXZDDJ

Has Erdogan Overstayed His Welcome?

Most countries set term limits for top officials to avoid antagonizing the population and to inject new energy into government; Turkey should do the same.

The Mideast in Venice

Nine Middle Eastern countries are represented at the Venice Biennale, including a piece aptly called "Resistance" from a Turkish artist.

United Arab Emirates

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrives at Rabat airport on June 3, 2013, at the start of a tour of the Maghreb region. REUTERS/Youssef Boudlal (MOROCCO - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX10AEL

Assad Toys With Erdogan Over Riots

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is losing the high ground in his response to protests.

Members of the Hamas security forces patrol the border area between Gaza and Egypt, in the southern Gaza Strip May 20, 2013. Egyptian police angered by the kidnapping of seven colleagues by Islamist gunmen kept a crossing into the Gaza Strip closed again for four days, stranding hundreds of Palestinian travellers, witnesses said. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa (GAZA - Tags: POLITICS) - RTXZTTN

Gaza Youth Flee Harsh Life To Israel

Sneaking into Israel is becoming a more attractive option for Gaza’s unemployed youth as living conditions in the besieged enclave continue to deteriorate.

Turkish President Abdullah Gul (L) and Kurdistan Region President Masoud Barzani shake hands before their meeting at the Presidential Palace in Ankara April 20, 2012. REUTERS/Presidential Palace/Murat Cetinmuhurdar/Handout (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS) FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS. THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. IT IS DISTRIBUTED, EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS - RTR30ZAR

Iraqi Kurds Criticize Growing Turkish Influence

The KRG’s drive for autonomy and stability via Turkey is revealing the gaps between Kurdish economic and political aims and between KRG elites and local populations.

A Turkish riot policeman uses tear gas as people protest against the destruction of trees in a park brought about by a pedestrian project, in Taksim Square in central Istanbul May 28, 2013. REUTERS/Osman Orsal (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST ENVIRONMENT TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTX103XA

Black Friday: A Turning Point In Turkey’s History?

May 31, 2013, may become one of those turning points for Turkey.

A protester throws a gas canister back at the riot police during a demonstration in Ankara, June 3, 2013. Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan accused anti-government protesters on Monday of walking "arm-in-arm with terrorism", remarks that could further inflame public anger after three days of some of the most violent riots in decades. Hundreds of police and protesters have been injured since Friday in the riots, which began with a demonstration to halt construction in a park in an Istanbul square and gre

Erdogan Blames Foreign HandIn Protests

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused foreign intelligence services of being behind the street demonstrations in Turkey.

TuTurkish protesters holding a Turkish flag demonstrate on the main city square, Kizilay, in the Turkish capital Ankara on June 3, 2013. rkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday rejected talk of a "Turkish Spring", shrugging off mass protests against his government as medics reported the first death in days of violence. Rallies started there last week initially in protest at plans to redevelop the adjacent Gezi Park, a rare green spot in central Istanbul, and quickly spread, inflamed by anger at

From Tahrir to Taksim

The awakening of the silent majority in Istanbul might signal to Israelis that not all of the Turkish people support the policies of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Protesters shout anti-government slogans during a demonstration at Taksim Square in central Istanbul June 3, 2013. Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan called for calm on Monday, after a weekend of fierce anti-government protests, urging people not to be provoked by demonstrations he said had been organised by "extremist elements". Tens of thousands of people took to the streets in Turkey's biggest cities over the weekend and clashed with riot police firing tear gas, leaving hundreds of people injured. RE

Is Taksim the Turkish Tahrir?

I thought not, until I came to Istanbul.

Demonstrators stand in front of a make shift shield during clashes with Turkish riot police in central Ankara June 2, 2013. Erdogan accused Turkey's main secular opposition party on Sunday of stirring a wave of anti-government protests, as tens of thousands regrouped in Istanbul and Ankara after a lull and trouble flared again in the capital. Police used tear gas on protesters in Ankara but the clashes were relatively minor compared with major violence in Turkey's biggest cities on the previous two days. RE

Turkish Spring?

Turks takes to the streets to protest the policies of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Demonstrators rest in Taksim Square where police and anti-government protesters clashed in central Istanbul June 2, 2013. Protesters lit fires and scuffled with police in parts of Istanbul and Ankara early on Sunday, but the streets were generally quieter after two days of Turkey's fiercest anti-government demonstrations for years. REUTERS/Murad Sezer (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTX108WO

Erdogan Weakened By Protests

Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan's government will survive the protests, but what these uprisings may mean at the ballot box still remain unclear.

A man is hit by a jet of water as riot police use a water cannon to disperse demonstrators during a protest against Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan and his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) in central Ankara June 1, 2013. Erdogan made a defiant call for an end to the fiercest anti-government demonstrations in years on Saturday, as thousands of protesters clashed with riot police in Istanbul and Ankara for a second day. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST TPX IMAGES

Turkey's Velvet Revolution

Nothing is predictable in the aftermath of the tempest at Istanbul’s Taksim Square.