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Turkey

Turkey

June 17, 2026

Ankara 7:45 pm

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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

A general view shows Khan al-Assal area near the northern city of Aleppo, near the site where forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad say was Tuesday's chemical weapon attack March 23, 2013. The United Nations said on Thursday it would investigate Syria's allegations that rebel forces used chemical weapons in an attack near Aleppo, but Western countries sought a probe of all claims concerning the use of such banned arms. The deaths of 26 people in that rocket attack became the focus of competing c

Why Russia Does Not Believe Syria Used Chemical Weapons

Russia does not believe that Syria used chemical weapons against insurgents, and therefore considers this week's revelation as information warfare to escalate the conflict, writes Fyodor Lukyanov.

A child waves a Hezbollah flag as she holds pictures of martyrs as Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah addresses his supporters during a rally to commemorate Martyrs' Day in Beirut, February 16, 2013. REUTERS/Sharif Karim (LEBANON - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3DVC2

Is Hezbollah Losing Its Grip?

The drone sent by Hezbollah to Israel must be interpreted as an outcry for survival by its leader, Hassan Nasrallah, writes Shlomi Eldar.

U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel (R) and his Israeli counterpart Moshe Yaalon (L) look out of the window during a helicopter tour of the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights April 22, 2013. Israel suggested on Monday it would be patient before taking any military action against Iran's nuclear programme, saying during a visit by Hagel there was still time for other options. REUTERS/Jim Watson/Pool (ISRAEL - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY TRAVEL) - RTXYVU8

Did Israel Ambush the US on Syria?

Whether or not Israel planned to ambush the US on Syria's chemical weapon use, the result has been successful in moving the US closer to Israel's position, writes Alon Ben David.

Murat Karayilan, acting military commander of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), speaks during an interview with Reuters at the Qandil mountains near the Iraq-Turkish border in Sulaimaniya, 330 km (205 miles) northeast of Baghdad March 24, 2013. Shattered stone houses recall Turkish air strikes on Kurdish rebels holed up in the Qandil mountains of northern Iraq. Life is harsh amid the snowcapped peaks, supplies are sparse and armed forays across into Turkey perilous in the extreme. Yet rebel chief Abdullah

PKK Peace Process on Track

Turkey's legal Kurdish political party, the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP), suggests it will oppose a constitutional amendment that would introduce an “oppressive and authoritarian presidential regime.”

An Israeli soldier stands guard next to an Iron Dome rocket interceptor battery deployed near the northern Israeli city of Haifa January 28, 2013. Any sign that Syria's grip on its chemical weapons is slipping as it battles an armed uprising could trigger Israeli military strikes, Israel's vice premier said on Sunday. A military spokesman confirmed reports that two Iron Dome batteries were moved to the Haifa area but insisted this was part of a routine of rotating these systems. REUTERS/Baz Ratner (ISRAEL -

Hezbollah Denies Ownership Of Downed Drone

Ali Hashem asks, If Hezbollah was not responsible for the drone downed over Israel, who was?

U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel speaks with reporters after reading a statement on chemical weapon use in Syria during a news conference in Abu Dhabi April 25, 2013. Hagel on Thursday said the U.S. intelligence community believes the Syrian government has used sarin gas on a small scale against rebels trying to overthrow the government of Bashar al-Assad. REUTERS/Jim Watson/Pool (UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTXYZQ8

US Considers Next Steps in Syria

The Obama administration, which acknowledges Syria probably used chemical weapons, is likely to use the information to rally Russian support at the Security Council.

Lebanon's Hezbollah members carry the coffin of a Hezbollah member during his funeral in Ansar village near Baalbek city October 8, 2012. Hezbollah gave no details about their deaths but sources in Baalbek said they and another Hezbollah man were killed near a Syrian border town where rebels are fighting Assad's forces. REUTERS/Ahmed Shalha (LEBANON - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS) - RTR38X92

Hezbollah Base Questions Support for Assad

With Hezbollah members increasingly dying in Syria, some of the party’s base are re-evaluating its role in the conflict, writes an Al-Monitor correspondent in Beirut.

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 June 25, 2013. Turkish anti-terrorism police detained 20 people in raids in the capital Ankara on Tuesday in connection with weeks of anti-government protests across the country, media reports said. The unrest began at the end of May when police used force against campaigners opposed to plans to redevelop a central Istanbul park. The protest spiralled int

Israeli-Turkish Reconciliation Not a Done Deal

Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan's aspirations to become leader of the Sunni Muslim world could hinder rebuilding strategic ties with Israel, argues Ben Caspit.

People light candles during a special prayer marking the anniversary of mass killings of Armenians in Ottoman Empire in 1915, in the Armenian Church in Jerusalem's Old City April 24, 2012. Armenia, backed by many historians and parliaments, says about 1.5 million Christian Armenians were killed in what is now eastern Turkey during World War One in a deliberate policy of genocide ordered by the Ottoman government. Successive Turkish governments and the vast majority of Turks feel the charge of genocide is an

Israel: The Politics Behind The Armenian Genocide

On the eve of the 98th anniversary of the Armenian genocide, Israel continues denying the event in favor of having better political relations with Turkey, writes Akiva Eldar.

Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan (L) shakes hands with Archbishop Nourhan Manougian, Patriarchal Vicar of the Armenian Patriarchate of Jerusalem, during an international conference on the Arab awakening and peace in the Middle East in Istanbul September 7, 2012. REUTERS/Murad Sezer (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS RELIGION) - RTR37O19

Is Turkey Overcoming The Armenian Taboo?

Turkey is changing from a country where the phrase "Armenian question" was never mentioned to one where groups are marching in the street using the term "Armenian genocide," writes Orhan Kemal Cengiz.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel (L) and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Army General Martin Dempsey (R) testify before the House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee in Washington April 16, 2013. REUTERS/Gary Cameron (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY) - RTXYNPQ

US Not Considering Arms To Syrian Rebels

The Obama administration resists congressional pressure for military aid to the Syrian rebels; Al-Monitor writers take on the case of Fazil Say and the resignation of Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad.

Turkish classical pianist Fazil Say performs during a concert in Ankara October 14, 2010. Internationally acclaimed Turkish classical pianist Fazil Say goes on trial on charges of insulting Muslim religious values in comments he posted on Twitter. REUTERS/Stringer (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST SOCIETY) - RTR399ZY

Turkey’s New 'Sunni Islam' Taboo

The 10-month suspended prison sentence of pianist Fazil Say on grounds of his (re)tweets is the signal for an introduction of a new taboo called “Sunni Islam” in Turkey, writes Kadri Gursel.