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Turkey

Turkey

June 18, 2026

Ankara 12:22 am

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A Turkish police officers patrols at the scene of a motor-bike bomb explosion, next to a police station on Oct. 6, 2016, in Istanbul.

Turkey captures alleged ISIS-K media chief near Afghanistan-Pakistan border

The capture comes as Turkish authorities intensify raids against Islamic State networks following recent attacks and alleged plots.

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

Latest News

Feature

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

Yasin AKGUL / AFP via Getty Images

Ezgi Akin

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

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.

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

Demonstrators hold Kurdish flags and flags with portraits of the jailed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Ocalan during a gathering to celebrate Newroz in the southeastern Turkish city of Diyarbakir March 21, 2013. Ocalan ordered his fighters on Thursday to cease fire and withdraw from Turkish soil as a step to ending a conflict that has killed 40,000 people, riven the country and battered its economy. Hundreds of thousands of Kurds, gathered in the regional centre of Diyarbakir, cheered and wav

Turkey’s Kurds Rally for Peace, But Mistrust Lingers

A crowd of 600,000 turned out to celebrate Newroz and hear a message from Abdullah Ocalan, imprisoned leader of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), in support of Turkish-Kurdish peace talks, Sibel Utku Bila reports from Diyarbakir.

Israel's Defence Minister Ehud Barak (L) and his Greek counterpart Dimitris Avramopoulos watch a military parade at the Defence Ministry in Athens January 10, 2012. REUTERS/Yiorgos Karahalis (GREECE - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY) - RTR2W3DY

Israel-Turkey Strategic Ties Show Signs of Thawing

Jean-Loup Samaan writes that the Israel-Turkey split is not really grounded in substance but rather in the personal ties of their leaders, and that a thaw may be in the works.

Erdogan Softens Zionism Remarks As Obama Lands in Israel

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s attempt to clarify earlier remarks on Zionism may aim in part to repair ties with the United States, which have also been strained by Ankara's refusal to hand over an al-Qaeda official to US authorities, writes Tulin Daloglu.

Journalists and activists participate in a rally calling for press freedom in central Ankara March 19, 2011. The recent arrest and jailing of some 10 journalists as part of investigations into Ergenekon, an ultra-nationalist, secularist network opposed to Prime Minister's Tayyip Erdogan's rule, has a triggered expressions of concern from the European Union, the United States and human rights groups about Ankara's commitment to media freedom and democratic principles. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: CIVI

Resignation Signals New Low For Turkish Journalism

Hasan Cemal, after 45 years as a journalist, loses his job because of government pressure.

Turkish columnist Hasan Cemal (R), one of five journalists who are on trial for insulting the country's courts, leaves the court house following their trial in Istanbul, February 7, 2006. A Turkish court on Tuesday began hearing the case of five prominent journalists who face possible jail sentences in a trial which is seen as a fresh test of curbs on freedom of expression in the European Union candidate nation. REUTERS/Stringer - RTR1A80J

The Death of Journalism in Turkey

Cengiz Candar writes that when veteran Turkish journalist Hasan Cemal resigned on March 18 from his 15-year stint with daily Milliyet after it refused to print his latest article, it was the death of decent journalism in Turkey.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (L) meets with Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan at Ankara Palace in Ankara, March 1, 2013. Kerry said on Friday the United States found a comment by Turkey's prime minister, likening Zionism to crimes against humanity, "objectionable", overshadowing their talks on the crisis in neighbouring Syria. REUTERS/Jacquelyn Martin/Pool (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3EG91

Turkey Miscalculates Syria

Turkey's policies on Syria over the past two years have reduced Ankara's diplomatic leverage in the region, writes Semih Idiz.

Protestors chant slogans against Israel and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad as they carry a mock coffinwith the mention "In Hule masacre 50 children killed by knives" during a rally on May 31, 2012 on Taksim Square in Istanbul, marking the first anniversary of the death of nine Turks, shot in May 2010 when Israeli naval commandos seized the Turkish ship Mavi Marmara that was part of a flotilla trying to break the Gaza blockade. The crowd gathered in iconic Taksim Square under the banner of the pro-Islamic

Turkey in No Position To School Israel on Human Rights

Until it comes terms with its own violations, Turkey should not offer lessons in human rights to other countries, writes Orhan Kemal Cengiz.

A masked man shouts slogans in favour of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) guerrillas as he waves a scarf with the yellow-red-green Kurdish colours during a pro Kurdish demonstration in downtown Istanbul October 19, 2009. A group of Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) guerrillas is expected to surrender to Turkish military forces on Monday in a gesture of support for Turkey's Kurdish initiative, a PKK official said late on Saturday. Eight fighters from a PKK camp in the Kandil Mountains in northern Iraq will cros

Turkey’s Kurdish Peace InitiativeLinked to Syria

Turkey, both to protect itself from the potential negative consequences of regionalization of the Kurdish issue and to remove the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) as a threat, had no choice but to seek peace with its own Kurds, writes Kadri Gursel.

Selahattin Demirtas, co-chairman of the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party, greets his supporters during a rally to celebrate the spring festival of Newroz in Istanbul March 17, 2013. A picture of imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan is seen in the background. REUTERS/Murad Sezer (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTR3F4BY

Uncertainty Lingers Over Turkey'sNegotiations with Ocalan

Tulin Daloglu writes that PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan is expected to call for the end of armed struggle in Turkey, and asks what the state is promising in return and why the government is seeking Ocalan’s blessing.

Selahattin Demirtas (front C), co-chairman of the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP), lights a traditional Newroz fire during a rally to celebrate the spring festival of Newroz in Istanbul March 17, 2013. Kurdish parliamentarians set off by boat on Monday to visit Kurdish militant leader Abdullah Ocalan in his island prison where they expected him to summon his fighters to cease fire and leave Turkey to help end a 28-year-old insurgency. The conflict has been a major source of instability in Turkey

Turkey, PKK Learn From Past Mistakes

Ankara and the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) are striving to avoid repeating past missteps and keep the peace process on track, writes Ilnur Cevik.

Turkey's Prime Minister and leader of ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) Tayyip Erdogan (C), accompanied by his wife Emine Erdogan (front 2nd R), greets his supporters as he enters the hall during his party congress in Ankara September 30, 2012. REUTERS/Adem Altan/Pool (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR38LZQ

The Paradox of Religion In Erdogan’s Turkey

Ihsan Dagi of Zaman asks whether conservatives are moving to the center; the answer is just that power is changing hands in Turkey, but not in a democratic way, writes Tulin Daloglu.

Demonstrators wave pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party flags during a rally to celebrate the spring festival of Newroz in Istanbul March 17, 2013. REUTERS/Murad Sezer (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTR3F4BU

Turkey's Kurdish Language Policy: Learning from Europe

Soner Cagaptay and Tyler Evans write that Turkey need not recognize the Kurdish language in a new constitution, but over time could develop a provision for public services in Kurdish.