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

Turkey

Turkey

November 13, 2026

Ankara 12:06 pm

16°C

Burak Kara/Getty Images

Turkey inks $5.1B in climate loans at COP31: What to know

Ankara can count 10 loan deals worth $5.1 billion with four multilateral development banks so far at the UN climate summit, Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek said Thursday.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan (L) and his son Bilal Erdogan (R) stay on the stage during Istanbul Youth Festival in Istanbul on May 4, 2017.

Explainer

Bilal Erdogan, floated as father’s possible successor, visits Lebanon: What to know

Bilal Erdogan, the son of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, is in Lebanon for a three-day visit that will include meetings with officials and religious leaders, as well as stops in Sunni-majority cities.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met with Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh of Libya on the sidelines of the 31st Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, in Antalya, Turkey, on Nov. 12, 2026.

Turkey hosts Libya’s Hifter, Erdogan meets Tripoli PM as unity push gains pace

Ankara is expanding ties with Libya’s eastern leadership while seeking to protect its agreements with Tripoli under a potential power-sharing arrangement.

People walk past a Bitcoin sign at the entrance of a cryptocurrency exchange office on Nov. 8, 2024, in Istanbul, Turkey.

Watchdog urges Turkey to tighten digital asset rules for $144B crypto economy

A review of Turkey’s crypto-asset regulations by the Financial Stability Board acknowledged significant progress made by local authorities but called for further measures to address potential risks.

Latest News

Turkey’s banking watchdog chief submits resignation amid fund scandal

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (L) and Central Bank Governor Sahap Kavcioglu attend a signing ceremony with Abu Dhabi’s crown prince, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan at the Presidential Complex in Ankara on Nov. 24, 2021. ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images

Explainer

Iran war pushes up coal use, complicating Turkey’s COP31 pledge

Chris McGrath/Getty Images

Samuel Wendel

Senior Analyst, Middle East Business & Tech

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

Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahceli addresses his supporters during an election rally in Ankara, June 4, 2011. Turkey will hold parliamentary elections on June 12. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: ELECTIONS POLITICS) - RTR2NA7B

Turkey's Nationalists Threaten Inter-Communal Fighting

The peace process between the Turkish government and the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) has given raise to a nationalist backlash, writes Cengiz Candar.

Members of Armenian community in Romania hold banners during a rally marking the anniversary of mass killings of Armenians in Ottoman Empire in 1915, in downtown Bucharest April 24, 2012. Armenia, backed by many historians and parliaments, says that 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 that the charge of genoc

Will Non-Muslims Return to Turkey?

Although Turkey's Minister of Culture Omer Celik of the AKP is inviting Turkey's non-Muslims to return to their country, many do not feel welcome because of a complicted history, writes Orhan Kemal Cengiz.

An Israeli flag flutters in the wind as a naval vessel (not seen) escorts the Mavi Marmara, a Gaza-bound ship that was raided by Israeli marines, to the Ashdod port May 31, 2010. Israeli marines stormed the Turkish aid ship bound for Gaza on Monday and 10 pro-Palestinian activists were killed, triggering a profound diplomatic crisis. REUTERS/Amir Cohen (ISRAEL - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTR2ELLI

Will Israel Warm Up To Moderate Islamists?

Mustafa Akyol argues that its recent apology to Turkey shows Israel can find a way toward peace with Islamists.

Patriot missile installation is pictured at a positions near the city of Kahramanmaras, February 23, 2013. Germany's defence minister inspected Patriot missile batteries close to the Syria-Turkey border on Saturday and said they delivered a "clear warning" to Damascus that NATO would not tolerate missiles being fired into Turkey. Thomas de Maiziere and his Dutch counterpart Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert travelled to the Turkish cities of Adana and Kahramanmaras to inspect the batteries provided by their countr

No-Fly Zone Debate: Are the Patriots Up to It?

Patriot missiles stationed in Turkey have been the subject of debate as officials and those on the ground consider the feasibility of enforcing a no-fly zone in Syria, writes Fernande van Tets.

A Free Syrian Army fighter takes position inside a room as he points his weapon through a hole in Aleppo's Saif al-Dawla district March 20, 2013. REUTERS/Giath Taha (SYRIA - Tags: CONFLICT) - RTR3F8E4

Arming the Syrian Opposition Is No Solution

Controlling the spread of arms may not be possible if the only solution to end the bloodshed in Syria is by arming the opposition, writes Tulin Daloglu.

Patriot missile installation is pictured at a positions near the city of Kahramanmaras, February 23, 2013. Germany's defence minister inspected Patriot missile batteries close to the Syria-Turkey border on Saturday and said they delivered a "clear warning" to Damascus that NATO would not tolerate missiles being fired into Turkey. Thomas de Maiziere and his Dutch counterpart Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert travelled to the Turkish cities of Adana and Kahramanmaras to inspect the batteries provided by their countr

Turkey's Regional Policy Protected By American Bomb

Turkey once sought a nuclear-free region but now covets the protection from its neighbors that is afforded by US nuclear bombs, writes Kadri Gursel.

Israelis, Iranians Meet at Summit

Shlomi Eldar is surprised to discover an Israeli flag fluttering beside the Iranian flag at the well-known tourist site of Mount Tahtali, Turkey.

Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahceli addresses his supporters during an election rally in Istanbul, May 29, 2011. Turkey will hold parliamentary elections on June 12. REUTERS/Osman Orsal (TURKEY - Tags: ELECTIONS POLITICS) - RTR2N1VX

Turkey's Ultra-Nationalists Playing With Fire

Turkey's ultra-nationalists are evoking the violence of the past when rallying against the government's peace process with the Kurdistan Workers Party, writes Semih Idiz.

A Syrian refugee family sits in front of their makeshift tent in the town of Viransehir in Sanliurfa province, southeast Turkey, February 10, 2013. Some 50 families, mostly from villages near Syria's Aleppo, prefer to settle in the outskirts of Viransehir instead of refugee camps run by the Turkish government. According to the families, this allows them to work as seasonal agricultural workers. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS SOCIETY IMMIGRATION BUSINESS EMPLOYMENT CIVIL UNREST) - RTR3DL1D

Did Turkey Deport Syrians?

Turkish authorities deny allegations that 600 Syrians were deported form the Suleiman Shah refugee camp, writes Tulin Daloglu.

Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan chats with Head of Turkey's Religious Affairs Directorate Mehmet Gormez (R) during the summit of religious leaders from Muslim countries and communities in Africa at the Ottoman-era Dolmabahce Palace in Istanbul November 21, 2011. REUTERS/Murad Sezer (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS RELIGION) - RTR2UA6H

Turkey's Top Religious Official Backtracks on Critique of Izmir

Some speak out after Mehmet Gormez, Director of Religious Affairs, says Izmir has a different kind of religiosity that needs the wisdom of religious traditions, Tulin Daloglu writes.

Armenian Bishop Datev Hagopian attends a wreath laying ceremony after a special prayer marking the anniversary of mass killings of Armenians in Ottoman Empire in 1915, outside the Armenian Church in Bucharest April 24, 2012. Armenia, backed by many historians and parliaments, says that 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 o

Turkey’s Islamized Armenians Grapple With Tragic Roots

The descendants of Islamized Armenians who survived the Ottoman massacres during World War I have begun to “come out” in Turkey, braving century-old prejudices and fears to embrace their Armenian roots, reports Sibel Utku Bila from Diyarbakir.

Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan addresses the media before his flight to Denmark for an official visit at Esenboga Airport in Ankara March 19, 2013. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3F72Q

Erdogan's Good Fortune And Israel's Apology

Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been Turkey's prime minister for over 10 years, and during that time he has had an incredible number of political victories; so many in fact that Cengiz Çandar writes that nobody is as lucky as Erdogan.