NATO

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.

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan buttons up his jacket during a press conference after the conclusion of the G20 Leaders' Summit at the Nasrec Expo Centre in Johannesburg on November 23, 2025.

Explainer

Turkey-Israel tensions flare over Syria, Lebanon, East Med: What to know

The Turkish president has accused Israel of threatening Turkey through its military actions in Syria, Lebanon and the Eastern Mediterranean, triggering a sharp exchange with the Israeli prime minister.

Tom Barrack testifies during his Senate Foreign Relations Committee confirmation hearing in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on April 01, 2025, in Washington, DC.

Tom Barrack addresses criticism over his remarks on Hezbollah, Turkey: What to know

Tom Barrack, a senior figure within the Trump administration, was recently criticized by a member of the House for some of his past statements on Hezbollah.

Latest News

Explainer

Turkey warns Greece, Cyprus not to engage in arms race: What to know

ETIENNE TORBEY/AFP via Getty Images

Turkey’s NATO pipeline bid fuels rivalry with Greece: What to know

OLE BERG-RUSTEN/NTB/AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Turkey looks to NATO summit for breakthrough on US F-35s acquisition

F-35s over Greenland

Ezgi Akin

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

Turkey warns France over Cyprus troop deployment: What to know

Members of the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP), from the British Army's 1st Battalion Coldstream Guards, No. 2 Company, patrol along the buffer zone separating the internationally recognized Republic of Cyprus and the breakaway Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus in the divided capital Nicosia on Feb. 17, 2026.

Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) talks to Russia's Chief Mufti Talgat Tadzhuddin (back) during their meeting in Kazan on Jan. 24, 2018.

Facing Western isolation over Ukraine, Russia looks to Mideast, Islamic world

As sanctions against Russia continue to increase, Moscow will likely focus on states in the Islamic world and the Middle East for support — but even this window may be closing.

Ukrainian servicemen patrol in the settlement of Troitske in the Lugansk region near the front line with Russia-backed separatists on Feb. 22, 2022, a day after Russia recognised east Ukraine's separatist republics and ordered the Russian army to send troops there as "peacekeepers".

Ukraine crisis exposes Turkey’s limits

The Ukraine crisis has exposed Ankara’s limits on foreign policy, yet Turkey’s President Erdogan can still score points from rapprochement with the UAE and Israel.

US President Joe Biden meets with Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett in the Oval Office at the White House on Aug. 27, 2021, in Washington, DC.

Analysis

Does Raisi need a nuclear deal more than Biden?

Also: The Iran talks in Vienna enter their final days, what comes next, and why neither president should expect an assist from the US Congress on Iran.

Week in Review

By Week in Review

President Joe Biden meets with Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani in the Oval Office on Jan. 31, 2022, in Washington, DC.

Biden eyes Qatar as major non-NATO ally

The upgrade in ties comes as the United States is seeking Doha's help in supplying natural gas to Europe.

Russia bombers

Kremlin hopes Syria can be a future thorn in NATO's southern flank

The longer runway at Khmeimim airbase in Syria gives nuclear-capable bombers a place to land, and is one more move in Russia's plan to expand its capacities in new directions.

A Russian Sukhoi Su-35 fighter jet taxis on a runway during an air show at the Teknofest festival at Ataturk Airport, Istanbul, Turkey, Sept. 17, 2019.

Intel: Pentagon holds 'productive' talks with Turkey over F-35 dispute

All eyes are on next week's Glasgow summit as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan seeks to talk F-35s and F-16s with US President Joe Biden.

Sudanese security forces keep watch as they protect a military hospital and government offices during protests against a military coup.

The Takeaway: Sudan’s fragile economic stability at risk after military takeover

Saudi Arabia’s plan for “net-zero”; Turkey’s spy busts; Syria’s rebel factions; Egypt’s robot detention; fatwas on marital sex and bodybuilding; fishing for plastic in the Nile … all in about 1,500 words!

A Russian Sukhoi Su-35 fighter takes off during an air show at the Teknofest festival at Ataturk Airport in Istanbul on September 17, 2019.

Intel: Turkey’s Erdogan wants to talk F-35 dispute with Biden in Rome

After boasting about future defense ties with Russia, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says he's hopeful the United States will sell Turkey more F-16s.

ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images

Erdogan says US, not Turkey, proposed F-16 sale

Turkey's president said the plan to sell dozens of F-16s to Ankara was Washington’s idea.

Kleine-Brogel

Turkey requests to buy 40 US F-16 fighter planes

Just last week Erdogan boasted about potential new defense deals with Russia, including aircraft purchases.

Erdogan Putin

Intel: Turkey talks expanding defense ties with Russia, snubbing NATO

Erdogan's boasting about future defense projects with Moscow comes after he failed to get a meeting with President Joe Biden in New York.

Russia / Mideast

General McKenzie

CENTCOM commander acknowledges he did not try to stop Taliban from entering Kabul

“If someone actually made a decision, that would’ve been me,” Gen. Kenneth 'Frank' McKenzie told House lawmakers during a hearing today.