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Turkey

Turkey

July 13, 2026

Ankara 1:53 am

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Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer (L) and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan pose after signing a defense partnership agreement on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, Wednesday, July 8, 2026.

Analysis

From S-400s to SAMP/T: Turkey’s defense pivot gathers pace after NATO summit

Turkey is seeking to turn the diplomatic momentum from the Ankara NATO summit into a broad defense realignment spanning US sanctions relief and fighter technology, European air defenses and deeper military cooperation with the UK.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Lebanese PM Salam in Turkey as Erdogan seeks wider regional role

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam’s visit to Turkey comes after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan recently warned that Israeli attacks against Lebanon and Syria threaten Turkey’s security.

Latest News

In first, Russia confirms S-400 talks with Turkey amid transfer reports to acquire F-35

AFP via Getty Images

Turkey brokers intra-Somalia talks as federal rifts test Ankara’s influence

Minister of Energy and Natural Resources of Turkey Alparslan Bayraktar speaks during the launch of an offshore energy exploration at the port in Mogadishu on April 10, 2026.

Trump 'undecided' on Turkey's F-35s as Congress seeks answers on S-400

Getty Images

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

ISTANBUL, TURKEY - JULY 10: A woman gestures infront of a placard depicting Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and Ottoman Sultan Mehmet II, also known as Mehmet the Conqueror, outside Istanbul's famous Hagia Sophia on July 10, 2020 in Istanbul, Turkey. Turkey's top administrative court ruled to annul a 1934 decree that turned the historic Hagia Sophia into a museum. The controversial ruling opens the way for the structure to be converted back into a mosque after 85 years. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan hande

Is Erdogan’s ability to turn superpower rivalry to advantage diminishing?

The only thing Ankara can rely on is that the US-Russian conflict will grow to the point where the need to work with Turkey will override any antipathy felt for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his government.

ISTANBUL, TURKEY - JULY 10: People gather for evening prayers outside Istanbul's famous Hagia Sophia on July 10, 2020 in Istanbul, Turkey. Turkey's top administrative court ruled to annul a 1934 decree that turned the historic Hagia Sophia into a museum. The controversial ruling opens the way for the structure to be converted back into a mosque after 85 years. President Recep Tayyip Erdoƒüan handed over the iconic structure‚Äôs control to the country‚Äôs Religious Affairs Directorate following a court rulin

Is this the end of Turkish secularism?

Radical Islamist ideas are not only winning out in Turkey, but getting cheerful approval from the last remnants of the secular establishment.

Netflix Turkey cancels new series with gay character after government pressure

Netflix Turkey's decision to cancel a series with a gay character due to government pressure indicates that LGBTI+ society and rights are increasingly coming into the government's crosshairs.

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Intel: House passes bill forcing Trump to sanction Turkey over Russian missiles

The House passed legislation today that would force President Donald Trump to slap sanctions on Turkey over its purchase of the Russian S-400 missile defense system.

A real estate advertising offers apartments with the view on the canal, in the small coastal village of Karaburun, near Istanbul, on June 12, 2018. - Karaburun's residents are waiting if a controversial new canal that will be built for Istanbul will change the region for the good. The ambitious Canal Istanbul project, first announced by Turkish current President in 2011 when he was prime minister, would begin in the Istanbul district of Kucukcekmece and then head toward Sazlidere reservoir before emerging i

Can Erdogan push for his 'crazy project' amid economic crisis?

The Turkish government's decision to rezone some agricultural lands in the vicinity of the area where the Canal Istanbul is to be built has rekindled controversy surrounding the project.

Erdogan: Turkey will stay in Syria until the 'people are free'

The Turkish president's comments follow parliamentary elections in Syria over the weekend that critics described as a farce.

Women hold signs with different numbers symbolizing the women murders during a protest against gender violence in Istanbul, at Kadikoy on September 28, 2019. (Photo by BULENT KILIC / AFP) (Photo credit should read BULENT KILIC/AFP via Getty Images)

Murder of Turkish woman sparks nationwide protests

The murder of a Turkish woman sparks protests across the nation as government officials consider withdrawing from a convention designed to combat violence against women.

Will Azeri-Armenian flare-up change energy game in South Caucasus?

Azeri-Armenian clashes in the strategically significant Tavush area could be the harbinger of tectonic changes in the energy politics in the South Caucasus, Turkey and Iran.

BERLIN, GERMANY - MAY 20: Heiko Maas (SPD), Federal Minister of Foreign Affairs, attends the Cabinet Meeting during the coronavirus on May 20, 2020 in Berlin, Germany. (Photo by Andreas Gora - Pool/Getty Images)

Top German diplomat criticizes Turkey's drilling plans in Mediterranean

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas repeated the concerns of other European states regarding Turkey's gas drilling plans in what Greece and Cyprus consider their waters.

Hagia Sophia's Christian icons to be covered with curtains during prayers

The 1,500-year-old Byzantine structure, which functioned as a museum for nearly 100 years, will reopen as a working mosque this week.

The mother of a victim (C) cries for her son on his coffin during a funeral ceremony in Gaziantep on July 21, 2015, following a suicide bomb attack the day before which killed at least 31 in the southern Turkish town of Suruc. A suspected Islamic State suicide bomber killed at least 31 people in an attack on a Turkish cultural centre in the southern town of Suruc, where activists had gathered to prepare for an aid mission in the nearby Syrian town of Kobane. It was one of the deadliest attacks in Turkey in

Five years on, no justice for victims of IS suicide bombing spree in Turkey

Families of the 33 victims of the devastating Suruc attack by an Islamic State suicide bomber commemorated the massacre today, reminding Turkey and the world that justice has yet to be served.

Turkey suspends Iran and Afghanistan flights due to virus concerns

Turkey resumed international passenger flights last month. Both Iran and Afghanistan are experiencing hardship containing the coronavirus.