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Turkey

Turkey

May 12, 2026

Ankara 4:17 pm

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Turkish Red Crescent's cars and trucks cross the Turkish border as they leave the Syrian city of Tel Abyad on Oct. 19, 2019, in Akcakale, Turkey.

Turkey's border reopening unlocks new sphere of influence in Syria

Turkey reopened the Akcakale-Tell Abyad crossing on Monday, ending an 11-year closure along the Syria border.

ISTANBUL, TURKEY - MAY 06: A man poses for a photograph in front of the newly unveiled, Turkish made intercontinental ballistic missile Yildirimhan at the SAHA International Defence and Aerospace Expo on May 06, 2026 in Istanbul, Turkey. The International Defence and Aerospace Exhibition, showcased Turkish and foreign companies new products and technology. The expo was dominated by UAV products as modern warfare increasingly shifts to drone and unmanned technologies. (Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images)

Analysis

From drones to deterrence: Turkey's ICBM missile signals bigger ambitions

Turkey’s planned test of a 6,000-kilometer missile could boost Ankara’s defense industry prestige, strengthen its deterrence messaging and feed a powerful domestic narrative of technological self-reliance, but it also raises questions about cost, timing and NATO protection.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

MURAT KOCABAS/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images

Culture

How ‘dog mom’ vacuum cleaner ad sparked culture war in Turkey

A Mother’s Day advertisement featuring a “dog mom” triggered a backlash from conservative media, government officials and regulators, turning a soft consumer campaign into a flashpoint over motherhood, declining birth rates, stray dogs and even antisemitism.

Latest News

Turkey, Japan launch defense industry partnership with eye on drones

People look at a drone on display at the Baykar exhibit at the SAHA International Defence and Aerospace Expo on May 06, 2026 in Istanbul, Turkey.

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

Turkish Central Bank suffers big credibility loss

The Turkish Central Bank’s obedience to the government, both in terms of monetary policy and interventions in the foreign exchange market, is badly damaging its credibility among foreign investors, the ultimate cost of which will be borne by the crisis-hit economy.

This picture taken on August 16, 2019 shows a smoke plume rising following a reported air strike in Kfar Ruma in Syria's northwestern Idlib province. - Air strikes on August 16 by Syria's regime and its Russian ally killed 15 civilians in the area controlled by Syria's former Al-Qaeda affiliate Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) in Idlib province, said the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The strikes came as regime forces battled HTS jihadists and allied rebels in the region, where fierce fighting

Russia chides Turkey over Idlib — again

Russia's foreign minister has demanded Turkey end tensions in Syria's Idlib, indicating Russia will continue to use Idlib as a pressure point to keep Ankara in line.

Erdogan doesn't let facts interfere with rhetoric

The spin Turkey's president puts on his country's most recent incursion into Syria wanders far from reality.

U.S. President Donald Trump and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan attend the start of the NATO summit in Brussels, Belgium July 11, 2018. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque - RC117DD2EDF0

Can Trump, Erdogan pick up the pieces in Syria?

Putin gains from the fallout in US-Turkey ties and the Kurds are still counting on US influence with Ankara.

Turkey’s Operation Peace Spring effectively divides Syria into five sectors

The essential division of northeastern Syria into five sectors has created a highly combustible environment where one small spark is enough to start a massive fire.

An Islamic State flag flies over the custom office of Syria's Jarablus border gate as it is pictured from the Turkish town of Karkamis, in Gaziantep province, Turkey August 1, 2015. Karkamis is a Turkish town of 10,500 people that sits directly opposite the border post. Shut for more than a year, the military sealed the crossing with a breeze block wall a few months ago. Behind it, just inside Syria, the black flag of Islamic State flaps in the breeze. Karkamis lies on the northeastern edge of a rectangle o

Turkey-Europe ties brace for fresh rift over stateless IS militants

The fate of foreign Islamic State militants captured in Syria is looming as a big headache for Turkey as many of them are now stateless, expelled from the citizenship of European countries.

WASHINGTON, DC - DECEMBER 12: Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) speaks during a news conference discussing discuss a resolution to end U.S. military support for Saudi Arabia's war with Yemen on Capitol Hill on December 12, 2018 in Washington, DC. Also pictured are Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ). (Photo by Zach Gibson/Getty Images)

Intel: How two senators could force Trump to ban US arm sales to Turkey

U.S. President Donald Trump attends a bilateral meeting with Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan during the G20 leaders summit in Osaka, Japan, June 29, 2019. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque - RC15E2597F00

Seeking to restore relations on Capitol Hill, Erdogan to visit Trump in Washington

With US-Turkey ties in disarray, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has confirmed his Nov. 13 meeting with President Donald Trump in Washington, where he may seek to win over allies in Congress.

Journalist Nazli Ilicak, previously sentenced to life imprisonment for aiding the network of U.S.-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, accused by Ankara of orchestrating a coup attempt in 2016, is embraced by her relatives after being released from a prison in Istanbul, Turkey, November 4, 2019. REUTERS/Huseyin Aldemir - RC11B929AC90

Is release of two prominent journalists a sign of normalization?

The release of two well-known journalists from prison shouldn’t lead anyone to believe and hope that Turkey is becoming less autocratic.

Turkish government fears compensation claims for Armenian genocide

A resolution passed by the US House of Representatives recognizing the 1915 Armenian genocide has stirred up Turkish concerns of Armenian demands for compensation.

What messages lie behind Assad’s visit to southern Idlib?

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s recent visit to the front line in southern Idlib province raised controversy and questions among opposition forces about Assad's goals and what messages he might have been sending — and to whom.

A customer (C) uses an automated teller machine at a branch of Halkbank in Istanbul August 15, 2014. Turkey's state-run lender Halkbank said on Friday it has offer to buy a 76.76 percent stake in Serbian lender Cacanska Banka for an undisclosed sum. Halkbank offered no further details on the potential acquisition in a statement to the Istanbul stock exchange. REUTERS/Osman Orsal (TURKEY - Tags: BUSINESS) - GM1EA8F1MZB01

Penalties loom as lawyer for Turkey's Halkbank delays US court proceedings

Turkey’s state-owned Halkbank may face financial penalties and further political blowback after once again refusing to recognize criminal charges in a New York court this week.