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Turkey

Turkey

September 22, 2026

Ankara 7:21 am

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Turkey, US resume F-16 talks ahead of expected Trump-Erdogan meeting

The issue is returning to US-Turkey talks as Ankara races to modernize its air force amid expanding fifth-generation fleets in the region.

Ezgi Akin

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

Saudi-backed Yemeni government fighters

Analysis

Despite Mecca pact, Turkey rules out direct military role in Yemen

A Turkish official told Al-Monitor that Turkey will not directly intervene in the unfolding conflict between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Traders work at their desks on the floor of the Borsa Istanbul

Turkey detains finance executives amid market turmoil

Several prominent Turkish finance executives were swept up by authorities on Thursday amid efforts to contain a market rout that has exposed strains in the country’s investment-fund industry.

Vyacheslav PROKOFYEV / AFP via Getty Images

Turkey's Erdogan to run for 'final' third term in 2028, adviser says

If Turkey's parliament votes to move the next election up during President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s second term, he could constitutionally run for third.

Latest News

Why Turkey has few options to protect Black Sea shipping

People swim next to the Russian-flagged cargo ship OMSKIY-107, which was attacked off the Black Sea coast and eventually ran aground off the shore of the Sile district, Istanbul, Sept. 3, 2026.

Analysis

Saudi Arabia's Houthi crisis tests alliances with Trump, Turkey and Pakistan

Fighters loyal to the Houthi authorities gather during a rally to recruit more fighters in Sanaa on Sept. 10, 2026.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

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

People walk past a billboard depicting Syria's President Bashar al-Assad at Saadallah al-Jabri Square, in the government controlled area of Aleppo, Syria December 17, 2016. REUTERS/Omar Sanadiki - RTX2VGTH

Is Syria any closer to political solution after Astana talks?

It remains unclear whether the Astana talks were a success or a failure, amid intransigence by the Syrian government and the opposition to keep implementing their own agendas.

U.S. President Donald Trump signs an executive order to impose tighter vetting of travelers entering the United States, at the Pentagon in Washington, U.S., January 27, 2017. The executive order signed by Trump imposes a four-month travel ban on refugees entering the United States and a 90-day hold on travelers from Syria, Iran and five other Muslim-majority countries. Picture taken January 27, 2017. REUTERS/Carlos Barria - RTSXWM6

Trump’s Middle East fans get caught up in global blowback

Political leaders from Israel to Saudi Arabia are quickly finding out that siding with Trump comes at a price.

The eight Turkish soldiers, who fled to Greece in a helicopter and requested political asylum after a failed military coup against the government, are escorted by police officers as they arrive at the Supreme Court in Athens, Greece, January 26, 2017. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis - RTSXGM0

Will Turkish-Greek tensions escalate over Aegean islands, fugitive officers?

A Greek court’s decision to deny Turkey’s request for the extradition of suspected Gulenist officers who had fled to Greece after the failed coup, coupled with new tensions on the Aegean Sea, could reignite old disputes between Ankara and Athens.

People gather on the spot, where Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink was killed, during a commemoration to mark the 10th anniversary of his death, in Istanbul, Turkey, January 19, 2017. REUTERS/Osman Orsal - RTSW8WH

How unsolved murders serve power struggles in Turkey

High-profile trials and political murders have become tools in Turkey's power struggles, doubling also as a means to intimidate dissidents.

Why did Russia offer autonomy for Syria’s Kurds?

Draft constitution from Russia seeks to decentralize Syrian state authority, limit presidential powers; Turkish forces struggle in two-front campaign against both the Islamic State and Syrian Kurds; Al-Monitor offers in-depth reporting on Syrian Kurdish region.

Bullets lie next to a gun at a Sinjar Resistance Units (YBS) check point, a militia affiliated with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), in the village of Umm al-Dhiban, northern Iraq, April 30, 2016. They share little more than an enemy and struggle to communicate on the battlefield, but together two relatively obscure groups have opened up a new front against Islamic State militants in a remote corner of Iraq. The unlikely alliance between the Sinjar Resistance Units, an offshoot of a leftist Kurdish organ

Ankara concerned by PKK's modernized arsenal

The Kurdistan Workers Party's weapons, ammunition and equipment captured by Turkey show a previously unknown diversification and growing sophistication of the group's arsenal.

Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan attends a Republic Day ceremony at Anitkabir, the mausoleum of modern Turkey's founder Ataturk, to mark the republic's anniversary as he is flanked by Prime Minister Binali Yildirim (R) in Ankara, Turkey, October 29, 2016. REUTERS/Umit Bektas - RTX2QXOL

4 reasons Turkey is destined for an imperial presidency

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's April referendum will pass, not because Turkish voters yearn for one-man rule or authoritarianism, but because the system is producing the desired outcomes for those in power.

Incoming Trump administration cabinet secretary nominees including Secretary of State nominee Rex Tillerson (L-R), Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director nominee Mike Pompeo and Defense Secretary nominee James Mattis arrive for meetings at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building at the White House in Washington, U.S. January 13, 2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst - RTX2YUEZ

How will Trump’s anti-Muslim Brotherhood inner circle view Qatar?

While Qatar’s support for groups such as Hamas has caused tense ties with the United States in the past, Donald Trump’s presidency could create even more challenges for Qatar.

U.S. President Donald Trump (R) and Vice President Mike Pence (C) attend a ceremonial swearing-in for U.S. Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly (L) at Homeland Security headquarters in Washington, U.S., January 25, 2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst - RTSXCQV

Turkey holds applause for Trump's safe-zone promise

Turkey would still likely welcome a US-sponsored safe zone in rebel-held areas, but the new US president's pledge to order safe zones did not specify where in Syria they might be established.

Why Islamists are no longer Erdogan’s favorites

Turkey’s new ruling ideology is Erdoganism, and its critics include some Islamists who now find themselves in the “traitor” category.

Saudi King Salman (R) meets Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and Turkish Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci (L) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia October 13, 2016. Saudi Press Agency/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVE. - RTSS3FP

Is Gulf money really a lifesaver for Turkish economy?

Despite assertions of impending major Gulf investment in Turkey, Europe continues to provide the bulk of external funds in the country

Members of the Free police attend a ceremony celebrating the inauguration of the "Free Police" in the Syrian border town of Jarablus January 24, 2017. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi - RTSX6LA

Syria's new national security force pledges loyalty to Turkey

A video of a new police force in Syria trained and equipped by Turkey shows the troops chanting Islamist and nationalist slogans, casting doubt about Ankara's claims that it has no designs on its former Ottoman dominion.