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

Turkey

Turkey

September 26, 2026

Ankara 8:22 pm

19°C

Servicemen of Yavuz class, TCG Turgutreis (F-241) warship, stand at attention on the deck as they participate in the live-fire phase of the "Blue Homeland-2026" (Mavi Vatan) tactical military exercises in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, in Antalya on April 9, 2026.

Turkey warns Greece-Cyprus-Israel power cable needs Ankara's approval

The Greece-Cyprus-Israel undersea power project has again stirred tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean, where Turkey deployed warships during survey work in 2024.

Latest News

Explainer

Turkey agrees to hand over contentious Bashiqa base to Iraq

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi meets with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in New York City, Sept. 23, 2026.

Explainer

Turkey’s $18B Ponzi-like scandal likened to Madoff as arrests mount

OZAN KOSE/AFP via Getty Images

Turkey, US sign $2M grant deal for small nuclear reactors: What to know

construction of Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant

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

A money changer holds Turkish lira banknotes next to U.S. dollar bills at a currency exchange office in central Istanbul April 15, 2015. Turkish Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci said on Wednesday the lira's slide to record lows was not a cause for concern and reflected global developments, arguing against forex intervention and saying the currency will find its own balance. He also told a meeting in Istanbul that he expected first quarter year-on-year growth of around 1.5 percent, and full year growth exceed

No questions asked about Turkey's suitcases full of cash

Pundits fear that the new Customs Code will turn Turkey into a haven for money launderers and terror financiers.

Turkey's Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu attends the opening of the Geneva-2 peace conference in Montreux January 22, 2014. Syria's government and opposition, meeting face to face for the first time at a U.N. peace conference, angrily spelled out their hostility on Wednesday as world powers also restated contrasting views on the future of President Bashar al-Assad. REUTERS/ Jamal Saidi (SWITZERLAND - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX17PGV

The Turkey-Saudi axis against Damascus

Will the US support the gains of Islamist opposition in Syria?

A worker carries out a routine check in a natural gas control centre of Turkey's Petroleum and Pipeline Corporation, 35 km (22 miles) west of Ankara, January 5, 2009. The European Union on Monday scheduled talks with Russia to press for a speedy resolution of a dispute with Ukraine that has hit gas supplies to countries in eastern and southern Europe facing freezing temperatures. Turkey has increased gas delivered direct from Russia via the Blue-Stream pipeline under the Black Sea to compensate for a slight

Is Turkish Stream a pipe dream?

Turkey and Russia appear keen on the Turkish Stream pipeline project, setting aside differences, but analysts suggest there is more political than economic logic involved.

Libya's internationally recognized Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thinni attends a meeting with ministers as well as leaders of the Libyan army in Benghazi, February 1, 2015. Thinni and his ministers visited the eastern city of Benghazi in a show of support for his troops battling Islamists groups. Thinni's forces, together with troops loyal to army general Khalifa Haftar, launched an offensive against Islamist fighters in Benghazi in October - part of turmoil gripping the oil producer four years after the down

Libyan air force attacks Turkish ship

Turkey’s foreign policy was the real target when Libyan forces struck a Turkish freighter off the coast of Derne, killing one crew member and wounding five others.

Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan meets with lawmakers from Azerbaijan (left row) as he is flanked by his officials (right row) in Ankara October 14, 2009. An agreement signed by Turkey and Armenia on Saturday, which would reopen the border and restore ties poisoned by a century of hostility, could help stabilise the south Caucasus with its vulnerable energy corridor and ease Armenia's geographical isolation. Both parliaments must approve it. But it is resisted by nationalists in both countries as well

Erdogan ends discussion on 'Armenian opening'

Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s statement last week seemed to confirm that the Turkish-Armenian rapprochement was indeed an effort driven mainly by Abdullah Gul and blocked mainly by Erdogan.

Kurdish Peshmerga female fighters practise the procedure of dealing with prisoners during combat skills training before being deployed to fight Islamic State militants, at their military camp in Sulaimaniya, northern Iraq September 18, 2014. REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah (IRAQ - Tags: CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT MILITARY TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTR46QER

Concerns rise over execution of IS militants

Captured members of the Islamic State in Iraq are being executed, increasing the possibility of mass killings of civilians and destroying Iraq's future as a unitary state.

Iran’s Kurds rise up as their leaders remain divided

Various Iranian Kurdish groups have split further apart instead of uniting in their struggle to obtain their rights.

Turkey's Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu (L) and Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi review a guard of honour during a welcoming ceremony in Ankara December 25, 2014. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR4J8KH

Abadi tries to balance Iraq between Iran, Turkey

Under Nouri al-Maliki, the Iraqi government did not hide its strong ties with Iran, but with a new administration in place, Haider al-Abadi is trying to cultivate a more balanced policy toward its neighbors.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a meeting on April 29, 2015 in Ankara. AFP PHOTO/ADEM ALTAN (Photo credit should read ADEM ALTAN/AFP/Getty Images)

Erdogan spins Kurdish Quran as political tool

The first Kurdish-language Quran published by Turkey’s state-run Religious Affairs Directorate has provoked a political outcry ahead of general elections in June.

Turkish army tank takes position near Mursitpinar border crossing on the Turkish-Syrian border in the southeasternTurkish town of Suruc in Sanliurfa provincee, October 18, 2014. A U.S.-led military coalition has been bombing Islamic State fighters who hold a large swathe of territory in both Iraq and Syria, two countries involved in complex multi-sided civil wars in which nearly every country in the Middle East has a stake.. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach (TURKEY - Tags: MILITARY POLITICS CONFLICT) - RTR4ANT

Turks fear Saudi alliance will drag country into Syria

Opposition politicians in Turkey have charged President Recep Tayyip Erdogan with leading Turkey to war in Syria.

A Turkish cook prepares doner kebab made of beef in a small restaurant in the Mediterranean Turkish city of Antalya January 17, 2006. Turkey's top holiday destination Antalya is concerned by the westward spread of the bird flu disease towards the city blessed by a long Mediterranean coast. Photo taken January 17, 2006. REUTERS/Umit Bektas PP06010254 - RTR18CPI

Doner kebab: late-night snack becomes haute cuisine

More commonly encountered at a corner stand after a night out, doner kebab is now served with new condiments at fine-dining restaurants in Turkey.

People wave Kurdish flags during a gathering celebrating Newroz, which marks the arrival of spring and the new year, in Diyarbakir March 21, 2015. Jailed Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan called on Saturday for his militant group to hold a congress on ending a three-decade insurgency against the Turkish state but stopped short of declaring an immediate halt to its armed struggle. Tens of thousands of Kurds gathered in the southeastern city of Diyarbakir to hear the message from Kurdistan Workers Party (P

Will Erdogan's backtracking torpedo PKK disarmament?

The Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) has dropped plans to convene a congress to renounce its armed struggle after hostile outbursts by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and government officials.