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Turkey

Turkey

September 27, 2026

Ankara 2:17 pm

23°C

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan (3rd R) with Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud (R) and Pakistan Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar (2nd R), Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman (C), Turkish Chief of the General Staff General Selcuk Bayraktaroglu (L), Pakistani Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif (2nd R), Pakistani Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir (3rd R) at the first meeting of the Strategic Political and Defence Committee in relation to the

Analysis

Why Turkey is drawing the line at defense in its support for Saudi Arabia

Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia are forcing Mecca pact signatories to quickly operationalize their agreement, but are unlikely to draw Turkey into direct action against the Iran-backed group.

Ezgi Akin

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

Turkish soldiers conduct military exercises near the Habur crossing gate between Turkey and Iraq on Sept. 27, 2017 in the Silopi district, southeast Turkey.

Analysis

Can Turkey’s Bashiqa withdrawal pave the way for deeper Iraq ties?

Ankara hopes the planned handover of its Bashiqa base will deepen security cooperation with Baghdad and unlock broader economic ties, but implementation hinges on restoring Iraqi state authority in Sinjar, where previous efforts to remove armed groups have stalled.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Latest News

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

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.

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.

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 teacher points to the board as he teaches students during a class at FEM University Preparation School in Uskudar November 27, 2013. At the FEM University Preparation School in Uskudar, a conservative district on the Asian side of Istanbul, young men are quietly receiving specialised coaching in how to pass the exams that give access to the most important jobs in Turkey. To a casual eye, nothing seems remarkable. As in nearly all Turkish schools, a portrait of Ataturk hangs in every classroom. There are n

Gulen community should return to civil society

The Gulen community should acknowledge that its strategy of building cadres within the state has backfired, jeopardizing the very realm of civil society this strategy intended to safeguard.

Iran media, activists criticize Turkey's Kobani stance

While Iranian authorities maintain strict red lines for national security issues, media reactions to Turkey's inaction in Kobani reveals Iran's tensions with Turkey over its Syria policy.

Turkish Central Bank fails to combat inflation

The governor of Turkey's Central Bank has done well in financial stability, but time is running out for him to control inflation.

Turkish Kurds watch the smoke rises from Syrian town of Kobani near the Mursitpinar border crossing, on the Turkish-Syrian border in the southeastern town of Suruc in Sanliurfa province, 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 POL

Who will Turkey 'train and equip' in Syria?

Turkey reportedly to train mostly Turkmen force, primarily to oppose Bashar al-Assad, not Islamic State; Al-Monitor Syria Pulse correspondents report on fighting in Aleppo and Daraa; Why did Assad dismiss his top security official?

Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan (R) speaks during the U.N. Security Council meeting in New York September 24, 2014. Seen on the left is Jordan's King Abdullah. REUTERS/Adrees Latif (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR47L12

UN vote confirms Turkey's waning influence

Ankara’s failure to win a seat on the UN Security Council adds grist to the mill of those who argue that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu have left Turkey with few friends in the world.

Turkey's Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan arrives for a G-20 finance ministers meeting during the World Bank/IMF annual meetings in Washington October 10, 2014. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS BUSINESS) - RTR49Q12

As US economy recovers, Turkey's falters

As US economic indicators improve, emerging economies like Turkey's are increasingly concerned over the prospect of US rate hikes.

Turkish army tanks and aircrafts take part in a parade marking the 91st anniversary of Victory Day in Ankara August 30, 2013. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY ANNIVERSARY) - RTX131DZ

Turkey uses defense industry as political instrument

The Turkish government uses the defense industry to build its foreign relationships and to improve domestic standing.

U.S. President Barack Obama (R) meets with retired Marine Corps General John Allen in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington September 16, 2014. Obama has chosen retired Allen, who served as the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, to coordinate international efforts to fight Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria. Allen is named as the Special Presidential Envoy for the Global Coalition against ISIL, the acronym the administration used for the Sunni Islamist movement. REUTERS/Gary Cameron

Turkey to train Syrian rebels, but at what cost?

As talks continue for the use of Turkish bases in airstrikes against the Islamic State, Ankara agrees to train Syrian rebels in a move that increases the risk of Turkey’s Pakistanization.

Blue jerry cans usually used by smugglers ferrying fuel smuggled into Turkey from over the border in Syria are stacked in front of a shop for sale in Turkish border town of Hacipasa, Hatay province, September 8, 2013. Each night, a stream of beaten-up cars and trucks weighed down with blue jerry cans rumbles along the muddy lane, ferrying fuel smuggled into Turkey from over the border in Syria. The thousands of liters of diesel that make their way by cover of darkness to Turkey's southern Hatay province are

Turkey opens first case against oil smuggling with Syria

A court started to hear the first legal case of oil smuggling, revealing the dilemma between national security and the fight against radical Islamists.

Forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad hold their weapons as they walk in Handarat area, north of Aleppo, after saying they have regained control of the area, October 4, 2014. The Syrian army has taken control of three villages, state television said, in a campaign by Assad's forces that could encircle insurgents in the city. Although there are smaller, more indirect routes into Aleppo, taking the northern road would also allow the army to besiege areas of the city which fell to insurgents in 201

Syrian regime takes advantage of coalition strikes

While the world focuses on the Islamic State, the Syrian army is making significant gains in Damascus and Aleppo.

A man looks at a damaged branch of Halkbank, set on fire during clashes between Kurdish protesters and riot police overnight, in Diyarbakir October 8, 2014. At least 12 people died on Tuesday during violent clashes across Turkey, local media reported, as the fate of the besieged Syrian border town of Kobani stirred up decades of tensions with Turkey's Kurdish minority. Violence erupted in Turkish towns and cities mainly in the Kurdish southeastern provinces, as protesters took to the streets to demand the g

Kurdish riots overshadow Fitch’s Turkey rating

Deadly protests in Turkey over the siege of Kobani led to a shock at financial markets despite the good news of Fitch affirming the country’s investment grade.

A participant wears a bridal dress as he waves the rainbow flag during a gay pride parade in central Istanbul June 29, 2014. REUTERS/Osman Orsal (TURKEY - Tags: CIVIL UNREST SOCIETY POLITICS TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTR3WBAI

Turkey’s first 'gay marriage'

Two young men who exchanged marriage vows found that Turkey remains a long way from accepting same-sex marriage.