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Turkey

Turkey

September 27, 2026

Ankara 2:54 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

Turkish army tanks take position on top of a hill near Mursitpinar border crossing in the southeastern Turkish town of Suruc in Sanliurfa province October 11, 2014. A senior Kurdish militant has threatened Turkey with a new Kurdish revolt if it sticks with its current policy of non-intervention in the battle for the Syrian town of Kobani. Kurdish forces allied to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), the People's Defence Units (YPG), are fighting against Islamic State insurgents attacking Kobani close to the

Erdogan's Syria policies spark riots in Kurdish cities

Turkey’s Syria policies spark massive protests in Kurdish cities, with at least 30 protesters killed; no relief for Syrians in Homs and Aleppo; Jabhat al-Nusra attacks Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Turkey's Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu (C) attends a debate marking the reconvene of the parliament after a summer recess at the Turkish Parliament in Ankara October 1, 2014. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR48IO6

Turkey slides into deeper isolation over Syria

Turkey’s Western allies are increasingly frustrated with its attempts to direct the US-led military coalition’s focus from the Islamic State to the Syrian regime, while Russia and Iran are openly opposing Turkey’s attempts to establish a buffer zone.

An Islamic State fighter gestures from a vehicle in the countryside of the Syrian Kurdish town of Kobani, after the Islamic State fighters took control of the area October 7, 2014. U.S.-led air strikes on Wednesday pushed Islamic State fighters back to the edges of the Syrian Kurdish border town of Kobani, which they had appeared set to seize after a three-week assault, local officials said. Picture taken October 7, 2014. REUTERS/Stringer (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT) - RTR49CW1

How Turkey repeated US mistakes in Afghanistan

Turkey’s Syrian adventure, and its unintended midwifery to the Islamic State, hold major lessons for Turkish foreign policy.

Smoke rises from the Syrian town of Kobani, Turkish army tanks take position on the Turkish side of the border, as seen from near the Mursitpinar border crossing on the Turkish-Syrian border in Sanliurfa province October 8, 2014. U.S.-led air strikes on Wednesday pushed Islamic State fighters back to the edges of the Syrian Kurdish border town of Kobani, which they had appeared set to seize after a three-week assault, local officials said. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: MILITARY CONFLICT POLITICS TPX I

Kobani is becoming Turkey's war

Turks are fighting on both sides of the Islamic State-YPG battle for Kobani, but increasing numbers of Kurdish fighters, including women, are coming from Turkey to join the battle.

People play on the shore of a beach in the Mediterranean coastal city of Antalya, September 6, 2007. REUTERS/Fatih Saribas(TURKEY) - RTR1TIKC

Turkish home sales to foreigners on the rise

Foreigners bought 1,774 homes in Turkey in August, a twofold increase from the same period last year, with Britons, Russians and Germans topping the list of buyers.

A Turkish woman walks past a national lottery ticket seller offering tickets in Istanbul for the New Year draw with a highest ever prize. A Turkish woman walks past a national lottery ticket seller offering tickets for the New Year draw with a prize of 15 trillion TL ($10.4 million) for only one person, highest ever in its kind, in central Istanbul's busy shopping district of Beyoglu December 14, 2004. EU leaders are widely expected to agree at a summit on - RTR15CVO

Turkey hits jackpot by privatizing gambling

Turkey’s government has decided to privatize all games of chance, driven both by religious motives and financial woes.

Turkish soldiers are seen on top of an armoured vehicle, with the Syrian town of Kobani in the background, near the Mursitpinar border crossing on the Turkish-Syrian border, in the southeastern Turkish town of Suruc in Sanliurfa province October 3, 2014. Kurdish fighters defending a Syrian border town warned on Friday of a likely massacre by Islamic State insurgents as the Islamists encircled the town with tanks and bombarded its outskirts with artillery fire. Turkey said it would do what it could to preven

Assad, not Islamic State, in Ankara’s crosshairs

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu is trying to convince Washington that the real enemy is the Syrian regime, but appears to be failing to do so as the US-led coalition keeps its focus on the Islamic State.

A Kurdish flag and a Islamic State flag flutter on each end of the Mullah Abdullah bridge in southern Kirkuk September 29, 2014. Members of the Kurdish security forces and the Islamic State are holding fort behind sandbags on different ends of the bridge. REUTERS/Ako Rasheed (IRAQ - Tags - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT) - RTR4884H

Can PKK transform military might into political power?

As regional developments open new military and political arenas to the PKK, it is unlikely that the Turkish peace process will end with the Kurds disarming.

Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan addresses the Turkish Parliament during a debate marking the reconvene of the parliament in Ankara October 1, 2014. Turkey will fight against Islamic State and other "terrorist" groups in the region but will stick to its aim of seeing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad removed from power, Erdogan said on Wednesday. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR48IMI

Erdogan's slow turnaround on foreign fighters in Syria

US Vice President Joe Biden says "our biggest problem is our allies" in combating foreign fighters; Aleppo battle lines so far unaffected by airstrikes; Israel considers threat from Islamic State.

Protesters demonstrate in front of the Turkish Parliament in Ankara October 2, 2014. The protest was held hours before a debate for MPs to vote on a motion, which would allow the government to authorise cross-border military incursions against Islamic State fighters in Syria and Iraq, and allow coalition forces to use Turkish territory. The placard (in black) reads, "Occupiers always lose." The shirts read (from L-R), "We are demonstrating against barbarism" and "We are on a hunger strike for the safety of

AKP base divided on Turkey's vote to join coalition

Pro-government commentators have raised questions over Turkey’s participation in a US-led coalition, while the latest polls show Turks are split on what their country's role should be in fighting the Islamic state.

A photo illustration taken in Istanbul shows a U.S. 100 dollar banknote against Turkish lira banknotes of various denominations January 7, 2014. Turkey's lira slipped against the U.S. dollar on Wednesday as the government bond yield curve, which had briefly inverted on Tuesday because of speculation about an emergency rate hike to rescue the currency, returned to a positive slope. Picture taken January 7, 2014. REUTERS/Murad Sezer (TURKEY - Tags: BUSINESS) - RTX1761T

Turkish markets undergo two-month slump

A series of domestic and external risks, coupled with the global surge of the dollar, spur an alarming downturn in the Turkish economy.

Grand Mufti of Turkey Mehmet Gormez shakes hands with a onlooker after an inauguration ceremony in front of the Gazi Husrev Begova mosque in Sarajevo, November 15, 2012. Newly elected Husein Kavazovic is the 14th Grand Mufti of the Islamic Community in Bosnia and Herzegovina and will be on duty over the next seven years. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic (BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA - Tags: SOCIETY RELIGION) - RTR3AFY0

Secular Turkey to build an 'International Islamic University'

Turkey’s International Islamic University could be a meaningful contribution to the Islamic world, but only if it is not dominated by the ultra-conservative school of jurisprudence and theology.