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Turkey

Turkey

September 27, 2026

Ankara 5:37 pm

22°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

Displaced Syrian families gather next to a Turkish watchtower as they hope to cross the border into Turkey near the northern Syrian village of Shamarin, in the rebel-held province of Aleppo, on February 5, 2014. Children enduring the war in Syria have suffered terrible abuses, with the government and allied militia responsible for many killings, maiming and torture, according to a grim UN report. AFP PHOTO / BARAA AL-HALABI (Photo credit should read BARAA AL-HALABI/AFP/Getty Images)

In new roles Erdogan, Davutoglu tackle regional challenges

Doubt is spreading that the new administration in regionally isolated Turkey will rise to meet its long list of formidable challenges that require international cooperation.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu (2nd-R) is congratulated after being named prime minister and leader of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) during a party meeting in Ankara on August 21, 2014. Turkey's president-elect Recep Tayyip Erdogan named Davutoglu to succeed him as ruling party leader and prime minister, promoting an ally who is expected to show unstinting loyalty to the new head of state. AFP PHOTO/ADEM ALTAN (Photo credit should read ADEM ALTAN/AFP/Getty Images)

What exactly is the 'New Turkey?'

The “New Turkey” that President-elect Recep Tayyip Erdogan hails in every speech simply refers to a Turkey ruled by religious conservatives.

A Turkish flag decorates a grocer's stand on a street in Istanbul November 10, 2007. Turks throughout the country observed a minute of silence when sirens went off, marking the 69th death anniversary of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, founder of modern Turkey. Ataturk, the first president of Turkey from 1923 and founder of the modern secular state, died on November 10, 1938. He was 57. REUTERS/Fatih Saribas (TURKEY) - RTX6CA

Russian bonanza or ‘Russian roulette’ for Turkey?

With Turkey’s agricultural output already hit by drought, a deal to increase agricultural exports to Russia threatens to fuel the country’s unruly inflation.

Iraqi Deputy Foreign Minister Nizar al-Khairallah (R) greets Lebanon's Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil (L) at the Baghdad airport in Baghdad, August 18, 2014. REUTERS/Ali Abbas/Pool (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR42T21

Baghdad welcomes Lebanese, but they don't see eye to eye

The Lebanese delegation to Baghdad offers diplomatic help to confront the Islamic State (IS), but it seems both parties have different priorities.

Social media backs Turkish MP’s threat to throw her shoe

A female opposition member of Turkey’s parliament takes social media by storm after threatening to throw her shoe at ruling party deputies.

Davutoglu faces uneasy relationship with Assad

Ahmet Davutoglu declared two years ago in his role as foreign minister that he would rather resign than shake Bashar al-Assad’s hand; he now has to find a way to coexist with Syria.

Turkey's President Abdullah Gul speaks to Reuters during an interview at the presidential palace in Istanbul March 1, 2012. Gul said on Thursday Russia and Iran would soon realise they had little choice but to join international diplomatic efforts for the removal of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. To match Interview SYRIA-TURKEY/GUL REUTERS/Osman Orsal (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR2YPBY

What does the future hold for Abdullah Gul?

Having been sidelined from the newly elected President Erdogan’s inner circle, Gul is resentful today, but may make a political comeback in the near future, depending on the performance of the Erdogan-Davutoglu team.

A picture taken on August 19, 2014 shows people making the victory sign as they attend the funeral ceremony of Mehdi Taskin, 24, who died during clashes that erupted between protesters and security forces during an operation to remove a statue of Mahsum Korkmazare, one of the founders of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). One person was killed and two were wounded in the clashes that erupted when a group of protesters gathered at the cemetery to prevent security forces from removing the statue. Meh

Provocations in Turkey as Kurdish peace process gets serious

Turkey’s peace process with the Kurds faces a major test amid explosive incidents apparently aimed at shaking the determination of both the government and the Kurdish side.

TALESH, IRAN - MAY 17: Labourers sow rice in a paddy field on May 17, 2007 near Talesh, Northern-Western Iran. Rice in its various forms is the most consumed cereal, totalling a massive one-fifth of all calories consumed by the human race and is a staple in many parts of Asia. The biggest producers of rice, mainly grown in paddy fields are China, India and Indonesia. (Photo by Majid/Getty Images)

Turkey, Iran seek to boost trade as mistrust lingers

Turkey and Iran have activated an accord to reduce tariffs and increase bilateral trade to $35 billion in 2015, but mistrust lingers between the two neighbors, with Turkey seeking international arbitration over the price of Iranian natural gas.

Could a PM Davutoglu repair Turkey's foreign policy?

Turkey’s once overambitious foreign minister is the most likely candidate to take over the AKP leadership and become prime minister, but few expect major changes in Ankara’s foreign policy orientation.

Broken antenna covers of Former National Security Agency (NSA) listening station are seen at the Teufelsberg hill (German for Devil's Mountain) in Berlin, June 30, 2013. The United States taps half a billion phone calls, emails and text messages in Germany in a typical month and has classed its biggest European ally as a target similar to China, according to secret U.S. documents quoted by a German newsmagazine. The revelations of alleged U.S. surveillance programmes based on documents taken by fugitive for

Turkish-German relations strained following spying revelations

Revelations about Germany spying on Turkey have heightened tensions between the two NATO allies.

An election campaign banner of Turkey's Prime Minister and presidential candidate Tayyip Erdogan is seen near a mosque in Istanbul August 9, 2014. Erdogan is set to secure his place in history as Turkey's first popularly-elected president on Sunday, but his tightening grip on power has polarised the nation, worried Western allies and raised fears of creeping authoritarianism. REUTERS/Murad Sezer (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS ELECTIONS) - RTR41T1P

Erdogan, not religion, divides Turkey

Turkey’s political scene is not divided on ideology anymore, but between pro- and anti-Erdogan camps.