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Turkey

Turkey

September 27, 2026

Ankara 6:25 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

Selahattin Demirtas, co-chairman of the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democracy Party (HDP) and presidential candidate, speaks during an election rally in Diyarbakir, August 8, 2014. Tayyip 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. Demirtas was running a distant third. REUTERS/Stringer (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS ELECTIONS) - RTR41Q

Turkish left’s most pressing problem: the Kurds

An intraparty conflict has become inevitable in Turkey’s center-left opposition as the amnesia-stricken Republican People's Party refuses to discuss the actual reasons behind its failure in the wake of another election defeat.

TO GO WITH AFP STORY IN FRENCH BY NICOLAS CHEVIRON:Greek crisis threatens minority newspaper in Istanbul
Mihail Vasiliadis, owner of the Apoyevmatini newspaper, poses during an interview with an AFP journalist at his office, in Istanbul, on July 12, 2011. Apoyevmatini, the main newspaper of the small Greek community of Istanbul, has survived the vagaries of Greek-Turkish relations for 86 years. It is now threatened with closure, as Greek companies cut advertising. AFP PHOTO / MUSTAFA OZER (Photo credit shou

Turkey’s only Greek-language newspaper faces closure

Turkey's only Greek-language newspaper is threatened with closure due to declining revenue following the financial crisis in Greece.

Turkey's President Abdullah Gul (R) and his wife Hayrunnisa Gul walk over the Dam Square to attend a wreath laying ceremony in Amsterdam April 17, 2012. Gul is in the Netherlands for a three-day state visit. REUTERS/Robin van Lonkhuijsen/United Photos (NETHERLANDS - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR30U9Y

Would Gul battle Turkey’s 'parallel state'?

Outgoing President Abdullah Gul’s distinction between Gulenist wrongdoers within the state and innocent members of the community shows the difficulty of dismantling the “parallel state” without crippling democracy and social peace.

Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan greets members of his ruling AK Party (AKP) as he arrives at a meeting at the party headquarters in Ankara August 14, 2014. Turkish president-elect Erdogan urged his ruling AK Party on Thursday to work for a stronger parliamentary majority next year to enable them to re-write the constitution, signalling no let-up in his drive to create an executive presidency. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR42E72

Amid regional instability, Turkey focuses on domestic agenda

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the Justice and Development Party are engrossed in the transition to a presidential system, but unrelenting developments in the Middle East will leave Ankara facing major regional problems.

Fitch Chief Executive Officer Paul Taylor speaks during a meeting organised by The Economist in Cascais February 18, 2014. The ratings agency Fitch considers that Portugal's economic and fiscal situation is "moving in the right direction" but it is premature to talk of raising the country's credit rating back to investment grade, Fitch CEO said on Tuesday. REUTERS/Rafael Marchante (PORTUGAL - Tags: POLITICS BUSINESS) - RTX191TB

Will Turkey face another credit rating downgrade?

Fitch Ratings has warned of high risks in Turkey, sparking concern that the agency, the first to raise Turkey to investment grade back in 2012, may now be the first to downgrade the country.

Supporters of Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan (not pictured) cheer as he addresses the members of parliament from his ruling AK Party (AKP) during a meeting at the Turkish parliament in Ankara June 18, 2013. REUTERS/Stringer (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX10RT1

Turkey's AKP looks to the future

Erdogan wants and will likely see a loyal young generation of leaders take over his Justice and Development Party (AKP).

A member of security forces watches as Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan casts a shadow as he addresses to supporters in front of the party headquarters in Ankara August 10, 2014. Erdogan secured his place in history as Turkey's first directly elected president on Sunday, sweeping more than half the vote in a result his opponents fear heralds an increasingly authoritarian state. REUTERS/Murad Sezer (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS ELECTIONS TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTR41WAO

Erdogan’s presidential ambitions face uphill battle

The selection of President-elect Recep Tayyip Erdogan's replacement as AKP leader may create turmoil in the party's ranks.

Masked women face each other during a gay pride parade on Istiklal Street, Istanbul's main shopping corridor, on June 29, 2014, as part of the Trans Pride Week 2014 organized by Istanbul's 'Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals, Transvestites and Transsexuals' (LGBTT) solidarity organization. AFP PHOTO / OZAN KOSE (Photo credit should read OZAN KOSE/AFP/Getty Images)

Pro-Erdogan LGBT individuals get organized in Turkey

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s presidential campaign got support from unlikely quarters when Islamic-leaning LGBT individuals raised the rainbow flag at a rally in Istanbul.

Supporters of Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan celebrate his election victory in front of the party headquarters in Ankara August 10, 2014. Erdogan secured his place in history as Turkey's first directly elected president on Sunday, sweeping more than half the vote in a result his opponents fear heralds an increasingly authoritarian state. REUTERS/Murad Sezer (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS ELECTIONS) - RTR41WCA

How did 'Teflon Tayyip' win?

Recep Tayyip Erdogan owes his outright victory in the presidential polls to the strong bonds of identification he has forged with his electorate.

A presidential election campaign banner of Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, with a slogan that reads "Man of the nation", hangs on a street near his ruling AK Party headquarters in Ankara August 11, 2014. Turkey's ruling party begins deliberations on the shape of the next government on Monday after Erdogan secured his place in history by winning the nation's first direct presidential election. Erdogan's victory in Sunday's vote takes him a step closer to the executive presidency he has long coveted f

Erdogan’s victory unlikely to bring stability for Turkey

Recep Tayyip Erdogan's presidential election victory is unlikely to bring a period of political calm and stability to Turkey in the foreseeable future.

Turkey’s exports decrease amid regional tension

Turkey has suffered unexpected declines in its exports to Iraq, Libya, Egypt, Ukraine and Russia, though Turkish exports to Russia may have more potential following its recent foodstuff import boycott of the United States and European Union.

Turkey's Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu (R) meets with Iraq's Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani in Ankara July 30, 2013. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX1252R

Turkey downplays IS threat, but concerns grow

As the Islamic state draws closer to the Turkish border and Ankara struggles to overcome its differences with the Iraqi administration, Turkey may be left to face the jihadist threat on its own.