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Turkey

Turkey

September 27, 2026

Ankara 9:09 pm

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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 street vendor waits for customers in Istanbul November 26, 2012. Through a decade of almost uninterrupted expansion, in which Turkey has established its economic and diplomatic clout as a Muslim democracy bridging Europe and the Middle East, the gap between the rich and poor has barely budged. Picture taken November 26, 2012. To match TURKEY-UNEMPLOYMENT/ REUTERS/Murad Sezer (TURKEY - Tags: BUSINESS EMPLOYMENT POLITICS) - RTR3AYYA

Syrian refugees aggravate Turkey’s unemployment problem

Syrian refugees working illegally at low wages are exacerbating already severe unemployment in Turkey.

Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan addresses the audience at a meeting at his ruling Ak Party (AKP) headquarters in Ankara June 25, 2014, as he stands in front of the huge portraits of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, founder of modern Turkey, and himself. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3VNAV

Will Erdogan be Turkey’s next Ataturk?

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan seems to partly admire, and imitate, the methods Ataturk used to accumulate and consolidate power.

Iron rods ready for shipment are piled at Israel Shipyards Port in Haifa February 5, 2014. Three years after Syria plunged into violence, Israel is reaping an unlikely economic benefit. Exports from Turkey have begun to flow through Israel and across the Sheikh Hussein Bridge to Jordan and a few Arab neighbours. The trade is growing enough to encourage long-held Israeli hopes that the Jewish state can become a commercial gateway to the Arab world. Picture taken February 5, 2014. To match Insight ISRAEL-TRAD

Trade, security concerns bring Turkey, Israel closer

Turkish-Israeli relations are still far from normalized, but developments in the region are converging the two countries' security and economic interests.

Turkish trucks and tankers, shuttling between Turkey and Iraq, queue on a road leading to the Habur border gate in southeastern Turkey, before crossing into Iraq with their goods, February 23, 2008. Turkey's exports to Iraq jumped nine percent last year to $2.8 billion and its influence can be felt across northern Iraq in the form of supermarkets, consumer goods, construction firms and traders from all over Turkey. To match feature TURKEY-IRAQ/CONFLICT REUTERS/Fatih Saribas (TURKEY) - RTR1XKEF

Turkish truckers try to get on the road again

With the dangers and difficulties now inherent in transiting in Iraq and Syria, the Turkish transportation sector is looking for alternative routes to Middle Eastern markets.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyib Erdogan`s wife Emine Erdogan (L), Recep Tayyip Erdogan (2nd L), Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew (C), Armenian Orthodox Archbishop Aram Atesyan (R) talk during a dinner on August 28, 2011, at the Archeology Museum Garden in Istanbul. Erdogan hosted religious leaders and the heads of about 160 minority trusts at a fast-breaking dinner for Ramadan. AFP PHOTO/BULENT KILIC (Photo credit should read BULENT KILIC/AFP/Getty Images)

Armenian Patriarchate of Istanbul sues for fraud

The defrauding of the Armenian Patriarchate of Istanbul reflects how vulnerable minorities are in Turkey.

Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan speaks to supporters during his visit in Cologne May 24, 2014. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay (GERMANY - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3QO46

What should West expect from Erdogan as president?

The United States and others in the West are speculating about what Turkish foreign policy might look like under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose nomination speech left no doubt about his strong Islamic inclinations.

Eggs packed in cartons are pictured at a chicken farm in the western town of Schleiden January 6, 2011. The German government moved to calm public fears on Wednesday after highly toxic dioxin contamination in the feed of poultry and hogs turned out to be far more widespread than first thought. REUTERS/Ina Fassbender (GERMANY - Tags: POLITICS HEALTH FOOD) - RTXW9LJ

Turkey assesses losses from Iraqi market

Turkish officials, politicians and traders are trying to calculate Turkey's losses in the Iraqi market after the ISIS takeover of Mosul and other Iraqi cities.

Supporters of Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan cheer as he declares his candidacy in Ankara July 1, 2014. Erdogan declared his candidacy on Tuesday for a more powerful presidency which rivals fear may entrench authoritarian rule and supporters, especially conservative Muslims, see as the crowning prize in his drive to reshape NATO member Turkey. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS ELECTIONS) - RTR3WLVO

Erdogan looks for first-round knockout in presidential contest

Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan will use all his power to clinch a first-round victory in the presidential race on Aug. 10, which is not assured.

An image of Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan on a twitter account is pictured through a magnifying glass in this illustration picture taken in Istanbul March 21, 2014. Turkey's courts have blocked access to Twitter days before elections as Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan battles a corruption scandal that has seen social media platforms awash with alleged evidence of government wrongdoing. The ban came hours after a defiant Erdogan, on the campaign trail ahead of key March 30 local elections, vowed to "wi

Turkish judiciary bulwark against authoritarian tilt

The Turkish judiciary emerges as a block on a trend toward more centralized power by Prime Minister Erdogan.

Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan (C), his wife Emine Erdogan and Deputy Chairman of AK Party (AKP) Mehmet Ali Sahin attend a meeting where he is named as his party's candidate for the country's first direct presidential election in Ankara July 1, 2014. Tayyip Erdogan declared his candidacy on Tuesday for a more powerful presidency which rivals fear may entrench authoritarian rule and supporters, especially conservative Muslims, see as the crowning prize in his drive to reshape NATO member Turkey. REUT

Erdogan’s path of 'illiberal democracy'

To understand where Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is taking Turkey, look to Latin America.

Visitors walk inside a cave situated below the ancient towns of Maresha and Beit Guvrin in the Judean Lowlands June 24, 2014. UNESCO designated the caves of Maresha and Beit Guvrin as a world heritage site on Sunday. The site features expansive man-made ancient tunnel systems, some dating back as early as the first century BC. REUTERS/Finbarr O'Reilly (ISRAEL - Tags: ENVIRONMENT SOCIETY TRAVEL) - RTR3VIXK

Turks come to Israel in record numbers

The strengthening of business ties between the two countries results in an increase in Turkish citizens arriving in Israel, Israeli officials say.

A map of the Kurdistan region is seen on the wall of a school where a Christian family who fled from the violence in Mosul two days ago, is staying in Arbil, in Iraq's Kurdistan region June 27, 2014. Iraqi forces launched an airborne assault on rebel-held Tikrit on Thursday with commandos flown into a stadium in helicopters, at least one of which crashed after taking fire from insurgents who have seized northern cities. REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah (IRAQ - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS CONFLICT SOCIETY) - RTR3W0Y0

Would Turkey accept a Kurdish state?

As the likelihood of an independent Kurdish state on Turkey’s eastern border grows, Ankara is losing its historical resistance to the idea.