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Turkey

Turkey

May 4, 2026

Ankara 5:42 pm

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Zaidi

Analysis

Iraq’s Zaidi offers economic promise for Turkey but unknowns loom

Iraq’s prime minister-designate, Ali al-Zaidi, is expected to sustain growing economic and strategic ties with Turkey thanks to his business-oriented approach, though uncertainty over his political stance could test cooperation on sensitive issues.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Members of the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP), from the British Army's 1st Battalion Coldstream Guards, No. 2 Company, patrol along the buffer zone separating the internationally recognized Republic of Cyprus and the breakaway Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus in the divided capital Nicosia on Feb. 17, 2026.

Turkey warns France over Cyprus troop deployment: What to know

A potential French deployment to Greek Cyprus comes amid Turkey’s growing concerns of strategic encirclement in the Eastern Mediterranean.

This aerial photograph shows Turkey's first floating natural gas production platform, "Osman Gazi," passing through the Bosphorus, in Istanbul, on May 29, 2025.

Turkey advances gas pipeline plan to northern Cyprus as East Med rivalry grows

The Turkish energy minister said the country's oil and natural gas pipeline operator, BOTAS, has started the engineering work for the pipeline.

Latest News

In first, Libya’s rival armies to join drill in Turkey: What to know

Cadets of the Saiqa Force (Special Forces) of the self-styled Libyan National Army affiliated with eastern strongman Khalifa Hifter take part in a graduation ceremony in tribute to the force's late commander, Wanis Bukhamada, in the eastern city of Benghazi, on Jan. 20, 2022.

Turkey’s military spending jumps to $30B, leads Mideast growth in 2025

Turkey's submarines and fast-attack craft ships 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.

Analysis

Why Saudi Arabia, Egypt are wary of Turkey’s proposed 4-way defense pact with Pakistan

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan hosted the third meeting of the foreign ministers of Turkey, Egypt, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia on the margins of the 5th Antalya Diplomacy Forum, on April 17, 2026.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Turkey’s Baykar tests K2 swarm kamikaze drones for first time: What to know

CORLU, TURKEY- MARCH 2: A B model of Bayraktar AKINCI TİHA (Assault Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) in the sky on March 2, 2022 in Corlu, Turkey. (Photo by Baykar Press Office/dia images via Getty Images)

Samuel Wendel

Senior Market Research Analyst

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 pay phones

Turkey broadens pay phone probes to nab Gulenist soldiers

A fresh judicial probe targeting hundreds of suspected Gulenist soldiers shows that purges in the Turkish military are far from drawing to an end.

Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu delivers a speech during a press conference in Ankara April 22, 2019.

Turkey to establish new military base in Iraqi Kurdistan

Ankara has announced that Turkey will establish a military base in the mountainous area of Metina, near the Turkish border, in what critics consider a step toward controlling Iraqi Kurdistan.

Protesters move away as Turkish police officers intervene during a demonstration in support of Bogazici University students, at Kadikoy in Istanbul, Turkey, April 1, 2021.

Reeling from COVID-19 slump, Turkey's demographic challenges loom large

As part of his nationalistic agenda, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been encouraging families to have at least three children, but soaring brain drain and falling birth rates stand as major predicaments in front of his ambitions.

A cat is pictured inside the buffer zone that separates the internationally recognized Republic of Cyprus and the breakaway Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus in the divided capital Nicosia, on April 26, 2021.

Cyprus unification talks falter as Turkey clings to two-state idea

Talks to reunite Cyprus have again failed to unblock a four-year pause in negotiations over the future of the Eastern Mediterranean island.

Iraqi police protect Turkish embassy against protest

Turkish forces in fresh offensive against PKK in Iraqi Kurdistan

The latest Turkish military operation against the PKK in Iraqi Kurdistan comes at a time when Ankara finds itself increasingly under strain, both on the domestic front and in its frosty ties with Washington.

Anrtony Blinken

Blinken cautions Turkey against future S-400 purchases

Secretary of State Antony Blinken also said that President Joe Biden's recent recognition of the Armenian genocide should not have come as a surprise.

Ankara's Metropolitan Municipality paid tribute to Ozlem Tureci (L) and Ugur Sahin (R), the German couple of Turkish origin who are behind the BioNTech firm that developed a successful vaccine with US giant Pfizer, as part of a series of graffiti dedicated to the efforts of health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in the City Hospital region of the Turkish capital, Ankara, on April 19, 2021.

Turkey inks deal for 50 million doses of Russia's Sputnik V vaccine

Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca announced the vaccines would begin arriving next month.

Dbeibah and Erdogan

Libyan prime minister visits Ankara

The visit of the prime minister of Libya's Government of National Unity highlights an ongoing, close relationship with Turkey, with implications for the Libyan political process, and a likely signal to Egypt and the United Arab Emirates.

Turkish-Armenian lawmaker threatened over genocide remarks

A criminal complaint was filed against Turkish lawmaker Umit Ozdag after he threatened Garo Paylan, an Armenian deputy with the Peoples’ Democratic Party, over remarks regarding the Armenian genocide.

An employee of Dilo bar starts cleaning the rooftop terrace bar, which has been closed for 340 days due to coronavirus restrictions, in the Kadikoy district on Feb. 22, 2021 in Istanbul, Turkey.

Turkish health experts, workers call for social support ahead of 17-day Covid lockdown

As Turkey prepares for a 17-day lockdown to stem a surge in COVID-19 cases, health experts and workers’ unions urge more financial support for citizens most impacted by pandemic restrictions.

Supporters of Armenian stand off with Turkish supporters outside the Turkish Embassy on April 24, 2021, in Washington, DC. President Joe Biden became the first US president to formally refer to atrocities committed against Armenians as a “genocide” on Saturday, 106 years after the 1915 start of an eight-year-long campaign of ethnic cleansing.

Biden's recognition of Armenian genocide exposes Erdogan's weakness

President Biden’s recognition of the 1915 Armenian genocide exposed Erdogan’s weakness and the dramatic shift in Turkey’s geopolitical value in the United States' strategic outlook.

The Turkish-made Bayraktar TB2 drone is pictured on Dec. 16, 2019, at the Gecitkale military air base near Famagusta in the self-proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.

Turkey’s ambitious drone carrier project dogged by uncertainties

Keen on becoming a major sea power in the region, Turkey plans to convert an amphibious assault ship into a drone carrier, a project that raises operational and technical challenges for the Turkish navy.