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Turkey

July 12, 2026

Ankara 6:45 am

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Lebanese PM Salam in Turkey as Erdogan seeks wider regional role

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam’s visit to Turkey comes after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan recently warned that Israeli attacks against Lebanon and Syria threaten Turkey’s security.

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In first, Russia confirms S-400 talks with Turkey amid transfer reports to acquire F-35

On Friday, the Kremlin spokesperson provided the first confirmation that Turkey and Russia have held discussions about Ankara's efforts to resolve the S-400 issue with Washington.

Latest News

Turkey brokers intra-Somalia talks as federal rifts test Ankara’s influence

Minister of Energy and Natural Resources of Turkey Alparslan Bayraktar speaks during the launch of an offshore energy exploration at the port in Mogadishu on April 10, 2026.

Trump 'undecided' on Turkey's F-35s as Congress seeks answers on S-400

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Feature

Armenia's Pashinyan keeps Iran close while wooing Trump, Turkey and Azerbaijan

Armenia's Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan (R) shakes hands with Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian during his visit in Yerevan on July 19, 2025. (Photo by KAREN MINASYAN / AFP) (Photo by KAREN MINASYAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

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

Intel: Trump tasks Pompeo with determining whether to lift Cyprus arms embargo

Donald Trump tapped Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to determine whether to lift the decades-old US arms embargo on the disputed island of Cyprus, something Turkey has sought to forestall.

Turkey to release thousands of prisoners as coronavirus sweeps through jails

As COVID-19 ravages Turkish prisons, Ankara is pushing forward a law that will reduce the prison population by a third.

Is coronavirus good for health of Turkish-US relations?

The coronavirus could offer Recep Tayyip Erdogan an opportunity to defer a fresh crisis with Washington over the Russian S-400 air defense systems, which he had pledged to activate in April but whose cost has now grown on multiple fronts.

A general view shows the deserted Istiklal Street during a two-day curfew which was imposed to prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Istanbul, Turkey, April 11, 2020. REUTERS//Umit Bektas - RC2H2G9Y460H

Reports of child abuse in Turkey spike amid pandemic

A prominent children's rights activist told Al-Monitor that complaints of child abuse incidents have doubled since the closure of the schools amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Israel and Turkey, first signs of warming up?

The recent publication over Turkey selling to Israel medical equipment to fight the coronavirus could signal a small, yet significant warming up of relations.

Why didn’t Erdogan let Turkey’s interior minister resign over coronavirus curfew fiasco?

The attempted resignation of Turkey's powerful interior minister, Suleyman Soylu, has exposed the emerging cracks in President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's Justice and Development Party

Coronavirus outbreak in Turkish prisons leaves three inmates dead

The global COVID-19 pandemic has hit several Turkish prisons, infecting at least 14 inmates so far and killing three.

Syrian youths wave to a convoy of Turkish military reinforcements advancing near the town of Hazano in the countryside of Syria's Idlib province, on April 12, 2020, on the highway linking the Bab al-Hawa border crossing with Turkey to Idlib. (Photo by Aref TAMMAWI / AFP) (Photo by AREF TAMMAWI/AFP via Getty Images)

Battles rage in Syria despite coronavirus cease-fires

Clashes are raging between Turkish-backed Syrian rebels and Syrian Kurdish groups east of the Euphrates River in what Syrian Kurds claim that is a Turkish effort to prevent displaced civilians from returning to their homes.

A woman wearing a protective face mask waits for a train as the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues, Istanbul, Turkey, March 26, 2020. REUTERS/Umit Bektas - RC2ORF9R2BLO

Turkish pandemic plan raises concerns over citizens' digital rights

In effort to limit the spread of the novel coronavirus, Ankara launched a mobile app that tracks patients, raising concern among digital privacy advocates.

Traffic police officers wearing face masks patrol as the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues, in Diyarbakir, Turkey, April 9, 2020. REUTERS/Sertac Kayar - RC261G9NDY2G

COVID-19 crisis threatens to double Turkey’s unemployed

The coronavirus pandemic has raised the specter of a dramatic spike in unemployment in Turkey, but only a small section of those affected are slated to receive government support.

Intel: Why Russia is getting involved in Mideast COVID-19 fight

Syria has requested assisted from Moscow to fight the coronavirus outbreak, as Russia implements a campaign to cultivate its image as a "caring power," approaching Middle East leaders to work together against the spread of the virus.

Turkey’s Roma cry for help as coronavirus claims more lives

On International Romani Day, a group of Turkish Roma associations protested that the community still faces “deep discrimination” and risks starvation from the loss of work and state neglect that have compounded the harm of COVID-19.