Turkey - AL-MONITOR: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

Turkey

Turkey

November 8, 2026

Ankara 2:39 pm

5°C

MEHMET ESER/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Will Democrats block Trump’s push to deliver Turkey F-35s, lift sanctions?

Democratic control of Congress complicates Turkey’s push for F-35s and sanctions relief, but Ankara remains hopeful Trump can still broker a deal.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Costa Rica's Grynspan extends lead in UNSG poll as Nusseibeh places fourth

The Costa Rican candidate received 12 encourage votes in Thursday's UN Security Council straw poll.

United Arab Emirates

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan addresses Turkish members of parliament during the opening of the parliamentary session at the Grand National Assembly of Turkey in Ankara, on Oct. 1, 2026.

Turkey’s parliament ratifies Mecca pact in boost to Saudi Arabia

Turkey will now decide the scope of military support for Saudi Arabia amid ongoing Iran-backed Houthi attacks on the kingdom.

Latest News

Can Erdogan’s Baku visit fix Turkey-Azerbaijan rift?

TOFIK BABAYEV/AFP via Getty Images

Turkey says soldier killed by gunfire from Iran at border: What to know

A sign marking the border of Turkey in Van, Turkey, on March 14, 2026.

Turkey probes Google’s AI search tools, orders protections for news websites

Turkey moves PKK leader Ocalan to prison villa as peace process faces new test

A protestor holds a flag bearing a portrait of jailed leader of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) Abdullah Ocalan during a demonstration of Kurdish people from all around Europe to mark the 27th anniversary of his arrest and to demand his liberation, in Strasbourg, Eastern France, on Feb. 14, 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

Will US exit from Syria change terrain of Turkey's road map?

President Donald Trump's abrupt announcement that he will pull US troops out of Syria has Turkey reassessing the situation.

Can St. John’s bread feed St. Paul’s hometown?

Tourism managers from Tarsus, known for being St. Paul’s hometown, wonder whether they can boost tourism further through gastronomic delights — including St. John’s bread, also known as carob.

U.S. President Donald Trump, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau are seen at the start of the NATO summit in Brussels, Belgium July 11, 2018. REUTERS/Reinhard Krause - RC1C67E741D0

Is Erdogan’s brinkmanship forcing Washington to climb down?

Ankara is pleased with Trump’s decision to pull out of Syria, but it greets this decision with a mixture of caution and skepticism.

Relatives of people who were killed during the anti-government protests attend a demonstration to mark the fifth anniversary of Gezi Park protests, in central Istanbul, Turkey May 31, 2018. REUTERS/Murad Sezer - RC18CEE83EE0

How real are Erdogan’s ‘second Gezi’ worries?

Turkey’s president and his far-right ally have come to issue harsh warnings against opposition protests, but in the absence of any sign that such protests could erupt, their real aim appears to be to nourish polarization.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif shake hands as they attend a news conference after talks on forming a constitutional committee in Syria, at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, December 18, 2018. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse - RC1C28C75F90

Despite difficulties, Russia optimistic about Syria's Constitutional Committee

Though the UN has yet to confirm who will serve on Syria's Constitutional Committee, the Astana trio is optimistic about the committee's overall prospects, especially after the United States announced it will withdraw its troops from Syria.

U.S. and Turkish soldiers conduct the first-ever combined joint patrol outside Manbij, Syria, November 1, 2018. Picture taken November 1, 2018. Courtesy Arnada Jones/U.S. Army/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. - RC17C4EA11D0

US diplomats shaken by Trump decision to exit Syria

US President Donald Trump’s abrupt decision to withdraw from Syria humiliates US envoys who have said the United States would maintain a presence indefinitely to prevent the return of the Islamic State and to counter Iran’s influence.

U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis listens as U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to the news media while gathering for a briefing from his senior military leaders in the Cabinet Room at the White House in Washington, U.S., October 23, 2018. REUTERS/Leah Millis - RC1C2E1A2820

Trump’s Syria pullout shakes up US Mideast policy

The US president’s snap decision to withdraw 2,200 US troops from Syria will have an impact across the region.

U.S. forces set up a new base in Manbij, Syria May 8, 2018. Picture Taken May 8, 2018. REUTERS/Rodi Said - RC1504520BB0

US to withdraw from Syria, leaving Kurdish allies to face Turkish offensive alone

President Donald Trump tweeted that the war against Islamic State is over and his administration has confirmed American soldiers would leave Syria immediately, a significant diplomatic win for Turkey that follows US approval of a major weapons deal with Ankara.

Why Turkey's performance artists take to streets

Turkey’s best-known performance art work is the dignified immobility of a man at the height of the Gezi Park protests five years ago; many young artists have followed in his footsteps since.

A general view shows Turkish flags fluttering at a military post in the village of Ashma in the Kurdish region of Kobane in northern Syria on November 8, 2018. - In recent days, cross-border Turkish artillery fire has targeted positions held by the People's Protection Units (YPG), the main Kurdish militia in Syria. Ankara sees the de-facto autonomous rule set up by Syrian Kurds as an encouragement to the separatists of the Turkey-based Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has close ties to the YPG. (Photo

US official speaks out against possible Turkish offensive in Syria

After Iraqi Kurdistan-backed Rojava Peshmerga are sent to the Turkish-Syrian border, Turkish officials inveigh against the action and what it represents.

Syrian Democratic Forces and U.S. troops are seen during a patrol near Turkish border in Hasakah, Syria November 4, 2018. REUTERS/Rodi Said - RC1A340091B0

FSA sends troops for Turkey's planned Syria operation

Free Syrian Army factions have already started to send fighters to the Syrian-Turkish border in support of Turkey's expected operation against Syrian Kurdish forces there.

Syrian writer gives voice to victims of war

Betul Abras, who has fled from the Syrian war herself in 2013, has been helping other victims of war to heal for the last five and a half years.