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Turkey

Turkey

June 17, 2026

Ankara 1:12 am

21°C

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan meets with Orthodox Patriarch of Bartholomew at the presidential complex, Ankara, Turkey, June 16, 2026.

Culture

Turkey’s Erdogan meets Orthodox patriarch amid push for reopening Halki Seminary

The meeting comes ahead of US President Trump’s expected attendance at next month's NATO leaders’ summit in Turkey, after Trump personally urged his Turkish counterpart to reopen the Halki Seminary.

Turkey's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan attends the NATO Foreign Ministers' meeting in Helsingborg, Sweden, on May 22, 2026.

Turkey’s Fidan heads to Moscow as S-400 sanctions issue returns to fore

The visit comes weeks before Turkey hosts NATO leaders, on the sidelines of which Ankara hopes to reach a deal with Washington over CAATSA sanctions over its purchase of Russian S-400s.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan received Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Turkish House in New York on Sept. 19, 2023.

Analysis

Erdogan-Netanyahu war of words signals deeper rivalry for regional influence

The latest Erdogan-Netanyahu clash underscored how Turkey-Israel tensions have grown beyond the Palestinian issue and into a wider regional rivalry spanning Syria, Lebanon, Iran and the eastern Mediterranean.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Yasin AKGUL / AFP via Getty Images

Feature

Turkey’s World Cup return clouded by politics, dawn kickoffs

Turkey finally has the World Cup moment it waited 24 years for, but much of the country will either be asleep for it or arguing over efforts to claim it.

Ezgi Akin

In Ankara, reporting on diplomacy, EU-Turkey ties, NATO

Latest News

Explainer

Turkey slams France-Cyprus military pact as East Med rivalries deepen

Cyprus' President Nikos Christodoulides (2nd L) and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron (C) review the honor guard at the Presidential Palace in Nicosia on April 23, 2026, ahead of a meeting on the sidelines of a European summit.

Analysis

As Trump admin drops Halkbank case, S-400 last big hurdle in US-Turkey ties

Russian S-400 anti-aircraft missile launching system is displayed at the exposition field in Kubinka Patriot Park outside Moscow on Aug. 22, 2017 during the first day of the International Military-Technical Forum Army-2017.

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

Free Syrian army fighters stand together in Quneitra countryside, Syria August 24, 2017. REUTERS/Alaa Al-Faqir - RC12C4FF3250

FSA relocating to outside Syria's liberated areas

The Free Syrian Army factions in areas liberated in northern Syria are moving their forces out of cities and towns to the outskirts in an effort to end clashes with civilians and ease the minds of returning residents.

Abbas turns to Turkey for Fatah-Hamas reconciliation help

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas met with his Turkish counterpart in Ankara to discuss Turkish assistance in the Palestinian reconciliation process.

Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir gestures during a news conference after an extraordinary meeting of the foreign ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), in Riyadh January 9, 2016. REUTERS/Faisal Al Nasser - GF20000088982

Is Saudi Arabia 'ready to turn page' on Iran?

A shifting regional landscape may force a reset in Riyadh and Tehran; armed groups backed by the United States and Turkey battle outside Aleppo.

Honeybees are seen during the harvest of honey from tens of thousands honeybees permanently placed in a courtyard of an office building at the lower house of the German parliament Bundestag in Berlin, Germany August 23, 2017. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch - RC1D4A75EDC0

Why Turkey’s honey production is going sour

Turkey’s honey production is the second largest in the world after China, but the sector is buzzing with allegations of fake honey. An upcoming international bee congress may be an opportunity to explain the matter.

Celebrity incest scandal yanks abuse out from under Turkish rug

A scandal over a celebrity’s incestuous relationship has forced Turkey to discuss its dark secrets about widespread abuse.

Gauging aftermath of Turkey’s great intelligence gaffe

Turkey's government and media are keeping mum about what appears to be the biggest blunder in the recent history of Turkish intelligence.

Turkish drone bombs picnickers without cause, says pro-Kurdish opposition

A Turkish air force drone bombed four men picnicking in a remote province sympathetic to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), as authorities claim they were assembling with terrorists.

Why Turkey's brides are doing disappearing act

In the process of increasing visibility of Islamization, wedding invitations become contested territory in Turkey.

Ankara must go through US, Russia to get to YPG

Recent developments on the ground suggest that any new Syria incursion by Turkey could encounter unexpected obstacles.

Erdogan goes after Morocco’s Gulenists

Several Turks affiliated with the Gulen movement have been arrested in Morocco, raising questions about the kingdom’s independence in its decisions.

Pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) lawmakers hold a sit-in to protest against detention of lawmakers, outside the Constitutional Court in Ankara, Turkey June 16, 2017. REUTERS/Umit Bektas - RC16564D3C40

Ankara sit-in demands justice for pro-Kurdish bloc

Kurdish politicians are staging peaceful sit-in outside Ankara's Constitutional Court to protest the rampant jailing of pro-Kurdish lawmakers and politicians.

ISTANBUL, TURKEY - FEBRUARY 15: A man walks past a billboard promoting medical treatments at the luxury Esteworld Clinic on February 15, 2017 in Istanbul, Turkey. Esteworld clinic is one of many Turkish run health clinics tailoring vacation packages to tourists wishing to undergo specific medical surgeries, generally offering a three day hotel deal with airport transfers, sightseeing, meals and the surgery. The company provides health tourism to clients in more than 100 countries and has seen business boom

Turkey, the new address for Brazilian butts, thick hair and shiny teeth

At a time when many economic sectors in Turkey are struggling, the health tourism sector has boomed, attracting hundreds of thousands of foreigners eager to get medical treatment and plastic surgeries for cheap.