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

Turkey

Turkey

June 17, 2026

Ankara 5:23 am

18°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

x-default

Turkey, Iran step up coordination in Syria

Once unthinkable, an emerging consensus is developing between Ankara and Tehran in Syria, as Washington and Moscow try to keep pace; Iraqi Kurdish sources signal that it could be possible to delay a Kurdish independence referendum for a “short time.”

No justice for trans Turkish woman murdered last year

A year after her death, the murder of Hande Kader is still unsolved and the push for LGBTI rights around it has quieted.

General Staff of the Armed Forces of Iran, Mohammad Bagheri (R) is welcomed by Chief of the General Staff of the Turkish Armed Forces Hulusi Akar during his official visit at the Turkish General Staff headquarters in Ankara, on August 15, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / STR (Photo credit should read STR/AFP/Getty Images)

Iran army chief's Turkey tour ends in promises of military cooperation

Regional rivals Turkey and Iran are exchanging visits by top officials, brought together by deeply ingrained fears that Western powers are covertly egging on their respective Kurdish populations to weaken and dismember them.

Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro (L) shakes hands with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan during a meeting in Istanbul, Turkey October 10, 2016. Miraflores Palace/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. EDITORIAL USE ONLY. - RTSRMVB

Venezuela's Maduro finds solidarity in Turkey

When supporters of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan look at the situation in Venezuela, they see a leader to be defended like their own instead of a situation to be avoided.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu gestures during a news conference at the European Commission in Brussels, Belgium July 25, 2017. REUTERS/Eric Vidal - RTX3CUTU

Turkey squawks as KRG referendum nears

As regional and US pressure ramps up on Iraqi Kurds to postpone the independence referendum, Iraqi Kurdistan President Massoud Barzani seems unlikely to crack.

Kurdish fighters from the People's Protection Units (YPG) stand near a U.S military vehicle in the town of Darbasiya next to the Turkish border, Syria April 28, 2017. REUTERS/Rodi Said - RTS14EG4

Kurds plan ahead for shifting status in Syria

Syrian Kurds, worried by Turkey’s threat to enter Afrin and a possible rapprochement between Washington and Ankara, are firming up their plans for autonomy.

Meral Aksener (C), former interior minister and a lawmaker from Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), stands before the security barriers as police seal off a hotel, preventing dissidents from holding a party congress, in Ankara, Turkey, May 15, 2016. REUTERS/Tumay Berkin/File Photo - RTX2FHJV

This woman might be wild card who stops Erdogan

As Turkey's ruling political party struggles to revive its mojo, a challenger is rising who could take on President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Iraq's Kurdistan region's President Massoud Barzani speaks during an interview with Reuters in Erbil, Iraq July 6, 2017. REUTERS/Azad Lashkari - RTX3AAQA

Turkey faces Kurdish quandary in Iraq, Syria

Ankara is finding it difficult to devise a holistic approach to the region’s Kurdish question.

General Staff of the Armed Forces of Iran, Mohammad Bagheri (R) salutes the honor guards as he is welcomed by Chief of the General Staff of the Turkish Armed Forces Hulusi Akar (L) during his official visit at the Turkish General Staff headquarters in Ankara, on August 15, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / STR (Photo credit should read STR/AFP/Getty Images)

Turkish, Iranian brass meet in Ankara

Iran and Turkey's top military leaders are beginning three days of meetings today in Ankara, and coverage so far suggests the two rivals are feeling marginalized and eager to work together to promote their shared interests.

After decades in exile, musician finds way home to Diyarbakir

After an ill-fated love story forced oud player Yervant Bostanci to leave Diyarbakir, he has returned to his homeland and says he will never leave again.

European Union Foreign Policy Chief Federica Mogherini and Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu hold a news conference at the European Commission in Brussels, Belgium July 25, 2017. REUTERS/Eric Vidal - RTX3CV99

Turkey warns of migrant surge in spat with EU

The Turkey-EU migrant deal is largely sticking because both sides have benefited from it, but Ankara is working to leverage the plight of refugees in exchange for cash and visas.

JARABLUS, SYRIA - AUGUST 31: Members of the Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA) patrol in the border town of Jarablus, August 31, 2016, Syria. Turkish troops and Turkey-backed rebels have been fighting Kurdish-led forces and IS since Turkey's incursion into Syria on Aug. 24. with the swift capture of Jarablus, a town a few km inside Syria that was held by Islamic State.(Photo by Defne Karadeniz/Getty Images)

Turkey might seek more than mere reconstruction in northern Syria

Turkey’s ambitious and costly reconstruction projects in the Jarablus/al-Rai/al-Bab triangle of northern Syria suggest comprehensive society-building.