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Turkey

Turkey

June 17, 2026

Ankara 10:19 am

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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

Sevan_Nişanyan.jpg

The story of a Turkish intellectual’s escape from prison

After years of controversy and trials, Armenian intellectual Sevan Nisanyan dropped a bombshell on Twitter, announcing his escape from a prison in Turkey.

Kurdish fighters from the People's Protection Units (YPG) stand near U.S military vehicles in the town of Darbasiya next to the Turkish border, Syria April 29, 2017. Picture taken April 29, 2017. REUTERS/Rodi Said - RTS14IHP

Turkey’s state news agency exposes US positions in Syria

A Turkish state news agency revealed US troops' positions in Syria in what US officials see as further Turkish hostility over the US alliance with the Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel greets Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the beginning of the G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany, July 7, 2017. REUTERS/Bernd Von Jutrczenka/POOL - RTX3AG1I

Coup anniversary leaves US, Europe facing few choices on Turkey

Despite his jibes and vitriolic rhetoric against them, Western powers appear set to continue appeasing President Erdogan for the sake of their broader interests.

Turkish Parliament convenes to commemorate the attempted coup on its first anniversary at the Turkish parliament in Ankara, Turkey July 15, 2017. REUTERS/Umit Bektas - RTX3BK3S

Turkey’s parliament could be finalizing its own demise

The "palace regime," a phrase coined by opposition members to define the Turkish president's agenda, aims to silence the last legitimate venue for political opposition prior to the 2019 presidential election.

TOPSHOT - A picture taken on July 9, 2017, shows a general view of the destruction in Mosul's Old City.
Iraq will announce imminently a final victory in the nearly nine-month offensive to retake Mosul from jihadists, a US general said Saturday, as celebrations broke out among police forces in the city. / AFP PHOTO / AHMAD AL-RUBAYE (Photo credit should read AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP/Getty Images)

Turkey eager for role in rebuilding war-torn Mosul

Turkish companies have a lot of experience to offer in reconstructing Mosul, but their government's political indiscretions pose serious obstacles.

A U.S. fighter, who is fighting alongside with Syria Democratic Forces (SDF), carries his national flag as he stands with SDF fighters in northern province of Raqqa, Syria May 27, 2016. REUTERS/Rodi Said - RTX2EIZN

Turkey wanted thousands of US troops for Raqqa offensive

As the US-led coalition fights to liberate Raqqa, Turkey continues to complain about the inclusion of Syrian Kurdish fighters, arguing the United States should have committed enough troops.

Turkey’s economic dilemma: Win Qatar or lose the Gulf?

By backing Qatar, Turkey faces economic losses in the Gulf but improved economic ties with Iran

Kurdish fighters from the People's Protection Units (YPG) run across a street in Raqqa, Syria July 3, 2017. REUTERS/Goran Tomasevic TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RTS19M60

Turkish-YPG clashes rage around critical sites in northern Syria

Turkey and its allies among the Syrian rebel forces have intensified attacks on Syrian Kurdish fighters in northwest Syria as Turkey's buildup continues.

A soldier accused of attempting to assassinate Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on the night of the failed July 15, 2016 coup is carried by gendarmes to the courthouse in Mugla, Turkey July 14, 2017. REUTERS/Kenan Gurbuz - RTX3BFT0

Even through all his bluster, Erdogan's fear is obvious

Despite massive purges since the attempted coup a year ago, Turkey's president and those around him are still afraid of their own military.

An Israeli border police officer guards next to an entrance leading to the compound known to Muslims as Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as Temple Mount, in Jerusalem's Old City July 16, 2017. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun - RTX3BMMA

Doomsday averted on the Temple Mount, for now

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas set aside their mutual loathing to calm tensions when Israeli Arabs launched a short-lived attack on the Temple Mount.

A man walks while using his phone past damaged buildings in Deraa, Syria July 15, 2017. REUTERS/Alaa Al-Faqir - RTX3BL5E

Syrian cease-fire a delicate balance of vastly different goals

Iran welcomes the Russian/US truce initiative in southern Syria, but will Russia be able to keep juggling the broad, and often conflicting, interests of the various players?

People listen to the speech of Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan during a ceremony marking the first anniversary of the attempted coup at the Bosphorus Bridge in Istanbul, Turkey, July 15, 2017. REUTERS/Osman Orsal TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RTX3BLUL

Turkey's divisions on display on 'Day of National Unity'

Turkey's "Day of Democracy and National Unity" marking the defeat of last year's July 15 coup attempt turns into a celebration of the president and his Justice and Development Party.