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Turkey

Turkey

June 17, 2026

Ankara 12:09 pm

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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

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (L) holds a news conference after a meeting with European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini in Brussels, Belgium, March 27, 2017. REUTERS/Yves Herman - RTX32WQI

Abu Mazen plays losing hand badly in Gaza Strip

The Palestinian president faces a challenge from a bitter rival backed by Egypt and the United Arab Emirates; what is Saddam Hussein’s family doing in Qatar?; Russia and the United States wary of Turkish military intervention in Syria.

Turkish Ambassador to the United States Serdar Kilic speak to the Conference on U.S.-Turkey Relations in Washington, U.S., May 22, 2017. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts - RTX372PN

Envoy to US says Turkey was ready to provide ‘tens of thousands of troops’ for Raqqa offensive

Ambassador Serdar Kilic tells Al-Monitor that Turkey was willing to offer broad military support to the US-led operation to liberate the Islamic State's Syrian stronghold.

Arrest of rights activists 'chills' Turkey’s civil society

Turkish civil society grapples with the arrests of human rights activists and academics as the government marks the anniversary of the failed military coup.

A Turkish soldier patrols along a wall on the border line between Turkey and Syria near the southeastern city of Kilis, Turkey, March 2, 2017. REUTERS/Murad Sezer - RTS114TG

Turkey’s ‘great wall’ nearing completion

Having finished most of the 435-mile-long wall on the Syria border, Turkey is to erect walls on its borders with Iran and Iraq.

Kemal Kilicdaroglu, leader of main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), and his wife Selvi greet people during a rally to mark the end of his 25-day long protest, dubbed "Justice March", against the detention of the party's lawmaker Enis Berberoglu, in Istanbul, Turkey July 9, 2017. A poster of modern Turkey's founder Ataturk is seen in the background. REUTERS/Huseyin Aldemir - RTX3AQZH

'Justice March' spawns unique coalition in Turkey

The “Justice March” of Turkey’s main opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu spawned a unique togetherness between disparate groups, but will this spontaneous coalition last?

TOPSHOT - A wreath reading "We will not forget" and a commemorative plaque are pictured during a memorial ceremony on June 28, 2017 at Ataturk International airport in Istanbul, one year since the triple suicide bombing and gun attack by Islamic State (IS) jihadists.
Turkey on June 28 marked one year since the triple suicide bombing and gun attack on its main international airport in Istanbul that left dozens dead and was blamed on Islamic State (IS) jihadists. / AFP PHOTO / OZAN KOSE (Photo credit

Ankara-Islamic State story emerges between lines of Turkish report

A new report by Turkey’s Interior Ministry takes a kindly look at the country's fight against Islamic State.

A fighter from the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) monitors in the area of Afrin, along Syria's northern border with Turkey, on June 9, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / George OURFALIAN (Photo credit should read GEORGE OURFALIAN/AFP/Getty Images)

Turkey waiting … and waiting … to intervene in Afrin

Ankara's pro-government media are blaming the United States and Russia for delaying Turkey’s move on Kurdish forces in Afrin, which was to begin July 5.

Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades arrives ahead of the European Council Summit at the European Union (EU) Headquarters in Brussels on February 12, 2015 AFP PHOTO / ALAIN JOCARD (Photo credit should read ALAIN JOCARD/AFP/Getty Images)

Turkish and Greek Cypriots remain optimistic, despite collapse of talks

While Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots blamed each other for last week's collapse in negotiations, many see positive signals because of shifts that took place in the talks.

U.S.-based Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen at his home in Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania, U.S. July 10, 2017. REUTERS/Charles Mostoller - RTX3B23S

Gulen denies directing coup, calls Erdogan 'oppressor'

In a rare interview, accused Turkey coup mastermind Fethullah Gulen dismissed the charges and said of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, "I want to spit in his face."

Turkeyís main opposition Republican Peopleís Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu walks on the final stage of his 25-day long protest, dubbed ìJustice Marchî, against the detention of the partyís lawmaker Enis Berberoglu, in Istanbul, Turkey, July 9, 2017. Placards read "Justice". REUTERS/Osman Orsal - RTX3AQ1H

'Justice for all' in Turkey must include Kurds

The Turkish opposition's Justice March reveals that the president's exhausting hate rhetoric is wearing thin in Turkey and for much of the world.

Turks, Russians partner on mega projects

Construction of the Akkuyu nuclear power plant is being moved forward to begin in August, as plans are shaping up for the Turkish Stream natural gas pipeline.

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson chats with Turkish Energy Minister Berat Albayrak during the opening ceremony of the 22nd World Petroleum Congress in Istanbul, Turkey, July 9, 2017. REUTERS/Murad Sezer - RTX3AQXC

Cozy Tillerson-Erdogan meeting in Turkey raises hope for warming ties

In a positive sign for US-Turkish ties, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson held reportedly friendly and lengthy talks with Turkish leaders in Istanbul on the sidelines of a World Petroleum Congress.