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Turkey

Turkey

June 18, 2026

Ankara 10:44 am

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A Turkish police officers patrols at the scene of a motor-bike bomb explosion, next to a police station on Oct. 6, 2016, in Istanbul.

Turkey captures alleged ISIS-K media chief near Afghanistan-Pakistan border

The capture comes as Turkish authorities intensify raids against Islamic State networks following recent attacks and alleged plots.

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

Latest News

Feature

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

Yasin AKGUL / AFP via Getty Images

Ezgi Akin

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

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.

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

Red and white balloons are released during the opening ceremony of newly built Yavuz Sultan Selim bridge, the third bridge over the Bosphorus linking the city's European and Asian sides in Istanbul, Turkey, August 26, 2016. REUTERS/Murad Sezer - RTX2N6ZG

Turkey’s 'megaprojects' off to disappointing start

In an outcome that many have long feared, Turkey’s “megaprojects” are underperforming, meaning the government now has to compensate the construction companies under contract terms.

U.S. based cleric Fethullah Gulen at his home in Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania, U.S. July 29, 2016. REUTERS/Charles Mostoller - RTSKAK8

Gulen casts a large shadow over Turkey’s ties with West

Erdogan’s fury grows as more European countries express doubt that Gulen is behind last year’s failed coup against him.

Turkey deals death blow to Kurdish leadership with DBP conviction

Democratic Regions Party co-chair Kamuran Yuksek has been convicted of terrorism and sentenced in absentia to a lengthy prison term, while party officials decry insufficient evidence in "purely political” trial.

Protesters from human rights organisation Mazlumder hold torches during a demonstration in Istanbul January 26, 2008. Students may soon be allowed to wear the Muslim headscarf in Turkish universities, a watershed for a devout, growing middle class that has long complained of discrimination against its faith. Picture taken on January 26, 2008. To match feature TURKEY-HEADSCARF REUTERS/Fatih Saribas (TURKEY) - RTR1WHXV

Turkey’s main Islamic human rights organization faces internal upheaval

Mazlumder, Turkey’s main pro-Islamic human rights organization, has witnessed an internal revolution as those who criticized the government too much were kicked out.

People wave national flags as they wait for arrival of Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan during a ceremony in Istanbul, Turkey, March 26, 2017. Picture taken March 26, 2017. REUTERS/Murad Sezer - RTX32WEA

New poll gives Turkish opposition slight edge as referendum nears

Opinion polls suggest Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is somewhat likely to lose the April 16 presidential referendum that would expand his powers.

A campaign banner for the upcoming referendum with the picture of Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan is seen on Taksim square in central Istanbul, Turkey March 15, 2017. REUTERS/Murad Sezer - RTX314BZ

Will Turks give blessing to Erdogan’s autocratic course?

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s referendum campaign is drowning Turkey in populist and nationalist bluster, but it seems to have little effect in swaying the vote, including in Erdogan’s own conservative base.

Members of Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) attend the funeral of eight fellow fighters who died during an assault against the Islamic State (IS) group in the town of Manbij, in the Syrian Kurdish town of Kobane (aka Ain al-Arab) on June 24, 2016. In the background a Martyrs memorial is under construction.
The US-backed Kurdish and Arab forces, pushed further into the Islamic State group stronghold of Manbij, seizing a key road junction and grain silos overlooking the city, a monitoring group said. The city l

Is Manbij the latest Kurdish poke in Erdogan's eye?

Erdogan's plan to contain Kurds suffers a setback as Manbij on Syria's northern border with Turkey declares itself a self-governed canton.

A Turkish flag (R) flies among others flags of NATO members during the North Atlantic Council (NAC) following Turkey's request for Article 4 consultations, at the Alliance headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, July 28, 2015. Turkey sought moral support for its campaign against militants in Syria and Iraq at an emergency meeting on Tuesday with its North Atlantic allies, with both NATO and Ankara playing down any idea of a call for military help from the alliance. Turkey requested urgent consultations with its

Turkey determined to test NATO

Turkey’s bargaining with Russia for the S-400 air defense system raises a number of military issues, the least of which being that the system is incompatible with NATO's defense structure.

Idlib — more than Raqqa — may be decisive Syria fault line

Russian-Turkish agreement under strain in key northern city.

Tourists enjoy a beach in the Mediterranean resort city of Antalya, a popular destination for German tourists, in Turkey, July 25, 2016. REUTERS/Kaan Soyturk - RTSJIDA

Turkey's drive to attract Iranian tourists hits political snags

Scrambling to compensate for lost markets, Turkey’s tourism sector aims to attract 2 million tourists from Iran this year, but Ankara’s erratic foreign policy could throw this target into jeopardy.

A general view shows the Kurdish city of Afrin, in Aleppo's countryside March 18, 2015. REUTERS/Mahmoud Hebbo (SYRIA - Tags: SOCIETY) - RTR4TWF4

Is Turkey rattled by Russian-Kurdish deal?

Turkey may feel its already tenuous footing in Syria slipping now that Russian troops have arrived in Afrin, after making a pact with the Kurds.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan makes a speech during a meeting in Istanbul, Turkey, March 19, 2017. REUTERS/Murad Sezer - RTX31PVP

What's behind Erdogan's recent angry outbursts?

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s blustering toward the West seems to have run its course with the exhausted Turkish public; however, it still works to coax Justice and Development Party elites.