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

Turkey

Turkey

November 11, 2026

Ankara 9:06 pm

9°C

People walk past a Bitcoin sign at the entrance of a cryptocurrency exchange office on Nov. 8, 2024, in Istanbul, Turkey.

Watchdog urges Turkey to tighten digital asset rules for $144B crypto economy

A review of Turkey’s crypto-asset regulations by the Financial Stability Board acknowledged significant progress made by local authorities but called for further measures to address potential risks.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (L) and Central Bank Governor Sahap Kavcioglu attend a signing ceremony with Abu Dhabi’s crown prince, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan at the Presidential Complex in Ankara on Nov. 24, 2021. ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images

Turkey’s banking watchdog chief submits resignation amid fund scandal

Turkey’s government is facing growing criticism over regulators’ failure to prevent a fund scandal involving more than $20 billion.

Chris McGrath/Getty Images

Explainer

Iran war pushes up coal use, complicating Turkey’s COP31 pledge

Turkey is asking world leaders at COP31 to back a global push to use more electricity, even as the Iran war has driven up natural gas prices and pushed some power producers back to coal.

Latest News

Turkey bars MP’s wife from travel after his fund scandal criticism: What to know

OZAN KOSE/AFP via Getty Images

Steel factory explosion in western Turkey kills at least 16

A steel worker works in front of giant iron melting pot in Kardemir Iron and Steel Factory in Karabuk, northwestern Turkey, Aug. 26 2005. (TARIK TINAZAY/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Will Democrats block Trump’s push to deliver Turkey F-35s, lift sanctions?

MEHMET ESER/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Samuel Wendel

Senior Analyst, Middle East Business & Tech

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

Israel's President Shimon Peres (R) shakes hands with Greece's Prime Minister Antonis Samaras during their meeting in Jerusalem October 8, 2013. REUTERS/Baz Ratner (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX143VM

Israel's Ties With Greece No Substitute For Alliance With Turkey

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu develops relations with Greece knowing that, though beneficial to Israel, they cannot replace the strategic alliance with Turkey.

Relatives of detained military officers stage a protest in front of the Chief of Staff Headquarters in Ankara October 9, 2013. Turkey's appeals court upheld convictions on Wednesday of top retired military officers for leading a plot to overthrow Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's government a decade ago in a case underlining civilian dominance over a once all-powerful army. The court overturned convictions of dozens of less prominent defendants among more than 300 officers sentenced last September in the "Sle

Turkish Court Confirms Military Coup Attempt

In a historic ruling, the Supreme Court of Appeals in Ankara upholds the heavy prison sentences to top ex-officers accused of attempting to oust the government in 2003.

Sex Trafficking Open Secret In Northern Cyprus

A lawmaker reignites a debate on white-slavery trafficking in Turkish Cyprus, where the smoke screen of the “Las Vegas” myth obscures abuse and suffering.

A Syrian Kurd Asaish stands at a security checkpoint at Derik in Al-Hasakah October 31, 2012. Picture taken October 31, 2012. REUTERS/Thaier al-Sudani (SYRIA - Tags: CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT) - RTR39WOM

Syrian Kurdish Leader Urges Turkey To End Support for Salafists

Saleh Muslim, co-chairman of the Kurdish Democratic Union Party, had messages for Ankara in an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor.

A demonstrator reacts to security forces during a peace day rally at Taksim square in central Istanbul September 1, 2013. REUTERS/Osman Orsal (TURKEY - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS) - RTX133J7

Three Reasons Why Turkey Is So Polarized

The ruling Justice and Development Party can bridge the gaps by not responding to the provocations of the Kemalists.

Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan addresses members of parliament from his ruling Islamist-rooted Justice and Development Party (AKP) on Cctober 8, 2013 during a meeting at the parliament in Ankara. Turkey lifted on October 8 a ban on women wearing the Islamic head scarf in state institutions, ending a decades-old restriction as part of a package of reforms instigated by Erdogan. AFP PHOTO / ADEM ALTAN (Photo credit should read ADEM ALTAN/AFP/Getty Images)

Erdogan's Frustration Shows Over Syria Deal

The Turkish prime minister is questioning John Kerry's praise of Syria’s compliance to date with UN Security Council Resolution 2118.

A man works at a makeshift oil refinery site in al-Mansoura village in Raqqa's countryside May 5, 2013. Many civilians in the village who lost their jobs due to the Syrian conflict are making a living by refining crude oil to extract useful fuel such as gasoline and kerosene for sale. Picture taken May 5, 2013. REUTERS/Hamid Khatib (SYRIA - Tags: CONFLICT ENERGY BUSINESS EMPLOYMENT) - RTXZIAB

Natural Gas Resources May Be Backstory in Syria War

The Syria war, like many of the region's other conflicts, has an important oil and gas angle.

Women's Film Festival in Gaza Touches on Sexual Taboos

The Gaza-based women's film festival has daringly screened films addressing women's issues that are considered taboo in this conservative society, including sexuality and harassment.

Turkish Kurdish people hold pictures of their relatives who were killed in clashes between Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) guerrillas and Turkish security forces, during a demonstration in central Istanbul June 8, 2013. More than 40,000 people have been killed in the separatist conflict in southeast Turkey since the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) took up arms against the state in 1984. REUTERS/Stoyan Nenov (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTX10G9A

Turkey Should Press Ahead With PKK Process

Ankara’s reform package has disappointed the Kurds, but that should not slow the peace process.

The enigma of Qasem Soleimani and his role in Iraq

Al-Quds Force Commander Qasem Soleimani, profiled in last month's New Yorker, has been among the most influential, and controversial, figures in Iran-Iraq relations.

A general view shows Dubai's cityscape September 24, 2013. Dubai's government is working on new rules to protect its real estate market and prevent any excessive rise of property prices that could end in a crash, a senior official said on Tuesday. REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah (UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - Tags: REAL ESTATE BUSINESS CITYSCAPE) - RTX13Y0C

Gulf Cities Emerge As New Centers of Arab World

While historic Arab capitals such as Cairo, Baghdad and Damascus are embroiled in civil strife, Gulf cities are powering ahead as new centers for Arab culture, education and business.

United Arab Emirates

Syria's President Bashar al-Assad (R) speaks during an interview with Turkey's Halk TV in Damascus, in this handout photograph distributed by Syria's national news agency SANA on October 4, 2013. Assad has told Turkey it will pay a heavy price for backing rebels fighting to oust him, accusing it of harbouring "terrorists" along its border who would soon turn against their hosts. In an interview with Turkey's Halk TV due to be broadcast later on Friday, Assad called Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan "big

Assad Warns Erdogan On Turkey’s Syria Policy

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s latest interview reveals again the deep personal enmity between him and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.