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

Turkey

Turkey

November 12, 2026

Ankara 1:03 am

6°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

Demonstrators hold Kurdish flags and portraits of jailed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Ocalan during a gathering to celebrate Newroz in the southeastern Turkish city of Diyarbakir March 21, 2013. Jailed Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan ordered his fighters on Thursday to cease fire and withdraw from Turkish soil as a step to ending a conflict that has killed 40,000 people, riven the country and battered its economy. Hundreds of thousands of Kurds gathered in the regional centre of Diyarb

Turkish-Kurdish Peace Process Poorly Managed

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan needs to address the trauma resulting from the fight against PKK terror for over three decades.

An Israeli delegation arrives at the Turkish Foreign Ministry to hold talks on compensation for families of victims killed in a 2010 naval raid on Turkish-led humanitarian-aid convoy to Gaza, in Ankara April 22, 2013. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS) - RTXYVKG

Erdogan Needs Israel to Recast Faltering Mideast Policy

Having lost his allies in Egypt and Syria, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s route to maintaining his role in the Middle East passes through Israel.

A girl holds a poster of Egypt's President Mohamed Mursi during a pro-Islamist demonstration in Istanbul July 1, 2013. Pro-Islamist groups held a demonstration in Istanbul in support of Egypt's President Mohamed Mursi on Tuesday. Egypt's armed forces handed Islamist President Mohamed Mursi a virtual ultimatum to share power on Monday, giving feuding politicians 48 hours to compromise or have the army impose its own road map for the country. The slogan on the poster reads, " We will not let you victimise him

Post-Morsi Egypt: Gulf In, Turkey Out

Turkey held a positive image among many anti-Morsi protesters but is emerging as a loser with its diplomatic campaign to reinstate the deposed Egyptian president.

Azeri Energy Minister Natik Aliev (L) and Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz attend the signing ceremony of The Trans-Anatolian gas pipeline project in Ankara December 26, 2011. The Trans-Anatolian gas pipeline project, which will carry Azeri gas across Turkey to Europe, has a capacity of around 35 billion cubic metres (bcm) and can carry 16-24 bcm annually, officials from Turkey and Azerbaijan said on Monday. Azeri state energy company SOCAR, Turkey's state pipeline company Botas and Turkey's state energ

Russia Winner in Energy Transit Deal With Turkey

Turkey chooses cooperation with Russia on South Stream energy project.

Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan reviews students of the Police Academy upon his arrival to their graduation ceremony in Ankara June 24, 2013. REUTERS/Stringer (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS CRIME LAW) - RTX10YXL

Turkey’s Israel Problem

The AKP government’s portrayal of Gezi Park protests as a "plot by the Jewish lobby" has negatively affected the normalization process with Israel.

Women cover their faces as they try to avoid tear gas during protests at Kizilay square in central Ankara, June 16, 2013. The unrest, in which police fired teargas and water cannons at stone-throwing protesters night after night in cities including Istanbul and Ankara, left four people dead and about 5,000 injured, according to the Turkish Medical Association. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTX10Q1T

Erdogan Plays Headscarf Card

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has taken up the cause of his "covered sisters" to deflect attention from his own policies toward both the protesters and women.

Turkey Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan is pictured after his speech during conference in Ankara, June 18, 2013. Police raided addresses across Turkey on Tuesday and detained dozens of people in an operation linked to three weeks of often violent protests against Erdogan. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTX10S0B

Egypt Upheaval Deepens Turkey’s Regional Isolation

Ankara and Riyadh are at loggerheads over Egypt as the “Sunni Axis” collapses.

Masked supporters of jailed Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan stand on the stage as one reads a statement during a gathering to celebrate Newroz in the southeastern Turkish city of Diyarbakir March 21, 2013. Jailed Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan ordered his fighters on Thursday to cease fire and withdraw from Turkish soil as a step to ending a conflict that has killed 40,000 people, riven the country and battered its economy. Hundreds of thousands of Kurds gathered in the regional centre of Diyarb

Could a Murder Derail Turkish-Kurdish Peace Process?

The death of Medeni Yildirim on June 28 has brought the Turkish-Kurdish resolution process to the edge.

Turkey Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a conference in Ankara, June 18, 2013. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTX10S1M

Turkish Leadership Demoralized By Coup in Egypt

The Turkey-Egypt axis is a thing of the past, at least for now.

A protester supporting deposed Egypt's President Mohamed Mursi holds a poster of Mursi during clashes outside the Republican Guard barracks where Mursi is being held in Cairo July 5, 2013. At least three protesters were shot dead on Friday outside the barracks in Cairo, security sources said, as angry Islamist supporters confronted troops across the country. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany (EGYPT - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTX11DTC

Egypt’s Uncertain Transition

Al-Monitor’s coverage of the coup in Egypt.

Supporters of deposed Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi pray as they attend a symbolic funeral for the four men killed during clashes with police outside the Republican Guard headquarters a day earlier, in Cairo July 6, 2013. Egypt counted its dead on Saturday after Islamists enraged by the overthrow of Mursi took to the streets in an explosion of violence against what they denounced as a military coup. REUTERS/Louafi Larbi (EGYPT - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTX11EYM

Who Will Stand With Egyptian Democracy?

It appears that not enough attention is being paid to the rights of the Muslim Brotherhood, whose inclusion is necessary for Egypt to move forward democratically.

A boy balances a poster of Egypt's President Mohamed Mursi on his bicycle during a pro-Islamist demonstration in Istanbul July 1, 2013. Pro-Islamist groups held a demonstration in Istanbul in support of Mursi on Tuesday. Egypt's armed forces handed Islamist President Mohamed Mursi a virtual ultimatum to share power on Monday, giving feuding politicians 48 hours to compromise or have the army impose its own road map for the country. The slogan on the poster reads, " We will not let you victimise him". REUTER

Egyptian Coup Shakes Turkey

Turkey struggles to find the right response to the military coup in Egypt.