Turkey - AL-Monitor: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent since 2012

Turkey

Turkey

March 19, 2026

Ankara 5:34 am

10°C

A Patriot anti-missile battery launcher, deployed by Dutch NATO soldiers, is seen March 11, 2003 at the Diyarbakir military airport in southeastern Turkey.

NATO deploys new Patriot battery to Turkey as Fidan in Riyadh for regional talks

The deployment to a key Turkish airbase likely signals NATO planners’ heightened concern over Turkey’s military assets.

An Iraqi oil tanker waits at the Khawr Abd Allah canal leading up to Al-Faw port in southern Iraq, on June 6, 2024.

Desperate to sell its oil, Iraq turns to Turkey amid standoff with Kurds

As Iraq looks to reroute oil to Turkey, Baghdad is also using the plan to push the Iraqi Kurds to greenlight exports through their territory.

Ali IHSAN OZTURK / AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

No strangers to turmoil, Turkey-Iran to maintain ties under Mojtaba Khamenei

Even as war heighten tensions between Ankara and Tehran, the mix of rivalry and pragmatic cooperation that has long defined Turkey–Iran relations is likely to endure.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Latest News

Feature

Iranians crossing into Turkey haunted by regime crackdown more than war

Iranian nationals arrive in Turkey after passing through the Razi-Kapikoy border crossing in Van, northeastern Turkey, on March 3, 2026.

Ezgi Akin

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

Analysis

Oil-price hikes from Iran war threaten Turkey's rate cuts in inflation fight

Yasin AKGUL / AFP via Getty Images

Ezgi Akin

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

Analysis

Oil crisis stokes inflation risks for Mideast as Iran war exposes importers

Smoke and flames rise at the site of airstrikes on an oil depot in Tehran on March 7, 2026.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

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

Turkish minister of Treasury and Finance Mehmet Simsek,(L) speaks with minister of Energy and Natural Resourcesand Alparslan Bayraktar,(R) during the group meeting of Justice and Development (AK) Party at the Turkish Grand National Assembly in Ankara, on June 21, 2023. (Photo by Adem ALTAN / AFP) (Photo by ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Turkey's finance, banking chiefs to visit Saudi Arabia in search of foreign funds

The Saudi visit of Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek and Central Bank Governor Gaye Erkan is expected to be followed by the Turkish President's Gulf tour.

JOHN THYS/AFP via Getty Images

US to advance Turkey's F-16 sales as Sweden's NATO bid moves forward

US Senator Bob Menendez, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, says he is in talks with the administration on F-16 sales as the Turkish and US presidents met today.

Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Tehran, Iran, July 19, 2022.

Russia asks Turkey for 'clarification' over Ukraine's Azov prisoner release

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov also implicitly criticizes Turkey’s sale of Bayraktar drones to Ukraine.

Chris McGrath/Getty Images

Turkey greenlights Sweden's NATO membership ahead of critical summit

Turkey’s president has suggested that Ankara’s stalled membership talks with the European Union be revived in exchange for greenlighting Sweden’s NATO accession to the ahead of a key summit in Vilnius.

This aerial photograph shows the construction of the Russian-built Akkuyu nuclear power plant in Mersin province, Turkey, April 26, 2023.

Turkey says talks with China, Russia, South Korea underway for new nuclear plants

Turkey's energy minister also said his country was in talks with France for the independent oversight of the Akkuyu nuclear power plant in Mersin which is being built by Russia's Rosatom.

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (L), UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed al-Nahyan (C) and Manchester City's Emirati owner Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyan (R) attend the UEFA Champions League final football match between Inter Milan and Manchester City at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul, on June 10, 2023. (Photo by FRANCK FIFE / AFP) (Photo by FRANCK FIFE/AFP via Getty Images)

Turkey's Erdogan revs up diplomacy with focus on Syria, Gulf funds

After the president's reelection, Turkish diplomacy has found a new impetus in cementing ties with the Arab world, driven in part by Ankara’s hopes of attracting Gulf funds to prop up its ailing economy.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan checks hands with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky after a joint press conference at the Vahdettin Mansion in Istanbul on July 7, 2023. (Photo by OZAN KOSE / AFP) (Photo by OZAN KOSE/AFP via Getty Images)

Turkey's Erdogan hosts Zelenskyy, says Ukraine 'deserves' to be NATO member

Turkish President Erdogan’s declaration of support comes amid a fresh push by Kyiv to join the Transatlantic alliance once the war is over.

Patriot long-range air defence systems of the German Bundeswehr armed forces are deployed at Vilnius Airport ahead of the upcoming NATO Summit in Vilnius, Lithuania on July 7, 2023. (Photo by Petras Malukas / AFP) (Photo by PETRAS MALUKAS/AFP via Getty Images)

US presses Turkey to lift opposition to Sweden's NATO bid as summit nears

US Ambassador to NATO Julianne Smith said the administration wants to see Sweden's inclusion in the Western military alliance "as soon as possible."

ISTANBUL, TURKEY - MAY 03: People shop at a local street market on May 03, 2023 in Istanbul, Turkey. Persistently high inflation has led to a cost-of-living crisis in Turkey that has hurt President Erdogan's popularity ahead of the March 14 presidential election. (Photo by Burak Kara/Getty Images)

Turkey raises taxes up to 20% on basic goods as deficit, inflation linger

The move follows changes to Turkey’s monetary policy and a new cabinet following President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s reelection.

ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images

Turkey's Erdogan ups pressure on US, Sweden ahead of NATO summit

Turning up the heat before his critical meeting with the Swedish premier on Monday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reiterated his country’s stiff demands from Stockholm.

MADRID, SPAIN - JUNE 30: Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkish President holds his press conference at the NATO Summit on June 30, 2022 in Madrid, Spain. During the summit in Madrid, on June 30 NATO leaders will make the historic decision whether to increase the number of high-readiness troops above 300,000 to face the Russian threat. (Photo by Denis Doyle/Getty Images)

Turkey's Erdogan to meet Sweden's PM for last-ditch talks on NATO bid

With five days to go to NATO’s Vilnius summit, the NATO secretary-general says he will bring together the leaders of Turkey and Sweden to break the deadlock on Sweden’s NATO membership bid. 

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (L) and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky react while giving a press conference following the talks with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in Lviv on Aug. 18, 2022, amid Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Ukraine's Zelenskyy to visit Turkey as Erdogan seeks to extend grain deal

Military aid to Ukraine and another extension of Black Sea grain deal are expected to dominate the talks in Istanbul.