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Turkey

Turkey

November 29, 2025

Ankara 2:47 pm

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Kurdish official Aldar Khalil, who played a key role in establishing Syria's semiautonomous Kurdish region in 2013, during an interview in Qamishli on Dec. 22, 2018.

Exclusive

Top PYD official Aldar Khalil: 'Syria is telling Kurds to separate'

Al-Monitor spoke exclusively to Aldar Khalil, a member of the executive council of the Democratic Unity Party (PYD), which shares power in the Kurdish-led administration in northeast Syria, about the halted talks between Syria’s transitional government and the Kurdish-led administration in northeast Syria.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan greets Pope Leo XIV during a welcome ceremony at the Presidential Palace, Ankara, Nov. 27, 2025.

In first foreign visit, Pope Leo meets Erdogan, urges Turkey to uphold pluralism

On his inaugural foreign visit to Turkey, Pope Leo called for respect for pluralism after meeting with the Turkish president.

Andreas SOLARO / AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Pope Leo in Turkey, navigating faith, politics and Orthodox tensions

The visit will bolster Turkey’s image on religious tolerance and shared positions with the Vatican while Ankara navigates sensitive issues surrounding the Halki Seminary and the Greek Patriarchate’s ecumenical status.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Latest News

Turkey sentences journalist over 4 years in jail for threatening Erdogan

Prominent Turkish journalist Fatih Altayli is pictured in this undated image.

Analysis

PKK leader Ocalan gains legitimacy in Turkey, bigger sway over Syria’s Kurds

People take part in a demonstration to call for the liberation of Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Ocalan outside the European Council in Strasbourg, eastern France, on Sept. 15, 2025.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Turkey’s spy chief holds talks in Egypt over trapped Hamas militants

BASHAR TALEB/AFP via Getty Images

Culture

Turkey’s graphic-novel culture blossoms in face of censorship

cartoons

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 Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu (R) and Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto (L) give a press conference following their meeting in Ankara, on February 8, 2022. (Photo by ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Finland lifts Turkey's arms embargo, is one step closer to NATO

While Finland seems one step closer to NATO membership after Helsinki’s decision to resume defense sales to Turkey, Ankara’s anger at Sweden shows no signs of abating.

In this aerial photo from a drone, a tram passes an empty road in the Karakoy district on the final day of a four-day lockdown across Istanbul, Turkey, April 26, 2020.

Church blaze kills two in Turkey's Istanbul

A blaze at an Istanbul church left two dead and two others injured, heavily damaging the historical building.

ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images

Turkey postpones NATO talks on Sweden, Finland bids

Ankara has thrown its hands up in response to Stockholm's permission for a Quran-burning protest as Helsinki hints that Finland could join the alliance without Sweden.

YASIN AKGUL/AFP via Getty Images

Erdogan says Sweden lost NATO bid support as Turkey fumes at Quran burning

Three days of protests followed a demonstration in Stockholm as President Erdogan says Sweden lost Turkey's support for its NATO accession

Official yellow taxis and van vehicles wait for their customers at the Eminonu district in Istanbul, on March 30, 2018. (Photo credit OZAN KOSE/AFP via Getty Images)

Culture

Istanbul taxi problem pits Gulf tourists against Turkey's locals

Turkish people have long blamed Arab tourists’ generous tips for the city’s cab shortage, but this may not be the case anymore.

OMAR HAJ KADOUR/AFP via Getty Images

Turkey faces tough options on Syrian rebel allies amid Damascus thaw

Ankara’s quest to restore ties with Damascus has left its Syrian rebel allies confused as Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the jihadi group controlling Idlib, seeks to raise its profile and lure the disenchanted to its ranks.

Turkish President and leader of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a group meeting at the Turkish Grand National Assembly in Ankara on Jan. 18, 2023.

Analysis

Turkey's Erdogan shows no give on Sweden’s NATO bid

The hope is that the Turkish president will deal on NATO, Sweden and Syria after May 14 elections; Turkey-Syria talks unsettle refugees; Could jihadists make a comeback in Europe?

Week in Review

By Week in Review

Jonas Gratzer/Getty Images

Turkey summons Swedish ambassador over planned Quran burning

A far-right Swedish politician's planned Quran-burning protest has heightened tensions between Turkey and Sweden.

Turkish riot police

'We are in a very dangerous situation,' Kuwait's five sisters plead for help to stay in Turkey

Five Kuwaiti sisters, including two minors, say they escaped domestic violence and sexual abuse, and are now beseeching Turkish authorities and civic groups for a safe life.

ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images

Turkey insists on separation between F16 sales, NATO enlargement

Sweden’s Defense Minister Pal Jonson is headed to Turkey next week in the first visit by a Swedish official since tensions ramped up over Swedish protesters hanging an effigy of Turkey's president.

F-16 jet

Analysis

The Takeaway: Turkey’s F-16 deal proves hard sell in Congress

Plus, imprisoned American Siamak Namazi launches a hunger strike in Iran, and Iraq repatriates hundreds from northeast Syria's Al-Hol camp.

Elizabeth Hagedorn

By Elizabeth Hagedorn

In Washington, DC, reporting on diplomacy, regional politics, human rights

US Supreme Court is seen on Jan. 13, 2022, in Washington.

Explainer: Turkey’s Halkbank appeals to US Supreme Court in Iran sanctions case

The case comes at a tense time in US-Turkey relations as the Biden administration weighs whether to sell F-16 jets to Turkey.