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

Turkey

Turkey

March 20, 2026

Ankara 5:26 pm

7°C

Turkey's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan (R) and Qatar's Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani (2L) arrive to address a joint press conference in Doha on March 19, 2026. (Photo by Karim JAAFAR / AFP via Getty Images)

Turkey, Qatar pledge to deepen defense ties, blame Israel for Iran war

Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan’s trip to Doha is part of a Gulf tour that began Wednesday in Riyadh, as Iran continues to strike energy assets across the region.

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.

Latest News

Analysis

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

Ali IHSAN OZTURK / AFP via Getty Images

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

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

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

A fisherman sells his fish at a public market where customers shop in the historical district of Ulus in Ankara on December 30, 2022. (Photo by ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Turkey's economy grows 5.6% in 2022, but labor’s income share shrinks

In a sign of deepening income disparities, the share of Turkey’s labor force from the national income has dropped to 26.5%, a far cry from 36% in 2016.

Jens Stoltenberg, Secretary General of NATO, speaks with Sanna Marin, Prime Minister of Finland, during the 2023 Munich Security Conference (MSC) on February 18, 2023 in Munich, Germany. The Munich Security Conference brings together defence leaders and stakeholders from around the world and is taking place February 17-19. Russia's ongoing war in Ukraine is dominating the agenda. (Photo by Johannes Simon/Getty Images)

Sweden, Finland NATO accession talks with Turkey to resume in days

Turkey says talks with Sweden and Finland will soon resume on Sweden's and Finland's bids to join the NATO alliance.

KONSTANTINOS TSAKALIDIS/SOOC/AFP via Getty Images

Fury in Turkey as Red Crescent sells tents following quakes

Turks' ongoing fury over the government's response to the devastating earthquakes has ramped up over reports that the Turkish Red Crescent sold thousands of tents instead of distributing them to victims.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry (L) and Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad (R) give a press conference at the Foreign Ministry headquarters, Damascus, Syria, Feb. 27, 2023.

Egypt's FM Shoukry visits Syria, Turkey in renewed earthquake diplomacy

The top Egyptian diplomat's visit to Syria and Turkey marks a first after almost a decade.

A family pass by a ruined building in Hatay, Turkey, Feb. 25, 2023.

New earthquake hits Turkey’s disaster zone, killing one, trapping several

The new quake collapsed several buildings in a province that is among 11 Turkish provinces that were badly hit by the massive Feb. 6 earthquakes.

People fish from the Galata bridge, near Suleymaniye mosque (backround) in the Eminonu district of Istanbul, on January 10, 2023. (Photo by OZAN KOSE/AFP via Getty Images)

Scientists: Time running out to save Istanbul from major earthquake

Seismologists are calling for urgent measures to prepare Istanbul for a major earthquake expected in the near future, warning of catastrophic destruction in Turkey’s most populous city and economic capital.

Turkey quake refugee

A Syrian exodus: Some 30,000 refugees return home after Turkey's earthquake

The UN's refugee agency stresses that Syrian refugees who visit their homeland can return to Turkey later.

DIMITAR DILKOFF/AFP via Getty Images

Ukraine war at year 1: Turkey's balancing act succeeds, but game far from over

Despite his diplomatic gains over the past year, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's cautious dance between Ukraine and Russia can't be declared a success quite yet.

People lay flowers at a makeshift memorial for the victims of the Nov. 13 explosion at the busy shopping street of Istiklal, Istanbul, Turkey, Nov. 14, 2022.

Turkey says it killed major Istanbul bombing suspect in Syria drone strike

The drone strike came a week after a Turkish prosecutor indicted 36 suspects including a top Syrian Kurdish commander, over their alleged links to the bombing attack in 2022.

A ship docks in the port Lebanon's second city Tripoli, on the Mediterranean coast, on Aug. 22, 2022.

Mediterranean Sea change: Ukraine war upsets Middle East status quo

Emboldened by the independent foreign policies of Western allies Israel and Turkey, more countries in the region are weighing where their own interests lie.

Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan attends a joint press conference with his Russian counterpart following their talks in Yerevan on June 9, 2022.(Photo by KAREN MINASYAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Armenia’s FM in Syria as Turkey’s opposition declares solidarity with Assad

In a statement released on Wednesday, the Munich Security Conference and others, called for "urgent action to overcome the political obstacles that are blocking humanitarian assistance" to Syria.

ILYAS AKENGIN/AFP via Getty Images

Turkey's Kurdish opposition says government obstructing quake relief efforts

Opposition politicians say the usurping of municipalities by government appointees has weakened their ability to respond to Turkey's Feb. 6 earthquake disaster.