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

Turkey

Turkey

March 21, 2026

Ankara 1:52 am

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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 view of the oil refinery on March 17, 2026 in Erbil, Iraq.

Exclusive

Iraqi oil flows to Turkey after US pledges role in Baghdad-Kurds customs dispute

A US-brokered breakthrough between Baghdad and Erbil has restarted Iraqi oil exports through Turkey after a weeklong standoff.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Latest News

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

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

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

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

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

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

Middle East corruption rankings: Syria most corrupt, UAE least, Turkey slipped

Corruption remains rampant across the Middle East and North Africa, Transparency International reports, with the region’s average score in combating corruption hitting a new low of 38.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Can Erdogan run for third term in Turkey's upcoming election?

The opposition declares Erdogan’s candidacy “unconstitutional” while the Turkish president says his path to run for a third term is "clear."

Chris McGrath/Getty Images

US warns Americans in Turkey of 'imminent terrorist' attacks

The US Embassy in Ankara updated its previous security alert warning its nationals against potential "retaliatory attacks" in response to Quran-burning protests in Europe.

Turkish anti riot police officers patrol around the Sultan Ahmet Mosque during snowfall, Istanbul, Turkey, Jan. 8, 2017.

Why are foreign mobsters, drug gangs attracted to Turkey?

A wave of foreign mobster violence in Turkey has raised alarm that the country has become a safe haven for criminal kingpins from the region and beyond.

An employee takes a box of medicines on shelves at a pharmacy in the Turkish capital Ankara on December 13, 2021. - Turkeys pharmacists have brought to light the struggle of many patients who need medicines to treat diseases like diabetes and childrens fevers but cannot find them. They say the crisis that has deteriorated because of the fall in the Turkish liras value. (Photo by ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Turkey's medicine shortages could turn into 'drug famine' with no end in sight

In all Turkish pharmacies Al-Monitor visited recently, the drug shortage was palpable. Children's medicines, antibiotics, some cancer drugs top Turkey's long-unavailable drug list.

Co-leader of the People's Democratic Party (HDP) Mithat Sancar (C).

Turkey's pro-Kurdish party HDP faces threat of closure after top court ruling

The decision, which comes less than four months before the country’s fateful elections, raises the prospect of the pro-Kurdish party's running on other parties' tickets or as independent candidates.

Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

Ankara fumes over Turkey comments in Pompeo’s new book

Top Turkish top officials have lashed out at former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, accusing him of misinformation and hypocrisy in his memoirs.

Erdogan Bahceli

Murder of former Grey Wolves leader divides Turkey’s nationalists

Questions raised this week about the December shooting of Sinan Ates have placed Erdogan’s allied MHP party under the spotlight as elections loom.

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