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

Turkey

Turkey

March 26, 2026

Ankara 9:43 am

7°C

Two Typhoon Eurofighter jets of the Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) of the German air force (Luftwaffe) take off for training during a media day at the military Laage Air Base, northeastern Germany, on March 11, 2026.

Turkey, UK advance $11B Eurofighter jet deal with training agreement

Britain and Turkey signed a training and support agreement marking “the next phase” of Ankara’s entry into the Eurofighter program, building on a £8 billion jet deal signed last year.

Journalists gather outside the Ankara courthouse on March 10, 2020 behind a banner reading in Turkish "journalism is not crime," to protest over jailing of journalists, sparked by the recent arrest of OdaTV's news director and a journalist's report on the funeral of a Turkish intelligence officer apparently killed in Libya.

Journalist who investigated Erdogan’s son jailed on 'disinformation' charges in Turkey

Human rights organizations warn Ari’s detention signals a broader campaign against journalists probing government corruption and elite networks.

Ghalibaf Fidan

US proposes Vance-Ghalibaf talks with Turkey as one intermediary: Source

Iran has yet to respond to the proposal, the source said, as the US announced it was pausing strikes on Iran's energy infrastructure for five days.

United Arab Emirates army helicopters fly from the Burj al Arab hotel (R) toward Burj Khalifa, Dubai, Jan. 16, 2026.

Analysis

Iran war drives Turkey-Gulf defense alignment, but not alliance

Despite accelerated cooperation as a result of the US-Israeli war on Iran, structural and political constraints would make a formal military alliance unlikely.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Latest News

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

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)

Exclusive

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

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

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

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

Ukrainian servicemen take part in the joint Rapid Trident military exercises with the United States and other NATO countries nor far from Lviv on Sept. 24, 2021, as tensions with Russia remain high over the Kremlin-backed insurgency in the country's east.

Turkey urges Russia to moderate demands on NATO over Ukraine

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is offering to mediate the crisis, but its not clear Turkey has enough leverage to do so effectively.

Women hold a banner with the picture of Deniz Poyraz who was killed at Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) Izmir headquarters, June 19, 2021.

Turkey’s pro-Kurdish party seeks justice for murdered party volunteer

The Peoples’ Democratic Party charges that the prosecutors are reluctant to fully investigate the links of the health worker who attacked the party’s office in June.

Syria Idlib

Currency crisis threatens Turkey's Syria strategy

Turkey’s economic turmoil might challenge Ankara's grip over opposition-held areas in Syria, where in-house rivalries among the armed factions over financial resources have escalated.

Women shop bread at a market in Ankara on Dec. 20, 2021.

Bread prices ring alarm bells in Turkey

For low-income households, bread and its price have become all the more important now that their purchasing power has melted amid the slump of the Turkish lira and surging inflation.

Didem Kinali

Turkey’s belly dancers can't shake government TV censors

Gone are the days where belly dancers appeared on Turkish TVs as part of the country's New Year's Eve celebrations.

FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP via Getty Images

Intel: US concerned over Iran, Turkey, UAE-supplied drones in Ethiopia war

Ethiopia's government has rejected calls for a cease-fire after routing Tigray rebels with the help of high-tech foreign drones.

The Horn of Africa

OZAN KOSE/AFP via Getty Images

Erdogan’s new economic plan no remedy for lost purchasing power

Even as Ankara rolls out a new scheme to contain the country’s currency crisis, the severe losses of millions of low-and middle-income Turks appears irreversible.

Turkey economy

Why have AKP elites lost touch with reality?

The presidential system’s negligence of Turkey’s realities has turned what would be a difficult economic and political era anyway into one that is also dark and dangerous.

ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images

Lira rallies as Erdogan unveils new financial scheme, but jitters prevail

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan revealed a scheme using Turkey’s treasury to prop up the lira, but critics point out that the move amounts to a backdoor hike in interest rates.

This picture taken on June 3, 2016, shows the newly opened Turkish Embassy in Mogadishu.

Drone sales could dampen Turkey’s African venture

Turkey has made major economic and diplomatic strides in Africa since the early 2000s, but growing military sales to African countries raise the specter of a risky shift.

ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images

Turkey rules suicide in death of Kurdish prisoner who alleged torture, rape

A female Kurdish inmate who spoke up about rape, sexual harassment and torture in prison has died in solitary confinement in what the state has ruled suicide.

Ji Bo Azadiye

Turkey accused of blocking Kurdish film at Iraqi film festival

Turkey is accused of pressuring film festival organizers in Iraqi Kurdistan to cancel an award-winning movie depicting PKK forces.