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

Turkey

Turkey

March 28, 2026

Ankara 4:19 pm

16°C

A handing over of command ceremony at Union III Camp in the Green Zone of the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, on May 22, 2025.

Turkey confirms Iraq troop withdrawal as NATO pulls back due to Iran war

The confirmation of the withdrawal came as part of NATO’s decision to withdraw its forces in its Iraq mission amid Iran war.

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.

Latest News

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

Ghalibaf Fidan

Analysis

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

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

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

Ankara's Metropolitan Municipality paid tribute to Ozlem Tureci (L) and Ugur Sahin (R), the German couple of Turkish origin who are behind the BioNTech firm that developed a successful vaccine with US giant Pfizer, as part of a series of graffiti dedicated to the efforts of health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in the City Hospital region of the Turkish capital, Ankara, on April 19, 2021.

Turkey inks deal for 50 million doses of Russia's Sputnik V vaccine

Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca announced the vaccines would begin arriving next month.

Dbeibah and Erdogan

Libyan prime minister visits Ankara

The visit of the prime minister of Libya's Government of National Unity highlights an ongoing, close relationship with Turkey, with implications for the Libyan political process, and a likely signal to Egypt and the United Arab Emirates.

Turkish-Armenian lawmaker threatened over genocide remarks

A criminal complaint was filed against Turkish lawmaker Umit Ozdag after he threatened Garo Paylan, an Armenian deputy with the Peoples’ Democratic Party, over remarks regarding the Armenian genocide.

An employee of Dilo bar starts cleaning the rooftop terrace bar, which has been closed for 340 days due to coronavirus restrictions, in the Kadikoy district on Feb. 22, 2021 in Istanbul, Turkey.

Turkish health experts, workers call for social support ahead of 17-day Covid lockdown

As Turkey prepares for a 17-day lockdown to stem a surge in COVID-19 cases, health experts and workers’ unions urge more financial support for citizens most impacted by pandemic restrictions.

Supporters of Armenian stand off with Turkish supporters outside the Turkish Embassy on April 24, 2021, in Washington, DC. President Joe Biden became the first US president to formally refer to atrocities committed against Armenians as a “genocide” on Saturday, 106 years after the 1915 start of an eight-year-long campaign of ethnic cleansing.

Biden's recognition of Armenian genocide exposes Erdogan's weakness

President Biden’s recognition of the 1915 Armenian genocide exposed Erdogan’s weakness and the dramatic shift in Turkey’s geopolitical value in the United States' strategic outlook.

The Turkish-made Bayraktar TB2 drone is pictured on Dec. 16, 2019, at the Gecitkale military air base near Famagusta in the self-proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.

Turkey’s ambitious drone carrier project dogged by uncertainties

Keen on becoming a major sea power in the region, Turkey plans to convert an amphibious assault ship into a drone carrier, a project that raises operational and technical challenges for the Turkish navy.

Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) speaks to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) as they attend a press conference on Oct. 10, 2016, in Istanbul. Putin visited Turkey for talks pushing forward ambitious joint energy projects as the two sides try to overcome a crisis in ties.

Turkish-Russian ties marked more by rivalry than cooperation today

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan believed Russia would provide him leverage against the United States and Europe after Turkey’s ties with the West took a nosedive.

Protesters take part in a demonstration outside the US consulate in Istanbul on April 26, 2021, as a banner reads as 'An answer of USA's lies, close the US base in Incirlik', following the decision of US President Joe Biden to recognize the Armenian genocide in 1915-1917.

Turkey vows response to Biden's decision to recognize Armenian genocide

Turkish presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin did not provide details on a reaction, but he said it will be "of different forms, kinds and degrees."

People wave Armenian and US flags in front of the US embassy in Yerevan after US President recognized the 1915 killings of Armenians by Ottoman forces as genocide, on April 24, 2021.

Turkey’s reaction to Biden’s recognition of Armenian genocide more bark than bite for now

Turkey's foreign ministry said the US president's proclamation opened "a deep wound" that undermines Turkish-US ties, yet President Recep Tayyip Erdogan did not immediately respond.

Mor Gabriel Monastery

Court case against priest evokes bitter memories for Turkey’s Assyrians

Turkey’s tiny Assyrian community views a jail term handed to an Assyrian priest on “terrorism charges” as an official strong-arming tactic, while Assyrians around the world call for dismissal of the case.

Catholicos Garegin II, the head of the Armenian Apostolic Church, attends a ceremony commemorating the 105th anniversary of the massacre of 1.5 million of Armenians by Ottoman forces in 1915, at the Tsitsernakaberd memorial in Yerevan on April 24, 2020.

Turkish talk of reconciliation angers Armenians on 106th anniversary of genocide

Turkey has warned the United States that President Joe Biden's expected characterization of the mass killings of the Ottoman Armenians in 1915 as a genocide will derail Turkish-Armenian reconciliation and further damage US-Turkish ties. Armenians say there is no reconciliation process to speak of.

Turkish Cypriot police stand before a portrait of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the disputal coastal town of Varosha, in Famagusta, Cyprus, Nov. 15, 2020.

Erdogan furious as his Islamic ambitions stumble in Turkish Cyprus

A Turkish Cypriot court ruling that reins back on Quranic courses comes as a poignant message to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that Cypriot Turks are unwilling to sign up to his quest to raise “devout generations.”