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

Turkey

Turkey

March 29, 2026

Ankara 11:02 am

8°C

Sedat Suna/Getty Images

Analysis

Energy storage keeps Turkey stable, but long war risks fragile economy

Turkey avoids an immediate energy crunch thanks to storage and diversified supply, but soaring prices and prolonged disruption threaten inflation.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

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.

Latest News

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

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.

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

A street vendor sits in front of the Blue Mosque during the new year's celebrations in Istanbul on December 31, 2020. - Turkish government announced a four-days lockdown between December 31 and January 04, 2021. (Photo by Yasin AKGUL / AFP) (Photo by YASIN AKGUL/AFP via Getty Images)

How Turkey became unsafe haven for dissidents

While Ankara requests the most renditions of any country, its own borders remain extremely porous, its security personnel vulnerable to corruption and its territory a playground for foreign intelligence services.

A photograph taken on July 15, 2020 shows the July 15 Monument, in Ankara, during the July 15 Democracy and National Unity Day's events held to mark the fourth anniversary of the failed coup. - A photograph taken on July 15, 2020 shows the (Photo by Adem ALTAN / AFP) (Photo by ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Coup row haunts Turkish-US ties

Amid an already frosty start with the new US administration, Ankara has renewed accusations that Washington was behind the 2016 coup attempt in Turkey.

Newly confirmed US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrives for a welcome ceremony at the State Department in Washington,DC on January 27, 2021. (Photo by CARLOS BARRIA / POOL / AFP) (Photo by CARLOS BARRIA/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Blinken walks back State Department ambiguity over Turkish hostages killed in Iraq

After an earlier statement suggesting Washington didn't necessarily buy Ankara's narrative on the killings, the State Department today said that "PKK terrorists bear responsibility."

Turkish tanks are seen near the Habur crossing gate between Turkey and Iraq during a military drill on September 18, 2017.
Turkey launched a military drill featuring tanks close to the Iraqi border the army said, a week before Iraq's Kurdish region will hold an independence referendum on September 25. / AFP PHOTO / STR (Photo credit should read STR/AFP via Getty Images)

Turkey accuses PKK militants of executing 13 Turkish captives in Iraqi Kurdistan

Turkey could use the deaths as justification to launch an operation against the PKK in Yazidi-dominated Sinjar, something Ankara has been lobbying Baghdad to greenlight.

Iran denies diplomat was arrested in Turkey for allegedly helping kill dissident

The allegations stem from the 2019 killing of Masoud Molavi Vardanjani in Istanbul.

This picture taken on November 26, 2020 shows Syrian students from the "Aleppo University in Liberated Areas", controlled by the pro-Turkey opposition, attending a tutorial at a laboratory facility in Marea in the rebel-controlled northern countryside of Syria's Aleppo province, while mask-clad due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. - The university had its first batch of 32 doctors to ever graduate after its founding in 2014, headquartered in Azaz for the past three years. Humanitarian workers fear any

Understanding Turkey's vision of medical schools for small Syrian town

Ankara plans to establish two medical educational facilities in a small Syrian town across the border as Turkish entrenchment deepens in Syria.

Turkey rejects US call to free jailed philanthropist Osman Kavala

Turkey on Thursday rejected a call by the United States to release jailed civil society leader and human rights activist Osman Kavala.

Italy top foreign investor in Turkey in 2020

Italy supports Turkey on several issues while other European states, especially France, have notable disagreements with Turkey.

US stands firm as Turkey proposes to ‘find solution’ over S-400

The State Department urged ally Ankara to get rid of the Russian air defense system

Turkey to purchase fourth drilling ship to expand energy projects

Amid maritime boundary disputes in the eastern Mediterranean and after a 2020 gas field discovery the Black Sea, Turkey’s state-owned oil and gas company is finalizing the purchase of a fourth drilling ship to expand its energy development activities.

A picture taken on January 31, 2018 shows the moon during a lunar eclipse, referred to as the "super blue blood moon" up in the sky above the Bosphorus straits in Istanbul. - Skywatchers were hoping for a rare lunar eclipse that combines three unusual events -- a blue moon, a super moon and a total eclipse -- which was to make for a large crimson moon viewable in many corners of the globe. (Photo by YASIN AKGUL / AFP) (Photo credit should read YASIN AKGUL/AFP via Getty Images)

Turkey aims for moon by 2023 as UAE reaches Mars

Turkey's president announced he wants to send a spacecraft to the moon by Turkey's centennial the same day regional rival the United Arab Emirates reached Mars.

Turkey escalates attacks against PKK rebels across northern Iraq

Ankara says it has captured a PKK militant responsible for "logistics," while also launching a new operation against the group in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.