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Turkey

Turkey

July 26, 2026

Ankara 6:14 am

14°C

Ozgur Ozel

Analysis

What challenges await Erdogan’s new rival and Turkey’s new opposition party?

Ousted main opposition leader Ozgur Ozel's bid to challenge Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan depends on surviving a widening legal crackdown and reconciling deep ideological, nationalist and Kurdish divisions within his own coalition.

Halil Karaveli

By Halil Karaveli

Turkey’s main opposition Republican People's Party's (CHP) Ousted party leader Ozgur Ozel waves to supporters from atop a police water cannon vehicle after being forcibly evicted by police from his party’s headquarters on May 24, 2026 in Ankara, Turkey.

Top ally of Turkey’s Erdogan backs state funding for Ozel’s breakaway party

Devlet Bahceli’s suggestion exposes a more nuanced position within the country’s governing alliance over the ongoing legal crackdown against Turkey’s main opposition.

Latest News

Explainer

As Turkey rivalry heats up, Greece to acquire $4B Israeli air defense system

David's Sling.

Turkey to begin surveys for planned northern Cyprus gas pipeline

Turkey's servicemen stand at attention on a Turkish submarine as they participate in the live-fire phase of the Blue Homeland 2026 tactical military exercises in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, in Antalya on April 9, 2026.

Iran's Araghchi reveals Turkey's role in thwarting Kurdish offensive

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi speaks during a joint press conference with his Iraqi counterpart following a meeting in Baghdad on June 28, 2026.

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

AMEER AL-DOUMY/AFP via Getty Images)

Turkey-France rivalry disrupts US-led mediation between Damascus, Syrian Kurds

Ankara is pressuring Damascus to cancel talks in Paris, fearing French support will tilt negotiations in favor of the Kurds, regional officials told Al-Monitor.

Turkish Foreign Ministry

Turkey’s Fidan visits Syria as Ankara pushes SDF to disarm: What to know

The top Turkish diplomat’s visit to Damascus comes as Ankara ramps up pressure for the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces to lay down arms.

A fighter of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) aims a machine gun while lying prone during a joint military exercise with forces of the US-led "Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve" coalition against the Islamic State (IS) group in the countryside of the town of al-Malikiya (Derik in Kurdish) in Syria's northeastern Hasakah province on Sept. 7, 2022.

Turkey turns up heat on SDF to disarm as US Syria envoy returns to Damascus

While Turkey demands that the SDF disarms, Washington is trying to revive stalled talks between Kurdish forces and the new Syrian government in Damascus.

An undated image of Enes Hocaogullari.

Turkey arrests youth delegate over Council of Europe address: What to know

The youth activist’s arrest adds to Ankara’s growing isolation as Turkey faces suspension from Europe’s top human rights body.

Turkmen Alabai

Fears mount over fate of missing Turkmen dissidents in Turkey

The pair vanished after being released from a Turkish deportation center, prompting concerns they were abducted or secretly returned to Turkmenistan.

A cargo ship is seen in a port in central Mogadishu, Somalia, April 25, 2025.

Somalia’s Puntland releases Turkey arms cargo ship: What to know

Talks between Turkey and Puntland follow the seizure of a military cargo ship amid simmering disputes over authority with Mogadishu.

OZAN KOSE/AFP via Getty Images

Turkey names new army chief in unexpected reshuffle

While official releases cited staffing shortages as the reason, it has been roughly a decade since a Turkish chief of staff has retired before completing a full four-year tenure.

Fighters with the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) line up to put their weapons into a pit during a ceremony in Sulaimaniyah, in Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region, on July 11, 2025.

Kurdish militants return abducted Turkish agents as fragile peace push continues

The handover is seen as a confidence-building measure, as Erdogan seeks a deal with militants to secure Kurdish support for extending his presidency beyond 2028.

Greece s Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis arrives to attend the European Council in Brussels on June 26, 2025. EU leaders meet from June 26 to 27 to discuss geoeconomic challenges and the ongoing developments in Ukraine and the Middle East. (Photo by Magali Cohen / Hans Lucas via AFP) (Photo by MAGALI COHEN/Hans Lucas/AFP via Getty Images)

Greece threatens to block Turkey from EU loans over Aegean, Cyprus tensions

Greece and Cyprus oppose Turkey’s participation in the EU’s SAFE program over long-standing disputes, even as other EU powers including Germany and Italy deepen defense ties with Ankara amid shifting regional alliances.

People shop at a local street market in Istanbul, Turkey, May 3, 2023.

Turkey’s inflation falls to four-year low of 33.5%: What to know

Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek said on X that annual inflation had fallen to its lowest level in 44 months.

Members of the Lebanese Kurdish community wave the flags of (L to R) the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), Women's Protection Units (YPJ), another showing jailed Kurdish militant leader Abdullah Ocalan, and the flag of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), during a celebration marking the spring festival of Nowruz (Noruz) in Lebanon's coastal town of Damour, 24 kilometers south of Beirut, on March 24, 2019.

Analysis

Can Turkey dismantle PKK, push SDF integration while rewriting rules in Syria?

Ankara hopes for the PKK's disarmament and the SDF's integration under Damascus, but skepticism and risks remain.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security