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Turkey

Turkey

April 28, 2026

Ankara 6:06 pm

20°C

Turkey's submarines and fast-attack craft ships participate in the live-fire phase of the Blue Homeland-2026 (Mavi Vatan) tactical military exercises in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, in Antalya on April 9, 2026.

Turkey’s military spending jumps to $30B, leads Mideast growth in 2025

Newly released data shows Ankara’s military spending hit $30 billion, while Saudi Arabia remained the region’s top spender and Israel’s outlays declined in 2025.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan hosted the third meeting of the foreign ministers of Turkey, Egypt, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia on the margins of the 5th Antalya Diplomacy Forum, on April 17, 2026.

Analysis

Why Saudi Arabia, Egypt are wary of Turkey’s proposed 4-way defense pact with Pakistan

The proposed framework faces major hurdles and fault lines, ranging from NATO constraints to Israeli opposition and weak military integration.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

CORLU, TURKEY- MARCH 2: A B model of Bayraktar AKINCI TİHA (Assault Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) in the sky on March 2, 2022 in Corlu, Turkey. (Photo by Baykar Press Office/dia images via Getty Images)

Turkey’s Baykar tests K2 swarm kamikaze drones for first time: What to know

Baykar tested its K2 and new loitering drones, featuring AI-driven swarm capabilities and the ability to operate under GPS jamming.

Latest News

Trump envoy Barrack’s embrace of 'strong leaders' sparks fury in Turkey

US Ambassador to Turkey Thomas Barrack attends a meeting with President Donald Trump and President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the Oval Office at the White House on Sept. 25, 2025, in Washington, DC.

How Syria's border opening with Iraq redefines Turkey-Kurd balance

Members of Iraq's security forces stand guard on the the al-Rabia border crossing with Syria on April 20, 2026.

Analysis

Italy’s TB3 drone deal signals turn toward Turkey amid US-NATO tensions

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni shake hands during the press conference following their meeting at Villa Doria Pamphilj, on April 29, 2025, in Rome, Italy.

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

Models celebrate at the end of the 2016 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show at the Grand Palais in Paris, France, November 30, 2016. REUTERS/Charles Platiau FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RTSU49P

Despite crackdown on Victoria's Secret, Turkey's lingerie industry still in fashion

The government’s TV watchdog, the Radio and Television Supreme Council, fined two private television channels for supposedly endangering Turkish youth’s morals by showing the annual Victoria’s Secret fashion show.

Turkey seeks to replenish severely depleted military

Many say Turkey's military education system, which is being redesigned following the July 15 coup attempt, is increasingly being entrusted to the "devout" bloc.

ANKARA, TURKEY - APRIL 17: Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan gives a referendum victory speech to his supporters at the Presidential Palace on April 17, 2017 in Ankara Turkey. Erdogan declared victory in Sunday's historic referendum that will grant sweeping powers to the presidency, hailing the result as a "historic decision. 51.4 per cent per cent of voters had sided with the "Yes" campaign, ushering in the most radical change to the country's political system in modern times.Turkey's main opposition calls

Turkey, Israel in verbal spat over Jerusalem

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s comments on Jerusalem and the Israel-Palestine conflict have cast dark clouds over Turkish-Israeli relations.

What's behind curious gold traffic between Turkey and UAE?

Gold of almost similar worth has been traded between Turkey and the United Arab Emirates in the first quarter of the year, raising suspicion that some dubious transactions may be underway.

United Arab Emirates

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan attends a news conference following the talks with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Sochi, Russia, May 3, 2017. REUTERS/Alexander Zemlianichenko/Pool - RTS14ZGN

Odds appear stacked against success of Erdogan-Trump meeting

Erdogan’s advisers are among those predicting his mission in Washington will fail.

Bullets lie next to a gun at a Sinjar Resistance Units (YBS) check point, a militia affiliated with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), in the village of Umm al-Dhiban, northern Iraq, April 30, 2016. They share little more than an enemy and struggle to communicate on the battlefield, but together two relatively obscure groups have opened up a new front against Islamic State militants in a remote corner of Iraq. The unlikely alliance between the Sinjar Resistance Units, an offshoot of a leftist Kurdish organ

Sinjar on brink of major conflict between PKK, Turkey

The city of Sinjar, west of Mosul, seems close to becoming a battleground for armed confrontations between the PKK and the Turkish army, especially after Ankara called for ground intervention against PKK fighters in Sinjar to prevent them from having a new base in the north of Iraq.

Turkish gypsies play traditionnal instruments as they celebrate the annual Spring Festival "Hidirellez", on May 5, 2013, 2013, in Edirne, south-western Turkey. Gypsies celebrate the beginning of the spring season according to their calendar. Hidirellez is celebrated as the day on which Prophets Hizir (Al-Khidr) and Ilyas (Elijah) met on earth. AFP PHOTO/GURCAN OZTURK (Photo credit should read GURCAN OZTURK/AFP/Getty Images)

Turkish fest takes Roma culture upmarket, but Roma still down

Roma music and dancing dominate the Hidirellez festivities that usher in spring in Turkey, but the country’s 4 million-strong Roma population finds little to celebrate in their daily living conditions.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - APRIL 07: (L-R) Ipek Bozkurt, Selin Sayek Boke and Amberin Zaman speak onstage at The Fearless Women of Turkey during Tina Brown's 7th Annual Women In The World Summit at David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center on April 7, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Jemal Countess/Getty Images)

High-profile resignation rocks Turkey’s secular opposition CHP

Turkey’s main opposition Republican People’s Party is facing a shakeup as its popular deputy chair resigns over party’s inability to effectively respond to impending new political regime.

Two Syrian refugees walk along fences in Nizip refugee camp, near the Turkish-Syrian border in Gaziantep province, Turkey, November 30, 2016. REUTERS/Umit Bektas - RTSU1PW

Can Syrian refugees become boon to Turkey's economy?

The labor shortage in some of Turkey’s economic sectors — especially manufacturing, agriculture, and child and elder care — can offer employment opportunities for tens of thousands of Syrian refugees who are unlikely to return home.

How are Iraq's Yazidis faring amid Kurds' confrontations?

Turkey’s bombing of Yazidis' Sinjar homeland deepened the argument between the Kurdish Democratic Party and the Kurdistan Workers Party.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan makes a speech at the ruling AK Party's headquarters in Ankara, Turkey, May 2, 2017. REUTERS/Umit Bektas - RTS14S9L

Can Ankara ever balance its policy in Syria?

Turkey, Iran and Russia sign an agreement to establish safe zones in Syria, but the United States voices its concerns.

Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a news conference following the talks with his Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan in Sochi, Russia, May 3, 2017. REUTERS/Alexander Zemlianichenko/Pool - RTS14ZO6

Putin changes conversation on Syria with cease-fire plan

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says the de-escalation zones are linked to US safe zone discussions.