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Turkey

May 2, 2026

Ankara 4:33 pm

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Members of the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP), from the British Army's 1st Battalion Coldstream Guards, No. 2 Company, patrol along the buffer zone separating the internationally recognized Republic of Cyprus and the breakaway Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus in the divided capital Nicosia on Feb. 17, 2026.

Turkey warns France over Cyprus troop deployment: What to know

A potential French deployment to Greek Cyprus comes amid Turkey’s growing concerns of strategic encirclement in the Eastern Mediterranean.

This aerial photograph shows Turkey's first floating natural gas production platform, "Osman Gazi," passing through the Bosphorus, in Istanbul, on May 29, 2025.

Turkey advances gas pipeline plan to northern Cyprus as East Med rivalry grows

The Turkish energy minister said the country's oil and natural gas pipeline operator, BOTAS, has started the engineering work for the pipeline.

Cadets of the Saiqa Force (Special Forces) of the self-styled Libyan National Army affiliated with eastern strongman Khalifa Hifter take part in a graduation ceremony in tribute to the force's late commander, Wanis Bukhamada, in the eastern city of Benghazi, on Jan. 20, 2022.

In first, Libya’s rival armies to join drill in Turkey: What to know

The move follows the first joint exercise inside Libya amid renewed international efforts to unify the country.

Latest News

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

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.

Analysis

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

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.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

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

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)

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

Dogu Perincek, Chairman of the Turkish Workers' Party is surrounded by supporters at the end of a hearing at the European court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, January 28, 2015. The European Court of Human Rights holds an hearing on Wednesday on the case of Perincek against Switzerland. Perincek was found guilty of racial discrimination by a Swiss Police Court for having publicly denied the characterisation of genocide, without calling into question the existence of massacres and deportations of Armenians in

Power struggle erupts in Turkey’s security structure

Two very different groups are vying to fill all the personnel holes Turkey's purge punched into its military and intelligence agencies.

U.S. President Barack Obama extends his hand to Russian President Vladimir Putin during their meeting at the United Nations General Assembly in New York September 28, 2015. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque - RTX1SYBB

What US-Russia fallout means for Syria

A collapsing US-Russia relationship could have profound consequences for Syria’s civil war and the Middle East.

A view of Zalikan Camp in Bashiqa, October 6, 2016. Picture taken October 6, 2016. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani - RTSR6ML

Turks blame US, Iran for encouraging Baghdad against Ankara

Turkey's opinion-makers think Iraq isn’t acting alone in its calls for Turkish troops to leave a camp near Mosul.

Campaign for missing Kurdish politician winds up with a rare happy ending

A Kurdish politician who went missing amid bloody clashes in Turkey in May has turned up safe and sound in Iraq, sparking fresh controversy over his disappearance, which had mobilized human rights activists in Turkey.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan attends a joint news conference with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin (not pictured) following their meeting in Istanbul, Turkey, October 10, 2016. REUTERS/Osman Orsal - RTSRNKO

Erdogan tells Abadi to 'know his place'

The row over Turkey’s military presence in Iraq is growing bigger by the day.

A boy plays with a bicycle past damaged buildings in the rebel held Seif al-Dawla neighbourhood of Aleppo, Syria October 6, 2016. REUTERS/Abdalrhman Ismail - RTSR2TV

UN Syria envoy: Jabhat al-Nusra holding Aleppo ‘hostage’

De Mistura calls on Jabhat al-Nusra, Russia and Syria to end fighting in Aleppo; why is Erdogan mostly mum on Aleppo?

Alevi faith protects rare goats in eastern Turkey

The shy wild goats in the mountains of eastern Turkey enjoy a protected status both from the government and the still-strong traditions of the local Alevi population.

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump pauses as he speaks at a campaign town hall event in Sandown, New Hampshire, U.S., October 6, 2016. REUTERS/Mike Segar - RTSR4I8

Why Turkey’s pro-government media likes Trump

Despite Trump’s anti-Muslim rhetoric, Turks appear to be supporting him for president of the United States.

An Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga fighter looks through binoculars on the top of Mount Zardak, about 25 kilometres east of Mosul, on October 6, 2016.
Mosul, Iraq's second city, was seized by the Islamic State (IS) group in 2014 after multiple Iraqi divisions collapsed in the face of a jihadist assault.
But Baghdad is now planning, with help from a US-led coalition, a major operation to retake the city, which had a population of two million before the IS invasion. / AFP / SAFIN HAMED (Photo credit should r

Turkey's brash behavior riles Iraq

Iraq worries that Turkey, emboldened by the progress of its Operation Euphrates Shield intervention in northern Syria, might be planning an "Operation Tigris Shield" for Mosul.

Iraqi Marsh Arab women paddle their boats at the Chebayesh marsh in Nassiriya, 300 km (185 miles) southeast of Baghdad, February 15, 2013. The Marsh Arabs who had farmed this area for thousands of years, were badly affected by a campaign mounted by the government of Saddam Hussein in the 1990s to destroy their lifestyle. The marshes were drained of water, and hundreds of thousands of Marsh Arabs were forced to flee to cities, where they live in poverty, the locals in this area said. Picture taken February 1

Can Iraq reach dam agreement with Turkey to protect marshes?

Recent Turkish dam projects, in particular the Ilisu Dam, affect the level of water in Iraq significantly with the marshes drying and the agricultural industry witnessing a significant decline.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan with his wife Emine arrives at Joint Base Andrews outside Washington March 29, 2016 for the Nuclear Security Summit. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas - RTSCR2H

Ankara’s policies in Iraq, Syria perplex US

Turkey's approach to the Aleppo and Mosul issues complicates its relations with the United States.

A member of the Kurdish Peshmerga forces guards a security point on Bashiqa mountain, overlooking Islamic State held territories of Mosul, 12 km northeast of Mosul City, March 7, 2015. REUTERS/Asmaa Waguih (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY CONFLICT) - RTR4SF1D

Iraqi Kurds step into Ankara-Baghdad row

Iraq has called on the UN Security Council to adopt a resolution calling for the immediate withdrawal of Turkish troops from its soil.