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Turkey

May 3, 2026

Ankara 4:14 am

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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

Supporters of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan wave national flags as they listen to him through a giant screen in Istanbul's Taksim Square, Turkey, August 10, 2016. REUTERS/Osman Orsal - RTSMIJJ

Restoring death penalty could have major repercussions for Turkey

Turkish leaders keep stoking popular demands to reinstate the death penalty, but the repercussions of such a move go far beyond what the government can afford, observers say.

An Islamic State flag is seen in this picture illustration taken February 18, 2016. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo - RTSLIWH

How Islamic State is trying to lure Kurds to its ranks

The Islamic State released a video Aug. 3 in which militants refer to prominent Kurdish leaders in a bid to attract the Kurds to their ranks.

A man wrapped in a Turkish flag walks past a military vehicle in front of Sabiha Airport, in Istanbul, Turkey July 16, 2016. REUTERS/Baz Ratner - RTSI8VV

How Turkey's coup turmoil has fueled migration flurry

Consultancy firms report a big increase in the number of Turks exploring options to migrate to the West, as the failed coup and its aftermath exacerbate fears over the country's future.

U.S. based cleric Fethullah Gulen at his home in Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania, U.S. July 29, 2016. REUTERS/Charles Mostoller - RTSKAJX

Is Gulen an Armenian?

Pro-government figures in Turkey have declared Fethullah Gulen to be Armenian and Jewish in an attempt to deny the Islamic background of the person it blames for the recent coup attempt.

Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan enter a hall during their meeting in St. Petersburg, Russia, August 9, 2016. Sputnik/Kremlin/Alexei Nikolsky/via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. EDITORIAL USE ONLY. - RTSM2XI

What will be Turkey's toll for a second chance with Russia?

The presidents of both countries know a reconciliation with Russia won't come cheap for Turkey.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan enter a hall during a meeting with Russian and Turkish entrepreneurs at the Konstantinovsky Palace in St. Petersburg, Russia, August 9, 2016. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin - RTSM63F

Have Putin and Erdogan found common ground?

At a meeting Aug. 9, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin seemed to have agreed on coordinating their country's roles in the Syrian conflict in light of the "common goal" they share.

Syrian refugee women stand outside their tents at a refugee camp in Nizip in Gaziantep province, near the Turkish-Syrian border March 17, 2014. Aleppo continues to bear the brunt of the civil war, in which about 140,000 people have died. Almost two years after rebels grabbed half of the city, they are now on the defensive, with government forces advancing on three sides. Turkey began building its refugee camps near the border in mid-2011, little knowing the war would last so long and bring such vast numbers

Syrians shifting demographics in Turkey’s Kurdish regions

More than a third of the Syrian refugees in Turkey are concentrated in the country’s southeast, an impoverished, conflict-torn region with a predominantly Kurdish population.

- PHOTO TAKEN 30NOV05 - Hundreds of trucks bringing in diesel from Iran line up on a road as they head to the eastern province of Van in Turkey November 30, 2005. [In the shadows of mountains bordering Iraq and Iran, Turkey's Hakkari province may one day be an outpost of the European Union. But for now, it feels cut off from the world. Picture taken November 30, 2005.] - RTXO1TK

Can Iran go around Turkey to reach Europe?

The regional turmoil, and particularly the unstable situation in Turkey, is prompting Iran to speed up plans to establish alternative trade routes to Europe.

Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Simsek poses during an interview with Reuters in Ankara, Turkey, December 23, 2015. Simsek said he expects gross domestic product to grow a higher-than-expected 3.5-4 percent this year and sees growth next year above the official 4 percent forecast. Picture taken December 23, 2015. To match Interview TURKEY-ECONOMY/SIMSEK REUTERS/Umit Bektas - RTX1ZZ1V

Turkish deputy PM: Coup's economic wounds 'easy to manage'

In an interview with Al-Monitor, Mehmet Simsek, Turkey’s deputy prime minister for economic affairs, expresses optimism on the recent coup attempt's economic effects, saying the only real damage was to Turkey's image in the West.

Pro-secular demonstrators march with cutouts of modern Turkey's founder Ataturk during a Youth and Sports Day celebration in Istanbul, Turkey May 19, 2016. REUTERS/Murad Sezer - RTSEZQH

How ambitions of 'Islamist cult' united Islamists, secularists in Turkey

The ambitions of the Gulenists have been able to bring Turkey’s Islamists and secularists together for the first time in the country's political history.

Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan talks to the media before a meeting with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker (not pictured) at the EU Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, October 5, 2015. Erdogan mocked European Union overtures for help with its migration crisis during a long-awaited visit to Brussels on Monday that in the end was partly overshadowed by Russia's violation of Turkish airspace near Syria. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir - RTS34D3

Turkey-EU relations in tailspin after coup attempt

Turkey’s ties with Europe have taken a turn for the worse as Turks accuse the European Union of deserting them after last month's coup attempt.

Members of the ultra-nationalist Turkish Youth Association (TGB) take part in a protest against academics close to U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen in front of Ankara University in Ankara, Turkey, July 21, 2016. The banner reads "Universities should be cleansed from Fethullah's terrorist organisation". REUTERS/Baz Ratner - RTSJ0KC

Will KRG be next target of Turkey's Gulenist purge?

Though the Gulen movement has long been a major player in education, business and public facilities in Iraqi Kurdistan, observers doubt that the Turkish government will let its influence hinder relations between the two important trading partners.