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Turkey

Turkey

May 5, 2026

Ankara 2:11 am

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Sabah Fidan

Turkey hosts Kuwaiti FM as UAE's OAPEC exit fuels Gulf rift

Kuwait's top diplomat visited Turkey as the Gulf rift deepens following the UAE’s exit from OPEC and its affiliated alliances, forcing Ankara to balance ties between Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi.

Zaidi

Analysis

Iraq’s Zaidi offers economic promise for Turkey but unknowns loom

Iraq’s prime minister-designate, Ali al-Zaidi, is expected to sustain growing economic and strategic ties with Turkey thanks to his business-oriented approach, though uncertainty over his political stance could test cooperation on sensitive issues.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

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.

Latest News

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

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

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

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.

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

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 rebel fighter of al-Jabha al-Shamiya (the Shamiya Front) fires his weapon at the frontline against Islamic State fighters on the outskirts of Mare town, north of Aleppo March 24, 2015. REUTERS/Sultan Kitaz - RTR4UP7W

IS intensifies attacks outside Aleppo

After news broke of the US-Turkish plan to establish a safe zone in Syria, the Islamic State stepped up operations against opposition forces in Aleppo's northern countryside.

Turkey's 'foot-dragging' on fight against IS continues

Diplomats say Turkey’s sincerity will be judged by its determination to continue its active support of the US-led coalition against the Islamic State.

Iraqi Kurdish regional President Massoud Barzani speaks during a ceremony in Dohuk, northern Iraq August 3, 2015. Barzani vowed to help the Yazidis return to their homes, after they fled from Islamic State last year. REUTERS/Ari Jalal - RTX1MWGL

The Iraqi Kurds' waning love affair with Turkey

Relations between the Turkish government and the Kurdistan Regional Government look likely to deteriorate as Turkey escalates its war against the Kurdistan Workers Party.

Turkey’s protracted PKK problem

Although many Kurds do not like the leftist and secular agenda of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), the PKK has shown great resilience, in part as the result of the fragmented Iraqi and Syrian states and political missteps by Turkey.

A woman sits at a money exchange office in central Istanbul, Turkey, June 8, 2015. The Turkish lira traded near a record lows on Monday as nervous investors reacted to the prospects of a minority or coalition government after the ruling AK Party failed to win a majority in a parliamentary election. The lira, already one of the worst performing emerging market currencies this year, hit a record low in out-of-hours trade on Sunday, after results showed the AKP had taken just short of 41 percent of the vote.

As Turkey's consumer confidence plummets, what does that mean for the AKP?

Turkey’s consumer confidence index — a key indicator that is closely correlated with the AKP’s electoral showings — is on the decline, signaling further losses for the party in the Nov. 1 early elections.

Masked members of YDG-H, youth wing of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), sit next to their weapons in Silvan, near the southeastern city of Diyarbakir, Turkey, August 17, 2015. The PKK has attacked military targets on a near-daily basis since the Turkish government launched air strikes on rebel camps in northern Iraq on July 25, wrecking a two-year-old ceasefire. REUTERS/Sertac Kayar TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RTX1OICG

PKK looks to the future with creation of youth militias

Spiraling urban violence is spearheaded by the PKK’s young militias.

Yazidi students abandon Arabic script with eye toward Europe

Yazidi refugees in Turkey are struggling to restart their children’s education, and many are now learning the Latin alphabet with the hope of one day starting new lives in Europe.

Ankara needs to explain its turnaround in dealings with PKK

As confrontations persist between Turkish government forces and the Kurdistan Workers Party, the government has remained mum about the reasons for the breakdown of the Kurdish peace process.

Death sentences passed on Turkey's hungry bears

Rather than feeding hungry wild bears, officials charged with preserving ecological life have decided to kill 15 of them.

What's the greatest risk to Turkey's economy?

Regional and domestic volatility is threatening Turkey’s finances while the country’s political and financial uncertainties worry global investors.

Erdogan’s war backfires

For the first time in 13 years, Turkey is headed into elections in an environment of bloody conflict with the PKK — a deliberate political choice on the part of the government.

Has Syria's Arab-Kurdish rivalry reached a breaking point?

The establishment of a safe zone on the Turkish-Syrian border is likely to further deepen the divide between the Arabs and Kurds in the area.