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Turkey

Turkey

May 6, 2026

Ankara 8:28 pm

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A picture taken near Kars on Feb. 28, 2024 shows the ruins of a bridge over Arpacay river, the natural border between Turkey and Armenia.

Turkey, Armenia agree to restore medieval bridge in normalization push

Ankara is pursuing normalization with Armenia ahead of June parliamentary elections in a thaw also positioned to advance its broader Middle Corridor ambitions.

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

Latest News

Turkey warns France over Cyprus troop deployment: What to know

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 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.

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

Forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad walk inside the government- controlled Hanano barracks after what they said was an offensive against them by Free Syrian Army fighters in Aleppo April 17, 2014. The regime forces said that Free Syrian Army fighters carried an offensive against them by digging a tunnel and blowing up part of the Hannano barracks in an attempt to seize it and failed to do so. REUTERS/George Ourfalian (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT MILITARY) - RTR3LPQX

Why Assad may be helping Islamic State’s offensive

The latest regime airstrikes against rebels in Aleppo’s northern countryside seem to benefit the Islamic State, but also help the Syrian government divide its enemies.

Selahattin Demirtas, co-chairman of the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party, greets his supporters during a rally to celebrate the spring festival of Newroz in Istanbul March 17, 2013. A picture of imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan is seen in the background. REUTERS/Murad Sezer (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTR3F4BY

Will PKK let Kurdish politics move away from violence?

With the success of the pro-Kurdish HDP in the recent elections, the time has come for Turkey's Kurds to rethink civilian-military relations in Kurdish politics.

Kemal Kilicdaroglu, leader of Turkey's main opposition Republican Peoples Party (CHP), speaks to the press before a meeting in Ankara on June 15, 2015 AFP PHOTO/ADEM ALTAN (Photo credit should read ADEM ALTAN/AFP/Getty Images)

Opposition battles collection of medical records in Turkey

Turkey's Ministry of Health has embarked on a controversial effort to collect the names, addresses and diagnoses of psychiatric patients.

Captured fighter details Islamic State's Turkey connection

A Turkish citizen who joined the Islamic State in September and was captured in early June by Syrian Kurds explained IS' induction process with chilling clarity in a video shared exclusively with Al-Monitor.

Main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) and ruling AK Party (R) lawmakers scuffle during a debate on a legislation to boost police powers, at the Turkish Parliament in Ankara late February 19, 2015. The legislation, which would bolster the powers of the authorities to control protests, has been widely condemned by the opposition, who accuse the AKP of trying to create a police state in the NATO member nation. REUTERS/Stringer (TURKEY - Tags: CRIME LAW POLITICS TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTR4QBIU

Turkey's rule of law on slippery slope

The World Justice Project’s 2015 Rule of Law Index reveals striking evidence of rising authoritarianism in Turkey.

Turkey's incumbent President Abdullah Gul and his wife Hayrunnisa Gul talk to the media as they leave a polling station after casting their votes in Ankara August 10, 2014. Turks began voting on Sunday with Tayyip Erdogan poised to become the country's first elected president, fulfilling his dream of what he calls a "new Turkey" and his opponents say will be an increasingly authoritarian nation. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS ELECTIONS) - RTR41UXL

Bombshell book exposes Gul's differences with Erdogan

The recent memoir of an aide to former Turkish President Abdullah Gul could be a harbinger of his return to politics.

Turkey's new President Tayyip Erdogan (L) and outgoing President Abdullah Gul attend a handover ceremony at the Presidential Palace of Cankaya in Ankara August 28, 2014. Erdogan was sworn in as Turkey's 12th president at a ceremony in parliament on Thursday, cementing his position as the country's most powerful modern leader, in what his opponents fear will herald an increasingly authoritarian rule. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR444T5

Will Abdullah Gul return to politics?

Following the Justice and Development Party's loss of its parliamentary majority, eyes and ears have turned to the former president and AKP co-founder amid speculation about his next move.

Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan kisses a handmade Turkish flag, given to him as a gift from Ugandan university student Cemil (not pictured), during a graduation ceremony in Ankara, Turkey, June 11, 2015. REUTERS/Umit Bektas - RTX1G1TU

Erdogan lost a battle, but perhaps not the war

The June 7 elections made Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s authoritarian dreams less certain, but it would be naive to think that he has given them up.

People visit the site to commemorate victims of last week's blast in Diyarbakir, Turkey, June 12, 2015. A bombing last Friday killed three people and wounded at least 200 during an election rally of the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), in Diyarbakir. REUTERS/Sertac Kayar - RTX1G87O

What caused the clashes in Diyarbakir?

Diyarbakir remains tense after recent intra-Kurd clashes.

Syrian refugees from Tel Abyad wait on the Turkish-Syrian border after crossing into Turkey near the Akcakale border gate in Sanliurfa province, Turkey, June 14, 2015. Kurdish-led militia backed by U.S.-led air strikes fought Islamic State near a Syrian town at the Turkish border on Sunday, a monitoring group and a Kurdish official said, in an advance that has worried Turkey. Concerned about an expansion of Kurdish sway in Syria, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said Kurdish groups were taking over areas ev

Erdogan fears fall of Syria's Tell Abyad

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is angry with the joint Kurdish-Arab operation to get the Islamic State out of Tell Abyad.

Turkish TV channels compete for Ramadan viewers

Turkey's TV channels promote their shows and entertainment programs in the runup to Ramadan, revealing rifts among moderate and more pious Muslims, as well as the battle between the Justice and Development Party and the Gulen movement.

Supporters wave Turkish national and party flags as they shout slogans outside the AK Party headquarters in Ankara, Turkey, June 7, 2015. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan's hopes of assuming greater powers suffered a serious blow on Sunday when the ruling AK Party failed to win an outright majority in a parliamentary election, partial results showed. With 94 percent of ballots counted, the AKP had taken 41 percent of the vote, according to broadcaster CNN Turk, a result which will leave it struggling to for

Will AKP's losses spark Turkish re-think on Syria?

The ruling Justice and Development Party lost Kurdish support over President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Syria policies; Eastern patriarchs meet in Damascus to reassure Middle East Christian communities.