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Turkey

Turkey

November 26, 2025

Ankara 4:32 pm

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People take part in a demonstration to call for the liberation of Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Ocalan outside the European Council in Strasbourg, eastern France, on Sept. 15, 2025.

Analysis

PKK leader Ocalan gains legitimacy in Turkey, bigger sway over Syria’s Kurds

The ongoing deadlock between Damascus and the SDF is seen as a major obstacle to progress in Turkey’s efforts to address its long-standing Kurdish issue.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

BASHAR TALEB/AFP via Getty Images

Turkey’s spy chief holds talks in Egypt over trapped Hamas militants

Turkey’s spy chief met with Qatari, Egyptian officials as the Gaza ceasefire process stalls over Hamas fighters trapped in tunnels.

cartoons

Culture

Turkey’s graphic-novel culture blossoms in face of censorship

A fragile but growing ecosystem of artists, editors and cross-border collaborations is reshaping Turkey’s graphic-novel landscape under tight political and economic constraints.

A villager stands at a high point to survey the damage to the hill sides by quarrying in Ikizdere in the Rize Province in the Black Sea region of Turkey on June 7, 2021. A government-friendly company plans to extract 20 million tons of stone from a quarry in the northeastern town of Ikizdere for one of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's latest development projects. The locals are rising up in protest, challenging the government and its priorities in a region dear to the domineering Turkish leader's heart. (Ph

Culture

Can AI save Turkey’s endangered Laz language?

With few young speakers and little official support, activists are turning to artificial intelligence to help preserve one of Turkey’s endangered languages: Laz.

Latest News

Turkey secures COP31 climate summit after compromise with Australia: What to know

Fidan's confidant Nuh Yilmaz appointed ambassador to Syria, first in 13 years: What to know

NICOLAS TUCAT/AFP via Getty Images

Erdogan’s top ally Bahceli slams foot-dragging on meeting with PKK leader

Burak Kara/Getty Images

Samuel Wendel

Senior Market Research Analyst

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Francesco Schiavi

In Bologna, reporting on security, defense, economy, governance

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

Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte (L).

Turkey seeks 2 key demands to support Rutte’s bid to lead NATO

Ankara switches to quiet diplomacy for its terror-related demands from the Dutch prime minister, who is seeking Turkish support to become the next NATO chief.

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (L) and US President Joe Biden shake hands at the start of the first plenary session of the NATO summit at the Ifema congress centre in Madrid, on June 29, 2022.

Has Turkey’s Erdogan axed his Biden meeting because of Israel?

Despite rumors of a cancellation in Turkish media, several high-level US diplomats have traveled over the past few days to Ankara to lay the ground for the summit.

TOPSHOT - Saudi elite aerobatic flying team of the Royal Saudi Air Force Saudi Hawks performs during the aviation event 11th Athens Flying Week over Tanagra air base in Schimatari, north of Athens, on September 3, 2023. (Photo by Theophile Bloudanis / AFP) (Photo by THEOPHILE BLOUDANIS/AFP via Getty Images)

9% spike in Mideast military spending driven by Saudi Arabia, Israel, Turkey

Military spending in the region increased by its largest percentage in a decade, in part due to the Gaza war, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

(L to R) Turkey's Transport Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu, UAE's Energy Minister Suhail Mohamed al-Mazrouei, Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Iraq's Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, Qatar's Minister of Transport Jassim bin Saif bin Ahmed al-Sulaiti, and Iraq's Transport Minister Razzaq Muhaibas al-Saadawi applaud during their meeting for the signing of the "Development Road" framework agreement on security, economy, and development in Baghdad on April 22, 2024. (Photo by Thaier Al-Sudani / POO

Breaking | Last Updated: June 3, 2024, 12:42 pm

Turkey, Iraq, UAE, Qatar ink $20B transportation deal during Erdogan visit

The Turkish president’s visit heralds a new chapter between the two neighbors after more than a decade of turbulent ties.

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh (L) and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan salute the lawmakers of Erdogan's Justice and Development Party at the parliament in Ankara, Jan. 3, 2012.

Analysis

As Qatar’s frustrations grow, can Turkey lead Gaza diplomacy between Hamas, Israel?

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has always kept the long game in mind in his approach to Gaza and Hamas.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

In divided Cyprus, century-old bookshop brings people together

Located in Europe's last divided city, a bookshop in Nicosia, Cyprus, has been weathering volatility since its inception in 1937.

Qatar 'reevaluating' Hamas-Israel mediation role amid mounting criticism

Qatar, alongside the US and Egypt, has mediated talks between Israel and Hamas on a cease-fire in exchange for the release of hostages taken in the militant group’s Oct. 7 attack.

Ismail Haniyeh.

Hamas' Haniyeh to visit Turkey as Erdogan hits back at Gaza criticism

The Turkish president dials up his defensive tone in response to domestic criticism over the Gaza war.

KARIM JAAFAR/AFP via Getty Images

Turkey’s FM to visit Qatar as regional diplomacy seeks to contain Iran-Israel tension

Turkey says its flurry of diplomatic activity is aimed at bringing the Gaza war back into focus amid the Israel-Iran escalation.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (L) takes part in a meeting with Turkey's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan (R).

Senior US official in Turkey to discuss regional tensions, Erdogan-Biden summit

The expected visit of the Turkish president to the White House, along with the escalation of tensions between Israel and Iran, intensifies diplomatic activity between Washington and Ankara.

LOIC VENANCE/AFP via Getty Images

Turkey: Meta temporarily shuts down Threads following government order

It remains unclear whether the platform will become available again in Turkey.

A cargo ship sails out into the Bosphorus, Istanbul, Turkey, April 19, 2020.

Analysis

Will Turkey’s merchant class circumvent latest trade restrictions on Israel?

The Turkish government’s recent export restrictions against Israel will complicate their political relations, but even as bilateral trade declines, experts note that merchants on both sides will look for ways to circumvent the new measures.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security