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Turkey

Turkey

May 12, 2026

Ankara 5:45 am

13°C

Turkish Red Crescent's cars and trucks cross the Turkish border as they leave the Syrian city of Tel Abyad on Oct. 19, 2019, in Akcakale, Turkey.

Turkey's border reopening unlocks new sphere of influence in Syria

Turkey reopened the Akcakale-Tell Abyad crossing on Monday, ending an 11-year closure along the Syria border.

ISTANBUL, TURKEY - MAY 06: A man poses for a photograph in front of the newly unveiled, Turkish made intercontinental ballistic missile Yildirimhan at the SAHA International Defence and Aerospace Expo on May 06, 2026 in Istanbul, Turkey. The International Defence and Aerospace Exhibition, showcased Turkish and foreign companies new products and technology. The expo was dominated by UAV products as modern warfare increasingly shifts to drone and unmanned technologies. (Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images)

Analysis

From drones to deterrence: Turkey's ICBM missile signals bigger ambitions

Turkey’s planned test of a 6,000-kilometer missile could boost Ankara’s defense industry prestige, strengthen its deterrence messaging and feed a powerful domestic narrative of technological self-reliance, but it also raises questions about cost, timing and NATO protection.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

MURAT KOCABAS/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images

Culture

How ‘dog mom’ vacuum cleaner ad sparked culture war in Turkey

A Mother’s Day advertisement featuring a “dog mom” triggered a backlash from conservative media, government officials and regulators, turning a soft consumer campaign into a flashpoint over motherhood, declining birth rates, stray dogs and even antisemitism.

Latest News

Turkey, Japan launch defense industry partnership with eye on drones

People look at a drone on display at the Baykar exhibit at the SAHA International Defence and Aerospace Expo on May 06, 2026 in Istanbul, Turkey.

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 woman stands beside the coffin of a Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) soldier who died fighting the al-Qaeda linked Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, and Islamist Syrian rebel group Jabhat al-Nusra in Qamishli November 14, 2013. Picture taken November 14, 2013. REUTERS/Massoud Mohammed (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT) - RTX15H58

Turkey backing off support for jihadists on Syria border

Turkey’s fading support for Syria’s jihadists is a boon for the PYD; Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu tells Al-Monitor Ankara never aided al-Qaeda-affiliated groups.

Turkey's Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu (C) and his wife Sare Davutoglu (L) walk with mayor Vladimir Talevski (R) in the centre of Bitola March 25, 2010. Davutoglu is on a two-day official visit to Macedonia. REUTERS/Ognen Teofilovski (MACEDONIA - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR2C263

Wife of Turkey Foreign Minister says women’s rights improving

The Turkish Foreign Ministry sponsored an event on Monday to demonstrate concern about violence against women.

Turkish artist breaks stereotypes

Reknowned artist and well-known leftist Kutlug Ataman surprises with his support for Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the Justice and Development Party.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry speaks at a news conference at the end of the Iranian nuclear talks in Geneva November 10, 2013. Kerry said on Sunday that world powers had come closer during negotiations with Iran in Geneva to a deal on reining in its nuclear programme and that "with good work" the goal could be reached. REUTERS/Jason Reed (SWITZERLAND - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX157AB

Time to close deal with Iran

An agreement with Iran would be a win, if not a breakthrough, for US interests and allies in the Middle East. (Updated)

Will Bulent Arinc, founding father of AKP, depart over dispute with Erdogan?

Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey Bulent Arinc, a voice of reason in Turkish politics, has signaled that he may retire after a very public dispute with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Of Greek fathers and Turkish sons

The racist comments of a senior opposition MP draw reactions from Turkey’s Greek minority, raising questions on how long the party’s neo-nationalists and true social democrats can coexist.

A Palestinian girl stands outside her torched house next to graffiti spray-painted on an outside wall of the home, in the West Bank village of Sinjil, near Ramallah November 14, 2013. Israeli settlers set fire to a Palestinian house on Thursday, leaving behind a message saying they were avenging the death of Eden Attias, an Israeli soldier killed by a Palestinian the previous day, residents said. The graffiti reads "Regards to Eden, Revenge!." REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman (WEST BANK - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNRES

Despite despair, no signs of third Palestinian intifada

The youth of the West Bank are tired of occupation, economic crisis and corruption, but with no charismatic leadership, they do not envisage a third intifada.

Demonstrators hold Kurdish flags and flags with portraits of the jailed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Ocalan during a gathering to celebrate Newroz in the southeastern Turkish city of Diyarbakir March 21, 2013. Ocalan ordered his fighters on Thursday to cease fire and withdraw from Turkish soil as a step to ending a conflict that has killed 40,000 people, riven the country and battered its economy. Hundreds of thousands of Kurds, gathered in the regional centre of Diyarbakir, cheered and wav

Diyarbakir is ready for the historic visit

Diyarbakir is ready for the visits of Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government President Massoud Barzani and Kurdish singer in exile Shivan Perwer, upon Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s invitation.

Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan addresses the media in Ankara November 13, 2013. Erdogan said on Wednesday work on the Trans-Anatolian natural gas pipeline project (TANAP), which will carry Azeri natural gas, will begin in early 2014. Turkey, which has a 20 percent stake in TANAP, and Azerbaijan, which controls 80 percent, are looking at ways to cooperate on shipping Azeri gas to the Balkans, Erdogan also said after talks with Azeri President Ilham Aliyev in Ankara. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags

Is Turkey experiencing the autumn of the patriarch?

The Justice and Development Party's well-nurtured image as a unified political force is taking hits.

A riot policeman uses a mobile phone to film protesters at Taksim Square in Istanbul June 22, 2013. Turkish riot police fired water cannon to clear thousands of protesters from Istanbul's Taksim Square on Saturday, the first such confrontation there in nearly a week. REUTERS/Marko Djurica (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTX10X89

AKP’s social media wars

Has the Justice and Development Party (AKP) enlisted “social raiders” to take on its critics in the social media?

Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan (R) speaks as Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev listens during a news conference following a signing ceremony in Istanbul June 26, 2012. Turkey and Azerbaijan signed an inter-governmental agreement on Tuesday on the $7 billion Trans-Anatolian natural gas pipeline project (TANAP), planned to carry Azeri natural gas across Turkey to Europe. Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan and Azeri President Ilham Aliyev signed the deal at an Istanbul ceremony to launch a project

Turkey’s restart in regional and foreign energy policies

Ankara is recasting its policies toward Cyprus, Israel, Azerbaijan and Iraq.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu addresses the media during a joint news conference with Iraq's Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari at the Foreign Ministry headquarters in Baghdad, November 10, 2013. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX157TO

Turkey charts new course in Iraq

Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu's recent visit to Baghdad, Najaf and Karbala is the latest sign of a new, dual-track policy on Iraq that is endorsed by the United States.