Turkey - AL-MONITOR: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

Turkey

Turkey

May 12, 2026

Ankara 2:16 pm

24°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

Kurdish Rebels Ban Child Soldiers

The Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) has signed on to the Geneva Call’s initiative after three years of negotiation.

People practice yoga in Gezi Park at Taksim Square in Istanbul June 7, 2013. Istanbul's Gezi Park, yoga practitioners stretch and students read in a makeshift library - a statement of their intent to stay on after a week of protests. At night demonstrators taunt riot police from beyond barricades on the streets around Taksim Square. Those in its Gezi Park hold sit-down protests and discuss Turkey's future. REUTERS/Osman Orsal (TURKEY - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS SOCIETY) - RTX10FAH

Is Yoga Halal for Turks?

Much discussed in the Muslim world since the 1990s, the question of yoga and Islam has finally confronted a rather confused public in Turkey.

U.N. envoy to Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi (R), is welcomed by Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari after arriving at Baghdad International Airport October 21, 2013. International envoy for Syria Brahimi was in Baghdad on Monday to discuss dates for peace talks aimed at ending the war in Syria. Brahimi said no date had yet been set for the long-delayed conference. International efforts to end the 2-1/2 year conflict that has killed more than 100,000 people have stuttered. But a deal last month for Syria to get r

Syria’s Race Against Time

UN-Arab League Joint Representative Lakhdar Brahimi presses for Geneva II, while Saudi women are on the road again.

Members of the media are fired upon by a water cannon during protests at Kizilay square in central Ankara, June 16, 2013. The unrest, in which police fired teargas and water cannons at stone-throwing protesters night after night in cities including Istanbul and Ankara, left four people dead and about 5,000 injured, according to the Turkish Medical Association. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST MEDIA) - RTX10Q1Q

EU Gives Turkey a Failing Mark On Media Freedom

While the European Parliament report on Turkey gives the government low marks on media freedom, the media industry may be mostly responsible for this outcome.

An activist of the women's rights group Femen prepares for a protest against domestic violence in Istanbul March 8, 2012. REUTERS/Osman Orsal (TURKEY - Tags: CIVIL UNREST) TEMPLATE OUT - RTR2Z1A9

Can Nude Feminism Succeed in Turkey?

In Turkey, the nude protesters of women's rights group FEMEN face a larger obstacle than male supremacy: They don't quite understand the real issues that strain Turkish politics and society.

Turkey's Energy Minister Taner Yildiz addresses the audience during a ceremony in Famagusta April 26, 2012. Turkish Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu and Yildiz attended the ceremony marking the start of joint gas and oil exploration works in northern Cyprus between Turkey's state-owned energy company TPAO and the Turkish-Cypriot administration. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (CYPRUS - Tags: POLITICS ENERGY BUSINESS) - RTR318P5

International Oil Companies Gamble on Turkey’s Shale Gas

While information on Turkey's hydrocarbon reserves remains elusive, some shale investors are willing to take the risk.

Turkey's Choice: Chinese Missile Defense Or NATO?

If Turkey moves ahead with the purchase of a Chinese missile defense system, Ankara will be opting out of a NATO system.

Lebanese Interior Minister Marwan Charbel (C) speaks to soldiers in Beirut's southern suburbs September 23, 2013. Lebanese security personnel were deployed today in the southern suburbs of Beirut, part of a move to take over the checkpoints set up by Hezbollah after recent car bombings targeted the area, according to the local media. REUTERS/Sharif Karim (LEBANON - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTX13WWZ

Lebanon Gains From Hostage Deal, Regional Trends

Qatar and the Palestinian Authority, which are at odds with Hezbollah, seem to have played key roles in releasing Lebanese hostages close to Hezbollah.

Police fire tear gas to disperse university students demonstrating against reconstruction plans that include a part of their campus in Ankara early October 19, 2013. The municipality plan, opposed by the students, involves building a road across the Middle East Technical University campus and uprooting a large number of trees in the area. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST EDUCATION ENVIRONMENT TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY BUSINESS CONSTRUCTION) - RTX14GBU

Turkish Politics Is Lost At Meeting People's Needs

The regularly scheduled speeches by party leaders on Tuesdays are turning people off of politics.

Cemil Bayik, a founding member of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), speaks during an interview with Reuters at the Qandil mountains near the Iraq-Turkey border, October 19, 2013. Kurdish rebels are ready to re-enter Turkey from northern Iraq, Bayik, the head of the group's political wing said at his mountain hideout, threatening to rekindle an insurgency unless Ankara resuscitates their peace process soon. Picture taken October 19. To match Interview TURKEY-KURDS/PKK REUTERS/Stringer (IRAQ - Tags: PO

Turkey’s Kurdish Peace Effort At Crossroads

The likelihood of a resumption of violence with the Kurds in Turkey is not a distant possibility.

Fans of the Egypt team celebrate during their World Cup 2014 African zone qualifying soccer match against Ghana at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium in Kumasi October 15, 2013. REUTERS/Luc Gnago (GHANA - Tags: SPORT SOCCER) - RTX14CVU

Egypt-Qatar Relations Sour Over World Cup Broadcast Rights

Qatar’s ties with Egypt have been further strained by a dispute over broadcast rights for soccer matches.

Hasankeyf: Civilization Condemned to Death

The countdown has started for unique, 12,000-year-old historical monuments in the Tigris Valley to be submerged by the waters of a dam promising an annual revenue of 300 million Turkish lira.