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Turkey

Turkey

May 13, 2026

Ankara 3:03 am

14°C

The helicopter of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan lands on Abdulhamid Han drill ship, the fourth built by Turkey, in Mersin on Aug. 9, 2022, before being sent for gas exploration to an undisputed area in the Mediterranean Sea, south of Gazipasa.

New Turkey maritime draft bill fuels EastMed tensions with Greece, Cyprus

Turkey’s draft maritime bill seeks to formalize Ankara’s claims in the Aegean, Eastern Mediterranean and Black seas, raising tensions with Greece and Cyprus over contested maritime boundaries and offshore energy rights.

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

Latest News

Culture

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

MURAT KOCABAS/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images

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

Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) fighters walk on the way to their new base in northern Iraq May 14, 2013. The first group of Kurdish militants to withdraw from Turkey under a peace process entered northern Iraq on Tuesday, and were greeted by comrades from the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), in a symbolic step towards ending a three-decades-old insurgency. The 13 men and women, carrying guns and with rucksacks on their backs, arrived in the area of Heror, near Metina mountain on the Turkish-Iraqi border, a Reu

Turkey's Kurdish Road MapLosing Direction

The PKK has suspended its withdrawal of militants from Turkey, casting doubt on the fate of the peace process.

A woman walks at the courtyard of the Ottoman-era Sultanahmet mosque, also known as the Blue Mosque, in Istanbul April 26, 2013. The banners depicting the hadiths, sayings of Prophet Mohammad, hang on the occasion of the celebration of the Prophet's birthday. Scholars around the Muslim world were alarmed five years ago by news reports that Turkey planned a new, possibly heretical compilation of the Prophet's sayings that might scrap those it thought were out of date. Turkish religious leaders and theologian

A Salafi Assault on Turkish Theology?

Turkey's universities are witnessing a rise in a more dogmatic approach to Islamic philosophy.

Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan speaks during
the presentation by the Istanbul 2020 committee as a candidate to host the 2020 Summer Olympic Games, in Buenos Aires September 7, 2013. The IOC will elect the winning city from candidates Istanbul, Madrid, and Tokyo on Saturday afternoon at their 125th Session in the Argentine capital. REUTERS/Fabrice Coffrini/Pool (ARGENTINA - Tags: SPORT OLYMPICS) - RTX13BCO

Turkey’s Policies Defied By Latest Twists in Syria

Turkey seems to be on the wrong side of events in Egypt and Syria.

Mustafa Abu Bekir, 23, is carried by a family member as they enter Turkey from the Turkish Cilvegozu border gate, located opposite the Syrian commercial crossing point Bab al-Hawa, in Reyhanli, Hatay province, September 9, 2013. Abu Bekir introduced himself as a Free Syrian Army fighter who was severely injured and lost his legs during a bombing by the Syrian Air Force while he and others were fighting in the front line against forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad in Iblib almost a month ago. T

Turks on Syria Border Oppose US Military Strike

Many Turkish residents of the border town of Reyhanli — hit by twin car bombings May 11 — worry that they are in jeopardy as a result of a US miltiary strike on Syria.

A fighter from the Islamist Syrian rebel group Jabhat al-Nusra rides a motorcycle along a deserted street in Deir al-Zor August 17, 2013. Picture taken August 17, 2013. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT) - RTX12PKS

Turkey Decides Jabhat Al-Nusra Is a Threat

A Turkish official has said Ankara will not support the al-Qaeda-linked Jabhat al-Nusra in Syria.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (L) speaks to the media after his meeting with Jordan's King Abdullah at the Royal Palace in Amman August 28, 2013. REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed (JORDAN - Tags: POLITICS ROYALS) - RTX12Z0D

Abu Mazen Remains Palestine's Teflon Leader

Despite all the criticism leveled at Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, he still polls the highest among Palestinian leaders.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (L) meets with Turkey's Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu before attending the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) security meetings in Bandar Seri Begawan July 2, 2013. REUTERS/Jacquelyn Martin/Pool (BRUNEI - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX119IW

Would Syria Retaliate Against Turkey?

Al-Monitor’s analysis coverage of a possible US military strike on Syria.

Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan gestures as he addresses the media before leaving for Turkmenistan at Esenboga Airport in Ankara August 15, 2013. Erdogan called on Thursday for the U.N. Security Council to convene quickly and act after what he described as a massacre in Egypt, during a news conference in Ankara. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX12M4D

Israel Waits for Erdogan

Deteriorating relations with Syria, Iran and post-Muslim Brotherhood Egypt force Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to re-establish the strategic alliance with Israel.

Turks react after finding out that Tokyo was awarded the right to host the 2020 Summer Games as they watch it live on big screens in Sultanahmet Square in Istanbul September 7, 2013. REUTERS/Murad Sezer (TURKEY - Tags: SPORT OLYMPICS) - RTX13BZQ

Erdogan, Istanbul Lose 2020 Olympics to Tokyo

Istanbul lost its bid for the 2020 Olympics, but Erdogan may have lost more.

Turkish President Abdullah Gul (C), Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan (R) and Chief of Staff General Necdet Ozel (L) attend a ceremony marking the 91st anniversary of Victory Day at the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, founder of modern Turkey, in Ankara August 30, 2013. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY ANNIVERSARY) - RTX131E3

Turkey’s Dialogue Deficit: Less Schadenfreude, More Ubuntu

Turkish culture and society would benefit from a shift from schadenfreude to ubuntu.

Demonstrators form a human chain in front of security forces during a peace day rally at Taksim square in central Istanbul September 1, 2013. REUTERS/Osman Orsal (TURKEY - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS) - RTX133II

Turks Oppose War in Syria

A recent Turkish poll shows that those opposed to a war in Syria grew from 57% to 72% over the past year.

A piece of the wreckage of Turkish F-4 jet which was shot down by Syria and retrieved from the seabed on Thursday, is seen in this undated, picture taken underwater and released by Turkish Chief of Staff July 5, 2012. Turkey's armed forces command said on Thursday it had retrieved the bodies of two pilots of a jet shot down by Syria last month, recovering them from the seabed 8.6 nautical miles from the Syrian coast. REUTERS/Turkey Land Forces Headquarters/Handout (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY) FOR EDIT

Was Turkey's F-4 Shot Down Over Syria by a Lawyer?

Only a lawyer has been prosecuted following the shooting down of a Turkish jet over Syrian airspace in June 2012.