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Turkey

Turkey

May 13, 2026

Ankara 6:00 am

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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

A Palestinian man drives on the border between Egypt and the southern Gaza Strip September 3, 2013. Egyptian security forces have destroyed some 20 houses along the border with Gaza, local residents said on Tuesday, in what the Palestinian enclave's Islamist Hamas rulers fear is an effort to build a buffer zone to isolate them.
REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa (GAZA - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX135NS

Egypt's Buffer-Zone Move Shocks Hamas

Egypt's decision to establish a buffer zone on the Gaza border has raised Palestinian fears of a possible armed confrontation.

Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan addresses the members of his ruling AK Party (AKP), as he stands in front of the Turkey's national flag and portraits of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, founder of modern Turkey, and of himself during a meeting at his party headquarters in Ankara July 11, 2012. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR34TO6

The AKP, Ibn Khaldun and The New 'Desert Tribes' of Turkey

Medieval Muslim thinker Ibn Khaldun provides insight into the evolution and prospects for the AKP.

Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan (C) attends 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) - RTX131DQ

Turkey’s Middle East Policy Lies in Shambles

While Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan may still have some admirers in the "Arab street," he may be losing the admiration of many of the region’s leaders.

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

Is Turkey Backpedaling on Syria?

Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc has signaled that Turkey hasn't fully decided to join the coalition of the willing against the Syrian regime.

Orobik Eminian, 98, who was the only member of her family to escape the World War One killing of Armenians by Ottoman Turks, joins others in commemorating the 95th anniversary of the killings and a call for it to be termed a genocide in New York City April 25, 2010. Turkey rejects the term and denies that up to 1.5 million Armenians died. It says many Muslim Turks and Kurds, as well as Christian Armenians, were killed in inter-communal violence as Russian forces invaded eastern Anatolia during World War One

Turkey’s Kurds Seek Forgiveness For 1915 Armenian Tragedy

Turkey’s Kurds are taking responsibility for their role in the mass killings of Ottoman Armenians in 1915.

A woman is seen through a fabric sheet as she walks past a rally calling for the release of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails, in Gaza City September 2, 2013. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem (GAZA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTX134LM

Palestinian Women Hope To Gain Divorce Rights

Activists are pushing for Gaza to join the West Bank in an initiative that will allow women to divorce without their husbands' permission.

$Caretaker Energy Minister Gebran Bassil points at a map during a tour of areas believed to have gas reserves, off Lebanon's coast near Beirut May 30, 2013. Offshore seismic surveys suggest Lebanon has at least 30 trillion cubic feet in just a small fraction of its Mediterranean waters Bassil said. Lebanon has selected 46 international oil companies to bid to explore for gas off its coast, where survey ships have been assessing prospects after discoveries in waters off neighbouring Israel and Cyprus. Pictur$

Political Disputes Delay Lebanon’s Gas Projects

In light of Lebanon’s governmental vacuum and developments in neighboring Syria, certain parties want to delay the bidding process for exploration rights to the country’s offshore gas fields.

Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan (2nd L) and his wife Emine Erdogan attend the women's qualification game Olympic basketball match between Turkey and Angola during the London 2012 Olympic Games July 28, 2012. REUTERS/Luke MacGregor (BRITAIN - Tags: POLITICS SPORT OLYMPICS BASKETBALL) - RTR35I0J

Erdogan Wants the Olympics

Troubled at home and abroad, Turkey’s prime minister hopes for an Olympic win for Istanbul that can provide a much-needed antidote to his political woes.

Relatives of car bomb victims inspect the damaged cars at the bomb explosion site in front of al-Salam mosque in the port city of Tripoli in northern Lebanon August 24, 2013. Bombs hit two mosques in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli on Friday, killing at least 42 people and wounding hundreds, intensifying sectarian strife that has spilled over from the civil war in neighbouring Syria. REUTERS/Jamal Saidi (LEBANON - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS) - RTX12UWT

Factional Politics Limit Effectiveness of Lebanon Army

The Lebanese Armed Forces are well trained and armed, but handicapped by Lebanese politics.

Turkey’s Stairway to A Democratic Heaven

The crumbling, concrete street stairs in an Istanbul alley have become the latest battleground for the colorful pluralism of society and the “gray” authoritarianism of politicians in Turkey.

Turkey's ruling AK Party Deputy Chairman Huseyin Celik addresses the media in Ankara June 12, 2013. The AK Party on Wednesday ordered protesters to leave Istanbul's central Gezi Park immediately and said it would consider holding a referendum on redevelopment plans which sparked almost two weeks of violent demonstrations. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTX10LJ4

Veteran Journalist, AKP Official Clash Over Egypt

The former managing editor of daily newspaper Hurriyet clashes with Huseyin Celik, deputy chairman of the AKP, over Egypt.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu speaks during a joint news conference with his Jordanian counterpart Nasser Judeh in Amman May 10, 2013. REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed (JORDAN - Tags: POLITICS) - RTXZHVL

Turkey's Role Limited In Syria Crisis

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu justify their tough approach to Syria, but may not have much of a role in de-escalating the crisis.