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Turkey

May 15, 2026

Ankara 10:41 am

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Mazloum Kobane, commander-in-chief of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), speaks during the pan-Kurdish "Unity and Consensus" conference in Qamishli in northeastern Syria on April 26, 2025.

Interview

Syrian Kurdish commander Kobane says Turkey visit ‘in the making,’ Ocalan meeting possible

The SDF commander-in-chief reflected on a fragile integration deal with Damascus, growing Kurdish backlash and ongoing talks with Turkey as questions mount over Rojava’s political future.

Mazloum Kobane

Mazloum Kobane

SDF commander in chief

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, right, and Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan shake hands before a meeting at Prague Castle in Prague, Czech Republic, Thursday, Oct. 6, 2022.

Turkey, Armenia to launch direct trade in normalization push: What to know

The move removes a decades-old reexport mechanism routed largely through Georgia as Ankara and Yerevan step up normalization efforts.

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.

Latest News

Analysis

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

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)

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Culture

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

MURAT KOCABAS/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images

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

Actress Songul Oden (C), who plays the main character in the Turkish soap opera "Noor", waves as she leaves after her visit to an Islamic orphan house in Beirut September 8, 2008. The show which flopped when first broadcast in its native Turkey three years ago has taken the Arab world by storm, provoking a flood of Gulf Arab tourists to Turkey that even includes royalty. Picture taken September 8, 2008. REUTERS/Hussam Shbaro (LEBANON)

Arabs Soak Up Turkish Soap Operas

Semih Idiz writes about the popularity of Turkish soap operas in the Arab world, and the reaction these shows are provoking in Turkey.

Kurds demonstrate against the conditions of detention of jailed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Ocalan during a protest in Strasbourg April 4, 2012. Hundreds of demonstrators protested in support of Ocalan, who was captured on February 15, 1999, and is currently serving a life sentence in Turkey. REUTERS/Vincent Kessler (FRANCE - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST)

Turkey Cannot Solve PKK Terror Without Solving Kurdish Issue

Kadri Gursel writes that the current talks between the Turkish government and Abdullah Ocalan, the imprisoned head of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), cannot disentangle the problem of PKK terrorism from a political solution to Turkey's Kurdish issue.

Supporters of the Saadet (Felicity) Party burn an Israeli flag as they shout anti-Israel slogans during a protest in Istanbul, December 2, 2012. REUTERS/Osman Orsal (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)

Chill to Remain in Turkey-Israel Ties

Tulin Daloglu observes that the Israeli elections are unlikely to produce any change in Israeli-Turkish ties.

Employees of the state-run South Oil Company (SOC) join a new oil storage tank to the oil pipelines near the southern city of Basra January 14, 2013. The head of the state-run South Oil Company said the new facility will add a capacity of one million barrels to the existing 5.5 million barrels available. REUTERS/Atef Hassan (IRAQ - Tags: ENERGY CIVIL UNREST)

Iraqi Kurds Press Ahead With Pipeline Plans

Despite protests from Baghdad, the Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq is moving ahead with plans to develop the infrastructure for an oil pipeline to Turkey, reports Abdel Hamid Zebari.

Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan and his wife Emine Erdogan pose with Syrian refugee triplet brothers whose names are Recep, Tayyip and Erdogan as they visit a refugee camp near Akcakale border crossing on the Turkish-Syrian border, southern Sanliurfa province, December 30, 2012. REUTERS/Kayhan Ozer/Prime Minister's Press Office/Handout (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS CONFLICT) ) FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS. THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. IT IS

Whispers of Change In Turkey's Syria Policy

Tulin Daloglu reports on how, beneath the rhetoric of Turkey's hard line on Syria, there are signs that Ankara might be willing to call on Syria's opposition to show greater flexibility in dealing with the Syrian government.

Kurdistan Regional Government Natural Resources Minister Ashti Hawrami (R) shakes hands with Turkey's Energy Minister Taner Yildiz during a joint news conference in Arbil, about 350 km (217 miles) north of Baghdad, May 20,2012. Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region expects to start exporting oil from its fields along a new pipeline to the Turkish border when the line is complete in August 2013, Hawrami said on Sunday. REUTERS/Azad Lashkari (IRAQ - Tags: ENERGY POLITICS)

Turkey Seeks 'Interdependence' With Iraqi Kurdistan

Turkish officials seek to set the record straight that Ankara seeks interdependence with, not independence for, Iraqi Kurdistan, writes Tulin Daloglu.

Military vehicles of a Patriot missile system are loaded on a ship in the harbour of Travemuende, January 8, 2013. Germany, the Netherlands, and the United States are each sending two Patriot missile batteries and up to 400 troops to Turkey after Ankara asked for NATO's help to bolster security along its 900-km (560-mile) border with Syria. REUTERS/Fabian Bimmer (GERMANY - Tags: MILITARY)

Patriots in Turkey: Defensive, Offensive or Symbolic?

Semih Idiz analyzes the various rationales for NATO’s deployment of Patriot missiles to Turkey and their possible consequences.

Armenian worshippers attend Sunday mass in Surp Asdradzadzin Patriarchal Church in Istanbul January 13, 2008. One year after Turkish-Armenian writer Hrant Dink was shot dead, Turkey's Armenian community is torn between hoping for better days in the EU candidate nation and moving abroad out of frustration and fear of more attacks. Picture taken January 13, 2008. To match feature TURKEY-ARMENIANS/ANNIVERSARY REUTERS/Osman Orsal (TURKEY)

Birand Represented Turkish Journalism at Its Best

Cengiz Candar comments on the funeral and career of immortal journalist Mehmet Ali Birand.

Journalists and activists participate in a rally calling for press freedom in central Ankara March 19, 2011. The recent arrest and jailing of some 10 journalists as part of investigations into Ergenekon, an ultra-nationalist, secularist network opposed to Prime Minister's Tayyip Erdogan's rule, has a triggered expressions of concern from the European Union, the U.S. and human rights groups about Ankara's commitment to media freedom and democratic principles. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: CIVIL UNREST

Mehmet Ali Birand, Icon of Turkish Journalism

Kadri Gürsel reflects on the life and career of Mehmet Ali Birand, who passed away on Jan. 17, 2013.

Syrian refugees wait to cross the border to Turkey at Bab El-Hawa on the outskirts of Idlib, near the Syrian-Turkey border, January 13, 2013. Picture taken January 13, 2013. REUTERS/Abdalghne Karoof (SYRIA - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS CONFLICT SOCIETY)

Turkey Angered by Petition On White House Website

A petition on the White House website calling for Turkey to open its borders to Armenian-Syrian refugees has provoked a reaction from the Turkish Foreign Ministry as the Syrian crisis now appears linked to other issues in US-Turkey-Armenia relations.

Supporters of Hamas' Gaza leader Ismail Haniyeh shout slogans against Israel in front of the cruise liner Mavi Marmara in Istanbul January 2, 2012. REUTERS/Osman Orsal (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS)

Prospects Dim for Turkey's Ties With Israel

Semih Idiz reviews Turkish-Israeli ties and sees no incentive for Ankara to improve ties with Israel at this time.

Thousands attend the funeral ceremony of the three Kurdish activists shot in Paris, in Diyarbakir, the largest city in Turkey's mainly Kurdish southeast, January 17, 2013. The bodies of the activists, including that of Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) co-founder Sakine Cansiz, arrived by plane on Wednesday evening in Diyarbakir. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS OBITUARY CIVIL UNREST)

Ocalan a No-Show at Funeral For PKK Activists

The funeral of the three murdered PKK activists in Diyarbakir proceeded without incident, and without posters of PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan, writes Kadri Gursel.