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Turkey

May 15, 2026

Ankara 1:37 pm

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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

Israel's Energy Minister Uzi Landau (rear C) watches as Nasos Ktorides (front C), chairman of DEH Quantum Energy, and Israel Electric Corp (IEC) Chairman Yiftach Ron-Tal (front R) sign a memorandum of understanding in Jerusalem March 4, 2012. Israel and Cyprus began a feasibility study on Sunday for the construction of an underwater electric cable between the two countries that would ensure their energy security and offer Israel a channel to export energy to Europe. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun (JERUSALEM - Tags: P

Turkey-Israel-Cyprus Triangle And Mediterranean Gas

Tulin Daloglu writes that Israel’s strategic partnership with the Republic of Cyprus, including over Mediterranean gas fields, is yet another complication in Israeli-Turkish relations.

A demonstrator holds a flag with a portrait of jailed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Ocalan during a protest in Strasbourg February 18, 2012. Thousands 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)

The Transformation of Ocalan

Cengiz Candar writes that officials were once portraying Abdullah Ocalan as the “worst villain” and “greatest Satan,” but in the first days of 2013 Ocalan appears to have become “No. 1 partner” in efforts to resolve Turkey’s No. 1 problem.

Relatives holding pictures and belongings of air strike victims mourn during a funeral ceremony in Gulyazi near the southeastern Turkish town of Uludere, in the Sirnak province, December 30, 2011. Turkish rights groups called on Friday for a U.N.-sponsored investigation after Turkish warplanes killed 35 villagers in an airstrike targeting Kurdish rebels on the Iraqi border that the government has called an operational mistake. REUTERS/Stringer (TURKEY - Tags: CIVIL UNREST DISASTER)

Turkey's Guernica

The Turkish military's attack on the Kurdish town of Uludere (Roboski in Turkish), in which 34 children were killed, evokes memories of the Spanish attack on the Basque town of Guernica in 1937, writes Cengiz Candar.

Turkish Shi'ite women shout Islamic slogans as they mourn during an Ashura procession in Istanbul November 24, 2012. Muslims all over the world mourn the slaying of Imam Hussein during the first ten days of the Islamic month of Muharram. Imam Hussein was killed by his political rivals along with 72 companions in the seventh century battle of Kerbala. REUTERS/Murad Sezer (TURKEY - Tags: ANNIVERSARY RELIGION CIVIL UNREST)

Turkey's Sectarian War With Iran Over Syria and Iraq

Semih Idiz examines the evolution of the sectarian conflict between Turkey and Iran over Iraq and Syria.

A man looks at portraits of people who were executed, disappeared or died in jail during military rule after a 1980 coup, as protesters demonstrate in front of a courthouse in Ankara April 4, 2012. Thousands of mainly leftist protesters gathered outside the court, waving flags and shouting slogans demanding justice and the prosecution of more than just the coup ring-leaders. More than 30 years after the September 12, 1980 military takeover, an Ankara court began hearing the case against 94-year-old Retired

Trial Is Latest Round In AKP Attack on Military

Tulin Daloglu writes that the current trial of former military leaders is another sign that the AKP’s democratization agenda is really about curtailing any threat from the military.

Turkish people look on and record with phones members of the Free Syrian Army gathering as gunfire is heard between them and the armed Kurds of The Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) in the northern Syrian town of Ras al-Ain, November 25, 2012. Iran said Turkey's plans to deploy Patriot defensive missiles near its border with Syria would add to the region's problems, as fears grow of the Syrian civil war spilling across frontiers. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS CONFLICT)

The Third Front in Turkey's 'Kurdish Problem'

Kadri Gursel writes that Turkey may be supporting Salafi groups in northern Syria to prevent a third Kurdish front.

Syrian Kurds demonstrators hold a giant portrait of jailed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Ocalan during a protest in Derik, Hasakah November 1, 2012. Around 1,000 Syrian Kurds protested in the north-eastern Syrian town of Derik on Thursday, demanding the re-opening of Kurdish-language schools they said were closed by President's Bashar al-Assad's regime. REUTERS/Thaier al-Sudani (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT EDUCATION)

Turkey Considers New 'Peace Process’ With PKK

Mustafa Akyol analyzes the prospects for a new peace process using imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan, an approach that failed two years ago.

Members of parliament from the ruling AK Party (AKP) and Republican People's Party (CHP) scuffle during a debate at the parliament in Ankara early March 30, 2012. The Turkish parliament is hotly debating a bill overturning a 1997 law, imposed with the backing of the military, which extended compulsory education to eight from five years and stopped under-15s attending religious "imam hatip" schools. Parliamentarians on Thursday accepted a proposal from Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's AK Party to offer option

The Coming Political Crisis in Turkey

Cengiz Çandar foresees a political crisis in this year as Prime Minister Recep Erdogan's ruling AKP party pushes a draft constitution that would dramatically expand his powers.

Foreign Ministers Hoshiyar Zebari of Iraq, Walid al-Moualem of Syria and Ahmet Davutoglu of Turkey, and Secretary General of the Arab League Amr Moussa (R) chat before their meeting at the Ottoman-era Ciragan Palace in Istanbul September 17, 2009. REUTERS/Osman Orsal (TURKEY POLITICS)

More Uncertainty on Turkey’s Eastern Flank in 2013

Turkey can expect more problems in dealing with both Iraq and Syria in 2013, writes Semih Idiz.

Soldiers of the German armed forces Bundeswehr stand next to a radar-unit (L) and a PAC-2 launcher of a "Patriot" missile battery during a press rehearsal in the north German village of Warbelow December 18, 2012. Germany's lower house of parliament, the Bundestag, last week approved the sending of two Patriot batteries and 400 soldiers to Turkey as part of a NATO plan to protect the country from any spread of the Syrian conflict. REUTERS/Tobias Schwarz (GERMANY - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY CONFLICT)

Iran-Turkey Rivalry Worsens Over Patriot Deployment

Kadri Gursel writes that Iran's fury at NATO's deployment of Patriot missiles to Turkey is also related to Anakara and Tehran's competing interests in Syria.

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)

Does Turkey Benefit From Cold War With Israel?

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan believes that Turkey may benefit from a cold war with Israel, writes Kadri Gursel.

Demonstrators hold a minute of silence during a protest against Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in central Istanbul October 23, 2011. The Turkish military said on Saturday its forces had killed 49 Kurdish militants in the southeast over the last two days, during an offensive to avenge the killing of 24 soldiers by Kurdish fighters earlier this week. REUTERS/Murad Sezer (TURKEYPOLITICS CONFLICT - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) CONFLICT)

Watch Turkey's Youth in 2013

Tulin Daloglu writes that Turkey's youth is becoming increasingly politicized in opposition to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's policies.