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

Turkey

Turkey

November 8, 2026

Ankara 11:45 am

3°C

MEHMET ESER/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Will Democrats block Trump’s push to deliver Turkey F-35s, lift sanctions?

Democratic control of Congress complicates Turkey’s push for F-35s and sanctions relief, but Ankara remains hopeful Trump can still broker a deal.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Costa Rica's Grynspan extends lead in UNSG poll as Nusseibeh places fourth

The Costa Rican candidate received 12 encourage votes in Thursday's UN Security Council straw poll.

United Arab Emirates

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan addresses Turkish members of parliament during the opening of the parliamentary session at the Grand National Assembly of Turkey in Ankara, on Oct. 1, 2026.

Turkey’s parliament ratifies Mecca pact in boost to Saudi Arabia

Turkey will now decide the scope of military support for Saudi Arabia amid ongoing Iran-backed Houthi attacks on the kingdom.

Latest News

Can Erdogan’s Baku visit fix Turkey-Azerbaijan rift?

TOFIK BABAYEV/AFP via Getty Images

Turkey says soldier killed by gunfire from Iran at border: What to know

A sign marking the border of Turkey in Van, Turkey, on March 14, 2026.

Turkey probes Google’s AI search tools, orders protections for news websites

Turkey moves PKK leader Ocalan to prison villa as peace process faces new test

A protestor holds a flag bearing a portrait of jailed leader of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) Abdullah Ocalan during a demonstration of Kurdish people from all around Europe to mark the 27th anniversary of his arrest and to demand his liberation, in Strasbourg, Eastern France, on Feb. 14, 2026.

Samuel Wendel

Senior Analyst, Middle East Business & Tech

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 masked man shouts slogans in favour of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) guerrillas as he waves a scarf with the yellow-red-green Kurdish colours during a pro Kurdish demonstration in downtown Istanbul October 19, 2009. A group of Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) guerrillas is expected to surrender to Turkish military forces on Monday in a gesture of support for Turkey's Kurdish initiative, a PKK official said late on Saturday. Eight fighters from a PKK camp in the Kandil Mountains in northern Iraq will cros

Turkey’s Kurdish Peace InitiativeLinked to Syria

Turkey, both to protect itself from the potential negative consequences of regionalization of the Kurdish issue and to remove the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) as a threat, had no choice but to seek peace with its own Kurds, writes Kadri Gursel.

Selahattin Demirtas, co-chairman of the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party, greets his supporters during a rally to celebrate the spring festival of Newroz in Istanbul March 17, 2013. A picture of imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan is seen in the background. REUTERS/Murad Sezer (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTR3F4BY

Uncertainty Lingers Over Turkey'sNegotiations with Ocalan

Tulin Daloglu writes that PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan is expected to call for the end of armed struggle in Turkey, and asks what the state is promising in return and why the government is seeking Ocalan’s blessing.

Selahattin Demirtas (front C), co-chairman of the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP), lights a traditional Newroz fire during a rally to celebrate the spring festival of Newroz in Istanbul March 17, 2013. Kurdish parliamentarians set off by boat on Monday to visit Kurdish militant leader Abdullah Ocalan in his island prison where they expected him to summon his fighters to cease fire and leave Turkey to help end a 28-year-old insurgency. The conflict has been a major source of instability in Turkey

Turkey, PKK Learn From Past Mistakes

Ankara and the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) are striving to avoid repeating past missteps and keep the peace process on track, writes Ilnur Cevik.

Turkey's Prime Minister and leader of ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) Tayyip Erdogan (C), accompanied by his wife Emine Erdogan (front 2nd R), greets his supporters as he enters the hall during his party congress in Ankara September 30, 2012. REUTERS/Adem Altan/Pool (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR38LZQ

The Paradox of Religion In Erdogan’s Turkey

Ihsan Dagi of Zaman asks whether conservatives are moving to the center; the answer is just that power is changing hands in Turkey, but not in a democratic way, writes Tulin Daloglu.

Demonstrators wave pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party flags during a rally to celebrate the spring festival of Newroz in Istanbul March 17, 2013. REUTERS/Murad Sezer (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTR3F4BU

Turkey's Kurdish Language Policy: Learning from Europe

Soner Cagaptay and Tyler Evans write that Turkey need not recognize the Kurdish language in a new constitution, but over time could develop a provision for public services in Kurdish.

Gultan Kisanak (C), co-leader of Turkey's pro-Kurdish opposition Peace and Democracy Party (BDP), makes a speech on the killing of three female Kurdish activist during a demonstration in Diyarbakir, southeastern Turkey, January 10, 2013. Three female Kurdish activists including a founding member of the PKK rebel group were shot dead in Paris overnight in execution-style killings condemned by Turkish politicians trying to broker a peace deal. REUTERS/Sertac Kayar (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTR3

Kurdish Negotiators Seek To Lower Expectations

The Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) expects confidence-building measures and is seeking to lower expectations in its talks with Turkey, writes Kadri Gursel.

Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan talks during the opening ceremony of government communication forum in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates February 24, 2013. REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah (UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - Tags: POLITICS SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY) - RTR3E7DY

Erdogan Set To Be Turkey's Longest-Serving Prime Minister

Recep Tayyip Erdogan will become Turkey's longest-serving prime minister next week, after more than ten years without interruption, reports Tulin Daloglu.

A judge of the European Court of Human Rights reads the court's judgment on the case of former Ukrainian Interior Minister Yuriy Lutsenko against Ukraine in Strasbourg, July 3, 2012. Lutsenko currently detained in Kiev for embezzlement and abuse office, complains his detention were arbitrary and unlawful. REUTERS/Vincent Kessler (FRANCE - Tags: CRIME LAW POLITICS) - RTR34J6S

Questions About Turkish Justice

Semih Idiz writes about the state of judicial reform in Turkey.

Syria's President Bashar al-Assad (3rd L) meets a Turkish parliamentary delegation headed by Hasan Akgol (4th R) in Damascus in this March 7, 2013 handout photo released by Syria's national news agency SANA. REUTERS/SANA (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT)

ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. REUTERS IS UNABLE TO INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE AUTHENTICITY, CONTENT, LOCATION OR DATE OF THIS IMAGE. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS

Why the Turkish Opposition Likes Assad

Mustafa Akyol explains why the People’s Republican Party (CHP) is at ease with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and is unlikely to become a "social democratic party" in the European tradition.

Turkish soldiers block a road to Cilvegozu border gate near the town of Reyhanli on the Turkish-Syrian border in Hatay province February 11, 2013. A Syrian minibus exploded at Cilvegozu border post on Turkey's border with Syria near the Turkish town of Reyhanli on Monday, killing at least 13 people including Turkish citizens and wounding dozens more, Turkish officials said. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST DISASTER) - RTR3DNGS

Turkey's Syria Morass

Turkey needs an exit strategy from Syria, writes Pinar Tremblay.

Moshe Yaalon the Chief of Staff of the Israeli army stands in front of the Warsaw Ghetto monument, May 18, 2005. Yaalon is in Warsaw for one day working visit. The memorial is a 1948 tribute to the heroic struggle of Warsaw's doomed Jews and the resistance fighters who helped the 450,000 persons packed into the Warsaw Ghetto by the Nazis during World War Two. REUTERS/Katarina Stoltz KS/AA - RTRBLDC

Moshe Ya'alon Will Bring Balance To Israeli Defense Ministry

Ben Caspit retraces the career of Moshe “Bogie” Ya’alon, the expected choice for defense minister in the new Israeli government.

Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan leaves a wreath-laying ceremony at the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, founder of modern Turkey, in Ankara August 1, 2012. REUTERS/Stringer (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY) - RTR35TGQ

Three Powerful Men Decide Turkey's Future

Kadri Gursel writes on the three men who are critical to Turkey’s future: Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan; Abdullah Ocalan, imprisoned head of the Kurdistan Workers Party [PKK]; and Fethullah Gulen, exiled head of the Gulen Sunni movement.