Turkey - AL-Monitor: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent since 2012

Turkey

Turkey

March 18, 2026

Ankara 2:52 pm

15°C

An Iraqi oil tanker waits at the Khawr Abd Allah canal leading up to Al-Faw port in southern Iraq, on June 6, 2024.

Desperate to sell its oil, Iraq turns to Turkey amid standoff with Kurds

As Iraq looks to reroute oil to Turkey, Baghdad is also using the plan to push the Iraqi Kurds to greenlight exports through their territory.

Ali IHSAN OZTURK / AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

No strangers to turmoil, Turkey-Iran to maintain ties under Mojtaba Khamenei

Even as war heighten tensions between Ankara and Tehran, the mix of rivalry and pragmatic cooperation that has long defined Turkey–Iran relations is likely to endure.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Iranian nationals arrive in Turkey after passing through the Razi-Kapikoy border crossing in Van, northeastern Turkey, on March 3, 2026.

Feature

Iranians crossing into Turkey haunted by regime crackdown more than war

Many Iranians crossing into Turkey suggest the regime’s deadly crackdown on recent protests, not the bombardment, is the trauma they cannot shake.

Ezgi Akin

In Ankara, reporting on diplomacy, EU-Turkey ties, NATO

Latest News

Analysis

Oil-price hikes from Iran war threaten Turkey's rate cuts in inflation fight

Yasin AKGUL / AFP via Getty Images

Ezgi Akin

In Ankara, reporting on diplomacy, EU-Turkey ties, NATO

Analysis

Oil crisis stokes inflation risks for Mideast as Iran war exposes importers

Smoke and flames rise at the site of airstrikes on an oil depot in Tehran on March 7, 2026.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Culture

The weight of war: Erdal Duman’s sculptures probe politics of violence

Artist Erdal Duman's work titled "Whoever Owns the Tank Is Soleiman" takes a dig at power.

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 customer buys US dollars in exchange for Turkish lira at an exchange office, Ankara, Turkey, July 20, 2023.

Turkey's annual inflation rate nears 60% in August

Turkey’s economy minister says the country’s struggle with runaway inflation will take time.

Greek State Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis gestures as he speaks during a press conference at the European Council in Brussels on March 4, 2020. (Photo by Kenzo TRIBOUILLARD / AFP) (Photo by KENZO TRIBOUILLARD/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Greece-Turkey ties on upswing as FM set to visit, Cyprus tensions subside

Turkey tries to dial down confrontations in the eastern Mediterranean before the Greek minister's visit as part of its push to improve relations with the West.

Ezgi Akin

In Ankara, reporting on diplomacy, EU-Turkey ties, NATO

Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) shakes hands with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (L) during a meeting in Sochi, on August 5, 2022. (Photo by Vyacheslav Prokofyev and Vyacheslav PROKOFYEV / POOL / AFP) (Photo by VYACHESLAV PROKOFYEV/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

In Russia, Turkey's Erdogan seeks better ties with Putin, but distrust lingers

The Turkish president wants to enhance his prestige by brokering a new grain deal but faces an uphill battle, with increasing distrust from Moscow over Ankara's ties with Ukraine, and posture inside NATO.

MAXIM SHEMETOV/AFP via Getty Images

Russia hosts Turkey's Fidan, presses for guarantees on grain deal

Turkey and Russia's foreign ministers haggled over a compromise for the revival of the Ukrainian grain deal ahead of the upcoming presidential summit next week.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan visits the Memory Wall of Fallen Defenders of Ukraine during his official visit in Kyiv, on August 25, 2023, the Independence Day of Ukraine, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by GLEB GARANICH / POOL / AFP) (Photo by GLEB GARANICH/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Turkey’s Fidan to visit Russia as Ukraine's grain deal, Syria talks stall

Ankara’s efforts to revive the Black Sea grain deal and stalled high level talks between Ankara and Damascus are expected to be high on the agenda of the talks between top Russian and Turkish diplomats.

The USS Gerald R. Ford, the world’s largest aircraft carrier, visited Antalya last week.

US naval diplomacy reaches Turkey in latest sign of rapprochement

The US Navy's largest aircraft carrier arrived in Antalya several days before President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is expected to meet Russia's Vladimir Putin in Sochi.

Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Erdogan to meet Putin in Sochi as Turkey looks to save Ukraine grain deal

Revival of the vital grain deal will top the agenda of the Turkish and Russian presidents in Sochi, but experts believe Moscow's quick return to the agreement is unlikely.

ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images

Turkey, Saudi Arabia ink critical mineral cooperation deal

Green energy investments will have an important share in cooperation between Turkey and Saudi Arabia, said the Turkish energy minister.

ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images

Turkey ends lira protection scheme as banks tally up damage

With Turkey’s inflation on course to hit 70% by the year-end, the plan to convince depositors to shift to regular deposits with yields well below the inflation rate appears unviable.

Zelenskyy Fidan

Ukraine's Zelenskyy meets with Turkish FM as Black Sea pressure rises

The revival of the Black Sea grain deal was likely the top agenda item in the Turkish foreign minister’s meeting with Ukraine's leader as Ankara distances itself from Western efforts to set up alternative routes.

People wait to exchange money at a currency exchange shop on June 23, 2023 in Istanbul, Turkey.

Turkey’s Central Bank shifts gears, hikes interest rates to 25%

The 750 basis point rise was higher than analysts' expectations, prompting lira to rebound from a record low.

Iraq's Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein (R) poses with Turkey's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan in Baghdad on Aug. 22, 2023.

Turkey’s FM tackles long-held disputes with Iraq in first official visit

Hakan Fidan chose Iraq for his first official visit as Turkey's new foreign minister, but the visit appeared to yield little progress on long-standing disputes between Ankara and Baghdad.