Turkey - Al-Monitor: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

Turkey cover image

Turkey

November 2, 2024

Ankara 5:17 am

1°C

JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP via Getty Images

Turkey to ditch Siemens for China contractor to build nuclear plant

Turkey’s first nuclear power plant has faced delays due to Siemens’ lateness in delivering of key parts.

CLEMENT MAHOUDEAU/AFP via Getty Images

Turkey announces initial payment for $23B F-16 jets deal

The first batch of payments has been made in Turkey’s nearly five-year effort to purchase new F-16 fighter jets from the United States, the Turkish Defense Ministry said.

FREDERICK FLORIN/AFP via Getty Images

Why Turkey's Erdogan is mulling release of PKK leader from prison

Despite conciliatory messages from Turkey’s ruling coalition, the arrest of a district mayor from the main opposition party has cast doubt over a potential opening with the Kurds.

Members of the police carry the coffins of victims of the attack that occurred on Oct. 23, 2024, at the Turkish Aviation Company facility, during a funeral ceremony on Oct. 24, 2024, in Ankara, Turkey.

Turkey’s Erdogan signals deadly attack won’t derail opening to Kurdish dialogue

The Turkish president said the deadly attack on a defense firm outside Ankara targeted a new political climate in the country.

Latest News

Interview

Syrian Kurdish commander: Turkey-PKK talks doomed if aimed at collapsing Kurds' self rule in Syria

Syrian Democratic Forces commander-in-chief Mazloum Abdi speaks during an interview with AFP in Syria's northeastern city of Hasakeh on Oct. 26, 2024.

Mazlum Kobane

Mazlum Kobane

SDF commander in chief

Analysis

With Gulen dead, Turkey sees chance to weaken group, improve US ties

The casket of Turkish Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen arrives for a prayer service at Skylands Stadium in Augusta, New Jersey, on Oct. 24, 2024.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Sign up to our Daily Briefing

Keep up with Al-Monitor's top stories with a morning digest from across the region.

Al-Monitor newsletter collage

Analysis

Turkey counts risks, rewards of Harris or Trump win as Erdogan hedges

TOPSHOT - US President Donald Trump (L) and Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) leave the stage after the family photo to head to the plenary session at the NATO summit at the Grove hotel in Watford, northeast of London on December 4, 2019. (Photo by PETER NICHOLLS / POOL / AFP) (Photo by PETER NICHOLLS/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Nazlan Ertan

By Nazlan Ertan

In Izmir, reporting on culture

PKK claims responsibility for TUSAS attack in Turkey’s capital

People and politicians attend the funeral of the victims of the October 23, 2024, attack at a Turkish defense company, TUSAS, in Ankara, Oct. 24, 2024.

Amberin Zaman

Chief Correspondent

In London, 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

Samuel Wendel

Senior Market Research Analyst

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Mustafa Sonmez

In Istanbul, reporting on economics

DELIL SOULEIMAN/AFP via Getty Images

Turkey's Erdogan threatens Syrian Kurdish groups as local elections near

The Turkish president said his country would "not hesitate to take action" as Ankara dials up its threats of a fresh military incursion into regions held by Kurdish-led groups in Syria.

ILKER ERAY/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images

Protests against Israel spread in Turkey following Rafah strike

As Israel's Rafah strike sparked protests across the country, Turkey’s National Security Council implicitly criticized Washington for police interventions in pro-Palestinian protests in US colleges.

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) and Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi attend a joint press conference in Ankara, on Jan. 24, 2024.

How Raisi’s death will impact Turkey-Iran geopolitical rivalry

While leaders and some commentators in Turkey posthumously praised the late Iranian president and foreign minister, many geopolitical challenges await Ankara and Tehran once Iran elects a new president.

Kurdish women hold portraits of their missing sons on May 18, 2011, during a demonstration in Istanbul against the recent killing of 12 Kurdish rebels by security forces.

Many faces of motherhood in Turkey: From new Mothers Museum to 1,000th vigil of Saturday mothers

As a new museum in Ankara pays homage to motherhood, the mothers of the country remain a fractured group, divided by political lines and economic woes

This photograph taken in Lyon, eastern France, on Sept. 5, 2023, shows the entrance of the International Criminal Police Organization headquarters, known as Interpol.

Interpol red notice for mother, son who fled Turkey to US after hit-and-run

A lawyer of the family of the man who died in the fatal car crash says the move raised their hopes for justice.

Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar and the head of China's National Energy Administration in Beijing on May 22, 2024.

China, Turkey ink 'energy transition' deal during Bayraktar's visit

The deal was signed as part of the Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar's visit to China.

Passengers getting off a Turkish airline plane after it landed at the Kabul International Airport in Kabul on May 21, 2024.

Turkey's flag carrier resumes flights to Afghanistan after 3-year pause

The Turkish envoy hailed the resumption of flights as a “new era.”

A Turkish Bayraktar TB2 combat drone is on view during a presentation at the Lithuanian Air Force Base in Siauliai, Lithuania, on July 6, 2022.

Turkey's fastest drone plays key role locating Iran helicopter crash site

The location of the helicopter crash site was identified by Turkey’s Akinci drone, according to Turkish officials, after Ankara sent teams to help Iran's search mission.

TURKISH PRESIDENTIAL PRESS SERVICE/AFP via Getty Images

Three main disagreements constrain Turkey-Greece ties following Mitsotakis visit

The Greek prime minister's visit to Turkey inspired both optimistic and pessimistic outlooks for the future of the two NATO allies.

Turkey's president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, looks on during a joint statement to the media in Baghdad on April 22, 2024.

What’s behind Erdogan’s pardoning of generals jailed over Turkey’s 1997 coup?

The move comes after a landmark meeting between the Turkish president and the main opposition leader that sparked hopes for political reforms in the country.

People look at a BYD Seal car by Chinese electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer BYD Auto at the Bangkok International Motor Show in Nonthaburi, March 27, 2024.

Turkey-China in 'advanced' talks on EV manufacturing as Beijing footprint grows

Turkey and the Gulf states are aggressively pursuing electric vehicles with entities eyeing cooperation with China.

A boy waves a flag of jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan as tens of thousands of Kurds gather during a rally of the DTP.

Turkey hands Kurdish leaders heavy sentences, dimming hopes of democratic change

Selahattin Demirtas, co-leader of the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), and others were sentenced to a combined 375 years in Turkish prisons. Demirtas has remained in prison since 2016.