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

Turkey cover image

Turkey

November 8, 2024

Ankara 10:29 am

6°C

President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrives for the European Political Community summit at Puskas Arena on Nov. 7, 2024, in Budapest, Hungary.

Turkey's Erdogan, Cyprus president hold rare chat as Fidan heads to Athens

The chat comes at a time when Turkey is pursuing enhanced defense cooperation with Europe.

US President Donald Trump greets Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan(L) upon arrival outside the White House in Washington, on Nov. 13, 2019.

Turkey’s Erdogan congratulates 'friend' Trump, but can bond survive friction over Gaza, Syria’s Kurds?

Despite occasional spats, Trump and Erdogan got along famously during the former president's first term.

Armenian protesters hold a flag of Armenia as they gather to rally against land transfer to Azerbaijan, on Yerevan's Republic Square on May 10, 2024. Armenia has agreed to hand over territory it has controlled since the 1990s and started border delimitation efforts in a bid to secure an elusive peace deal with Baku and avoid another bloody conflict. (Photo by KAREN MINASYAN / AFP) (Photo by KAREN MINASYAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Feature

How US policy on Azerbaijan could sway Armenian vote in Pennsylvania

The Armenian National Committee of America has not endorsed a candidate in the US presidential election, with its supporters saying neither the vice president nor former president show sufficient support for Armenian causes.

Adam Lucente

By Adam Lucente

In New York City, reporting on regional news, militancy, climate change

Former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump

From Iran to Turkey, how the Middle East is bracing for US elections

With the US presidential election just one day away, how is the Middle East anticipating the result?

Latest News

Turkey ousts 3 Kurdish mayors amid renewed efforts to forge deal with PKK

Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan (R) and the leader of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), Devlet Bahceli, talk on stage during a rally before local elections in Ankara, March 23, 2019.

Analysis

Turkey slated to boost defense exports after major arms fair sees $6.2B in contracts

Visitors look at the Bayraktar Kizilelma UCAV during the opening day of SAHA EXPO 2024, an international defense and aerospace exhibition, Istanbul, Oct. 22, 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.

Turkey to ditch Siemens for China contractor to build nuclear plant

JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP via Getty Images

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

CLEMENT MAHOUDEAU/AFP via Getty Images

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

ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images

In Turkey, Erdogan challenger attracts solid Kurdish support, a decisive vote

Turkey’s opposition leader is likely to receive crucial Kurdish support in his bid to unseat Erdogan in the May 14 polls, but a victory for the opposition remains far from assured.

Mazloum Abdi (Kobani), commander-in-chief of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), attends a meeting with other commanders and representatives of the US-led coalition fighting the Islamic State (IS) group, in the northwestern Syrian city of Hasakah, in the province of the same name, on Aug. 24, 2019.

Interview

US-backed Syrian Kurdish leader Mazlum Kobane says Turkey's attempt on life not the first

Speaking exclusively to Al-Monitor, the commander in chief of the Syrian Democratic Forces said Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan would do "anything to reach power again" as Turkey prepares for elections next month.

Mazlum Kobane

Mazlum Kobane

SDF commander in chief

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stands next to his Togg T10X, Turkey's first domestically-produced electric car, after receiving it from the company at the Presidential Complex in Ankara, on April 3, 2023. (Photo by Adem ALTAN / AFP) (Photo by ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Sweden's NATO ratification likely to wait until after Turkey's elections

As Finland becomes a NATO member, Sweden’s options are limited before the Turkish elections of May 14.

Mazloum Kobane, commander-in-chief of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), gives a press conference near the northeastern Syrian Hassakeh province on Oct. 24, 2019.

Breaking | Last Updated: April 11, 2023, 5:08 am

Drone strike targets US Syrian-Kurdish ally Mazlum Kobane, Turkey suspected

Mazlum Kobane, the Pentagon’s chief ally in the fight against the Islamic State, was traveling in a convoy with US officials at the time of the strike.

Women chant slogans in front of the Istanbul courthouse in Istanbul on April 5, 2023, as We Will Stop Femicides Platform, leading women rights group in Turkey appear on court for the second hearing of the trial that seeks to ban the platform.

Will Turkey’s conservative young women abandon Erdogan and AKP?

The conservative women vote played an important role in bringing Erdogan’s AKP to power two decades ago. But according to polls, that segment of Turkish society is looking for alternatives as AKP became too conservative for their taste.

Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov arrives at the formal welcome ceremony to mark the beginning of the G20 Summit on November 15, 2022 in Nusa Dua, Indonesia. The G20 meetings are being held in Bali from November 15-16. (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images,)

Russia's Lavrov in Turkey to discuss Syria, Caucasus, possible Putin visit

Ankara is eager to see Lavrov's visit followed by Russian President Vladimir Putin's trip on April 27 to inaugurate Turkey's first nuclear power plant, built and financed by a subsidiary of Russia's nuclear energy firm Rosatom.

Turkish soldiers walk past a destroyed building in Hatay, on Feb. 11, 2023.

Turkey’s earthquake victims face torture and abuse by security forces, rights groups say

The lack of government oversight in areas destroyed by the earthquakes has only worsened the abuse committed by security forces.

This picture taken on Jan. 26, 2019, shows journalists filming outside the departure lounge and control tower of Sulaimaniyah International Airport.

Turkey shuts airspace to Sulaimaniyah flights, citing Kurdish militants

The move is likely retaliation against ties between Kurdish militants and the Iraqi Kurdish Patriotic Union Party.

Turkish coast guard

3 Syrians dead, 3 missing as Ukraine-bound ship sinks off Turkey's coast

Rescuers are trying to reach three missing crew members of the Joe 2 ship, which had 14 crew on board.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (C) shakes hands.

Russia looks to reconcile Turkey, Syria as talks kick off in Moscow

Russia seeks to normalize relations between Ankara and Damascus amid four-way talks in Moscow.

Supporters of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu wave national flags as they gather in front of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality during a protest in Istanbul on December 15, 2022, after a Turkish court sentenced him to more than two years jail and banned him from politics ahead of next year's presidential election. (Photo by Yasin AKGUL / AFP) (Photo by YASIN AKGUL/AFP via Getty Images)

Neck-and-neck race in Turkey between Erdogan, Kilicdaroglu

Challenger Kemal Kilicdaroglu is showing signs of closing the gap on incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

A view of an oil refinery in the Iraqi city of Kirkuk, on June 20, 2014. Kurdish forces took control of Kirkuk and other disputed territory as Sunni Arab militants pressed an offensive that has seen them seize a large chunk of Iraq and sweep federal security forces aside. AFP PHOTO/KARIM SAHIB (Photo by KARIM SAHIB / AFP) (Photo by KARIM SAHIB/AFP via Getty Images)

Iraqi efforts underway to resolve Kurdish oil exports via Turkey

Ankara, Baghdad and Erbil appear willing to negotiate a new mechanism after an international tribunal dealt a blow to Kurdistan’s drive to sell its oil independently.