Turkey

Turkey, officially the Republic of Turkey, is located partially in the continent of Asia and partially in Europe. It shares borders with Greece and Bulgaria to the Northwest, Iran to the east and Iraq to the southeast. It also shares various borders with Syria, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia.

70%-75% of Turkey's population are Turks, and 19% are Kurds, making them the country's largest minority group. The country's capital is Ankara, and the largest city and financial city is Istanbul.

As of November 2021, the President of Turkey is Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who has served in this position since 2014. Prior to that, he served as Prime Minister of the country from 2003-2014.

Since the start of the Syrian civil war in 2011, an estimated 3.6 million Syrian refugees have taken up residence in Turkey, most of them living with temporary residence permits.

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Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan reacts during a press conference at a NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands June 25, 2025.

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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a 40 signatures debate, at the plenum hall of the Knesset, the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem, on January 19, 2026.

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HTRS-100 air traffic control radar system, produced by the Turkish defense company ASELSAN.

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People take part in a rally in support of Palestinians and to condemn Israeli forces' interception of the Global Sumud Flotilla vessels aiming to reach Gaza and break Israel's naval blockade, in Istanbul, Turkey, October 5, 2025.

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Turkish police last week detained 115 suspected Islamic State members, they said, who were planning to carry out attacks on Christmas and New Year celebrations in the country.

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Turkish gendarmerie special forces team leaves the site where Turkish security forces launched an operation on a house believed to contain suspected Islamic State terrorists, in Yalova province, Turkey, December 29, 2025

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US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hold a joint press conference in the State Dining Room at the White House, in Washington, DC, US, September 29, 2025

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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu officially recognized Somaliland as an independent and sovereign state on Friday.

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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu officially recognized the Republic of Somaliland as an independent and sovereign state

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A view shows the Knyaz Pozharsky nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine before a ceremony of raising a naval flag aboard in Severodvinsk, Arkhangelsk region, Russia July 24, 2025.

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A member loyal to the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) waves an ISIL flag in Raqqa June 29, 2014

Turkey's Erdogan denounces Israel-Greece-Cyprus trilateral summit, affirms support for Gaza

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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan pictured in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, December 12, 2025; illustrative.