Greetings from Ankara.

Welcome to AL-MONITOR Turkey, where we wrap up the leading stories of the week. This edition looks at Turkey’s busy diplomatic week, Ankara’s balancing act between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, and the latest twist in the Kurdish peace process.

I wish you a belated happy Ederlezi, a traditional Balkan festival marking the return of spring celebrated on May 6th. 🧞

Ezgi (Follow me on X: @ezgi_akin)

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Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan (R) shakes hands with Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Jarrah Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah (L) in Ankara on May 4, 2026. — Turkish Foreign Ministry

On the foreign policy front, Turkey hosted an unusually dense lineup of regional visitors this week, starting with Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Jarrah Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, who met with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan in Ankara on Monday for talks focused on the Iran conflict, disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz and bilateral ties. 

Fidan’s next guest on Wednesday was Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan, who traveled to Ankara to attend the third meeting of the Turkish-Saudi Coordination Council on deepening the two countries' cooperation in fields including defense, energy and finance. 

Ankara’s diplomatic traffic showed no sign of abating on Thursday, as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune oversaw a raft of cooperation agreements spanning finance, agriculture, transportation, telecommunications, disaster management and........

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