Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan hosted Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam in Istanbul for a working dinner on 10 July 2026. The visit included an official ceremony at the Vahdettin Pavilion, a bilateral meeting, and participation by Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, underscoring diplomatic engagement between Turkey and Lebanon.

Turkey deported Russian anti-war activist Ariadna Litvinova to Moscow on July 4, where she faces up to seven years in prison for 'discrediting' the army. This is the first known deportation of an anti-war Russian citizen from Turkey, highlighting growing cooperation between Turkish and Russian authorities and increasing risks for Kremlin critics abroad.

Turkey previously repatriated 48 wanted suspects from 11 countries in May 2026. In a new operation announced July 10, 2026, Turkey extradited 54 wanted suspects from 12 countries, including 29 sought via Interpol Red Notices and 25 wanted nationally. The operation was coordinated by the General Directorate of Security's Interpol-Europol Department with the Justice Ministry and multiple police units. Most suspects (38) were extradited from Georgia, with others from Germany (5), Azerbaijan (2), and one each from Bulgaria, Austria, Ecuador, France, Croatia, Kazakhstan, Egypt, Greece, and North Macedonia. The extradited individuals include organized crime members and suspects accused of drug trafficking and other serious offenses.

South Korean President Lee Jae-myung attended his first NATO summit in Ankara, where he proposed a 'Korea-NATO Defense Partnership 2.0' that expands cooperation beyond arms procurement to joint research, production, and operations. The summit produced concrete outcomes including the launch of negotiations on a Korea-NATO Procurement Framework Agreement and expanded South Korean participation in NATO's multinational capability projects. Lee also met with US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, pledging $100 million in reconstruction aid to Ukraine. The summit underscores the growing interconnection between Euro-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific security.

Lawyers involved in the trials following the 2016 failed coup attempt in Türkiye recount the judicial process, noting that nearly all cases have concluded. They describe defendants' denial strategies and the comprehensive legal record created, as the 10th anniversary approaches.

Azerbaijani Defense Minister Zakir Hasanov met with Baykar Chairman Selcuk Bayraktar to discuss expanding defense cooperation and joint production between Azerbaijan and Turkey. The meeting focused on unmanned aerial vehicles, electronic warfare, and unmanned systems, with both sides emphasizing the importance of strengthening joint production capabilities through advanced technological innovations. The talks reflect deepening military-technical ties between the two countries.

Slovenia announced a $50 million contribution to NATO's Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) initiative to support US-made weapons deliveries to Ukraine, and will co-finance three civil protection shelters. The pledge was announced by Foreign Minister Tone Kajzer after the NATO Summit in Ankara. Separately, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced Turkey's participation in the PURL fund during the same summit, committing to contribute alongside continued bilateral aid. The PURL program now includes 26 nations pledging over $4 billion, with Italy, France, Czechia, Hungary, and Slovakia still non-contributors. The announcements are part of a larger NATO €70 billion military assistance package for Ukraine.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev met with Selcuk Bayraktar, chairman of Turkish drone manufacturer Baykar, in Baku. Bayraktar briefed Aliyev on Bayraktar Technologies' ongoing projects in Azerbaijan, underscoring deepening defense and technology cooperation between Turkey and Azerbaijan.

Turkish startups raised $172 million across 87 funding rounds in the first half of 2026, with gaming startups accounting for 65% of total investment. Fintech funding dropped sharply from $220.4 million in 2025 to $16.6 million. Industry experts highlighted challenges in scaling beyond seed stage and the need for larger AI investments to compete internationally. The data was released by startups.watch at its Q2 2026 ecosystem event.

Selçuk Bayraktar, chairman of Turkish drone manufacturer Baykar, previously predicted that unmanned fighter jets would replace manned combat aviation within 30 years. In a new statement on June 30, 2026, he said autonomous jet-powered combat drones will only gain broad acceptance after proving themselves in battle, predicting Baykar will lead that demonstration. He argued such systems are a new class of weapon, not a fighter jet generation, and highlighted software-driven advantages. Baykar's Kızılelma drone is a key project. Bayraktar's personal fortune reached $2.7 billion in 2026, ranking ninth among Turkey's richest. President Erdogan promoted Baykar's drones at the NATO summit closing news conference on July 8, 2026, citing significant global orders.

At the ITU AI for Good Global Summit in Geneva, Turkcell CEO Ali Taha Koç outlined the company's investments across five layers of AI infrastructure—energy, chips/computing, data centers/cloud, models, and applications—stressing that controlling infrastructure is critical for national competitiveness and digital independence. He further emphasized that controlling infrastructure is key to shaping the future of AI and that Turkcell aims to achieve operational independence in digital infrastructure without depending on East or West, viewing this as a national responsibility for Türkiye.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan received Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama in Ankara on the sidelines of the 36th NATO Heads of State and Government Summit. The meeting focused on bilateral relations, defense industry cooperation, and regional issues. Erdogan invited Rama to the COP31 Leaders Summit in Antalya. The summit, hosted by Türkiye, marked the second NATO summit held in the country and provided a platform for bilateral talks on political, security, and economic cooperation.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan presented NATO leaders with personalized .357 Magnum revolvers produced by state arms maker MKE as gifts during the Ankara summit. The gesture, rooted in diplomatic tradition, caused security concerns among some delegations and drew mixed reactions, highlighting Turkey's status as the world's third-largest small-arms exporter and the intersection of diplomacy and arms manufacturing.

Analysts critique the Ankara NATO summit's final declaration for emphasizing military security and defense spending while lacking a concrete strategy for building sustainable peace. The article distinguishes between security (managing threats) and peace (transforming conditions that produce threats), noting that the declaration focuses heavily on military capabilities, AI warfare systems, and arms production but offers no vision for conflict prevention, mediation, or reconciliation. It suggests Turkey, with its mediation experience, missed an opportunity to bridge this gap.

The Al-Ummah Foundation launched a multilingual journal and digital platform in Dhaka, Bangladesh, aimed at promoting research-driven policy discussions and intellectual cooperation across the Muslim world. The initiative seeks to counter misinformation and foster evidence-based dialogue on geopolitical, economic, technological, and cultural issues, with content in Bengali, English, Arabic, and Turkish. The launch event featured Bangladesh's Information and Broadcasting Minister Zahir Uddin Swapan and Turkish academic Yasin Aktay, who emphasized the need for credible intellectual initiatives and bridging knowledge with policymaking.