As Armenians vote in a parliamentary election seen as a test of Nikol Pashinyan’s pro-Western course, RFI asks two regional experts what the result could mean for peace with Azerbaijan and relations with Russia.

Lebanon is emerging as the newest flashpoint in the increasingly strained relations between Turkey and Israel, with the former's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan issuing a stark warning that Turkish security begins in Beirut.

Iraq is turning to Turkey as an alternative route for its oil exports, as the war in the Middle East continues. The Iraqi move comes as Ankara steps up efforts to capitalise on the shifting diplomatic, economic and security landscape in the region. 

Turkey’s efforts to expand its influence in West Africa could be threatened by attacks on Mali’s military regime, as Ankara pledges support while its growing security cooperation with Bamako faces new pressure.

Turkey's foreign minister has warned it could be Israel’s "next enemy" as the war with Iran appears headed for closure, and called for a Middle East security pact amid rising tensions between the two countries. 

Turkey is expanding its military training programmes across Africa, with soldiers from Mali and Niger graduating from a special forces camp as Ankara seeks to deepen ties across the continent.

Europe is turning to Turkey to fill the security vacuum left by an increasingly unreliable United States. But as Nato's secretary-general was praising Ankara's growing military role this week, the European Commission president was placing Turkey in the same bracket as China and Russia. The contradiction points to a dilemma that is only going to deepen.

As radiation spread across Europe in April 1986, so did the truth about a political system built on silence. Four decades on, RFI spoke to history and politics professor Oleg Kobtzeff about how the Chernobyl nuclear disaster exposed the USSR's culture of secrecy, and was among the catalysts for its collapse.

Turkey’s role in Somalia is under growing scrutiny, with the East African country embroiled in controversy over elections and Israel stepping up efforts to challenge Turkey in the region.

Turkey's main opposition CHP was thrown into fresh disarray Saturday as court-installed leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu made his first visit to party headquarters since a controversial court ruling scrapped a 2023 party primary. Ozgur Ozel, the CHP leader ousted by the decision, called for an urgent congress, telling thousands at an Ankara rally that the party "cannot be run by an appointed leader".

Nikol Pashinyan’s sweeping re-election in Armenia has raised fresh hopes that the border with Turkey could finally reopen after three decades of closure. The Armenian prime minister campaigned on restoring ties with Turkey and Azerbaijan, as well as moving Armenia closer to Europe – but constitutional reform remains a major obstacle.

Following several Iranian missile strikes targeting Turkey, Ankara is accelerating its efforts to create its own missile defence system dubbed the “steel dome”. According to reports, it is in talks to procure Europe's latest anti-missile system. But Ankara’s aspirations are unnerving Israel – as well as its neighbours, Greece and Cyprus.