Why should the EU play a role in Turkey?
The EU was once the major driving force of Turkey’s transformation process. That was a good blueprint for structural change. The EU was both an agent of change and our role model at the same time. Few people in Turkey still see it that way. One look at the Eurobarometer polls shows just how much the old continent has lost its allure. The image of the EU as a whole has been declining steadily in the eyes of Turks. Of course, the Europeans’ lack of confidence lately has not been helping. READ MORE
Putin-Erdogan Alliance can Turn into Political Reality
As Turkish Mass Media reported, one of these days the Prime Minister of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan intends to visit Russia under the invitation of Vladimir Putin. As informed earlier, during the talks in Moscow between the Ministers of Culture and Tourism of Turkey and Russia Vladimir Putin contacted by phone Turkish Minister and asked to pass the greetings to his friend the Prime Minister of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and also the invitation to visit Russia at his convenience. “Russian considers Turkey to be its best friend and we intend to develop these relations in any spheres”, this how most of Turkish Mass Media a quoted the comments of the Russian Government Head. It’s worth to add to this also the message that in course of the talks during the Summit on nuclear safety in Seoul the President of Russian Dmitry Medvedev invited Erdogan to visit Moscow to take part in the inauguration of the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin. READ MORE
Turkey and the bomb
Policymakers worry that an Iranian atomic weapon will force the country's neighbours to explore the nuclear option, but that is not the case for Turkey. READ MORE
Russia’s Energy Plans for Turkey
Russia is interested in building natural gas storage facilities in Turkey, officials from Russia's Gazprom said March 20. Over the winter, Gazprom redirected natural gas from its storage facilities in Europe after a spike in demand in Turkey. Now, Gazprom wants to build underground natural gas storage facilities in Turkey to help when supplies dwindle in the future. READ MORE
The Way Forward: Sixty years from the accession of Greece and Turkey to NATO
The 60th anniversary of the accession of Greece and Turkey to NATO comes at a critical juncture that once again underscores their strategic importance for the Alliance. At the peak of the Cold War, both countries’ geographical position at the underbelly of the Soviet Union rendered them an indispensable part of NATO’s strategic planning, a fact that had dictated their accession in the first place. Together they operated as a natural embankment against any possible Soviet advancement towards the Eastern Mediterranean and the oil rich Middle East, safeguarding at the same time unhindered maritime communication lines. NATO Headquarters and allied installations located there, in close proximity to the USSR, enhanced the reliability of the Alliance’s response to a possible Soviet threat. READ MORE
Turkey and Kazakhstan have similar approaches on many international and regional issues - Turkish Ambassador Lale Ülker
Today marks the 20th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Turkey and Kazakhstan. READ MORE
Turkish, Azerbaijani, Iranian FMs to gather for tripartite meeting
The Turkish, Azerbaijani and Iranian foreign ministers are planning to meet on March 7 in the Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic in Azerbaijan as part of a series of meetings regularly held between the three states. READ MORE
EU's geopolitical improvidence towards Turkey and Ukraine
European bureaucrats are clearly not keeping pace with the geopolitical dynamics of the modern world. While the U.S. and China are expanding their spheres of influence in the Pacific, and Russia is working to create a Eurasian bloc, the EU actually fell out of big geopolitical games, limiting the expansion of its own influence and being fully concentrated on the internal redistribution of political and economic powers. Ignoring the European aspirations and foreign policy ambitions of Turkey and Ukraine, the EU shows geopolitical improvidence, limiting its own ability to conduct more effective policy in the Middle East and former Soviet space. READ MORE
Syria, Turkey and military intervention
The changing nature of the clashes indicates Syria is drifting into a civil war. Long-lasting fights mean more pain for Syrian people. However, without foreign intervention, regime change and a solution seem difficult. READ MORE
Paris “Bulldozer’ for Euro-Atlantic Integration of Armenia
Reaction of Armenian citizens on the decision of the Senate of France to criminalize the responsibility for denial of genocide was extremely emotional. It was up to that some participants of the action "Merci, France!", who gathered by the building of the embassy in Yerevan tried to kiss the hand of French Ambassador coming out to them, which confused the diplomat greatly. Some excuse for such “Eastern spontaneity” although can be the fact that in Turkey and Azerbaijan emotions (naturally negative) are also extreme. One of Baku radio stations, for example, banned French music in its air. READ MORE
