Pentagon denies report on base plans in Turkey
As the US declared its 2013 defense budget, the Wall Street Journal reports that the Obama administration was preparing to create special-operations bases in Turkey. The claim was denied by the Pentagon and not confirmed by Ankara READ MORE
Erdogan should resign over Armenia row
Erdogan should have followed a rational and strategic approach regarding the French bill on Armenian genocide. Instead, he acts like a small kid in the sandbox, writes Michael Kambeck from European Friends of Armenia. READ MORE
Atambayev Invites Turkey to Decide on US Transit Center’s Future
Although the newly-elected Kyrgyz President, Almazbek Atambayev, received significant Kremlin support in the run up to last year’s elections, Turkey was his first formal destination as the head of state. During a meeting with the Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan Atambayev invited Turkey, along with Russia and “other states,” to participate in restructuring the US Transit Center at Manas after US and NATO troops leave in 2014. READ MORE
Davutoğlu in Moscow: new era in Turkish-Russian relations
Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu will pay a one-day visit to Moscow on Jan 25. Davutoğlu and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will participate in the second meeting of the Joint Strategic Planning Group, part of the High Level Cooperation Council (ÜDİK) maintained by the two countries. READ MORE
Turkey’s Balancing Act
Turkey has over the past few weeks become the spearhead of a joint Western-Arab-Turkish policy aimed at forcing President Bashar al-Assad to cede power in Syria. This is quite a turnaround in Turkish policy, because over the past two years the government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had gone out of its way to cultivate good relations with neighboring Syria, with whom it shares a long land border. READ MORE
French "genocide" bill is attack on Turkey's dignity, foreign minister says
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu made a final appeal on Wednesday to French parliamentarians not to back a bill that would make it a crime to deny that Armenians had suffered a "genocide" at the hands of Ottoman Turks, dpa reported. READ MORE
‘Turkey will allow South Stream pipeline by end of year’
Gazprom Deputy Chairman Alexander Medvedev has said Turkey will give the OK for the South Stream pipeline project, which will transport Russian natural gas to Europe by passing through Turkish territorial waters, by the end of the year. READ MORE
The ‘zero problems’ policy
One of the most frequently asked questions about the current state of Turkish foreign policy is “What happened to the ‘zero problems with neighbors' strategy?” It is a fact that the list of problems grows longer with every passing day, be it with Azerbaijan, Iran, Syria, Cyprus or, last but not least, with Israel. READ MORE
Turkey ends gas deal with Russia
Turkey decided to terminate its 25-year old deal with Moscow on natural gas supplies, Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz was quoted by CNN-Turk as saying. READ MORE
Gül to EU: Give Turkey a chance to finish negotiation process
President Gül and his German counterpart, Wulff, met on Sunday evening to converse over tea with Turkish residents of Kreuzberg, a district known as Berlin's Turkish Town. Europeans should first of all let Turkey finish its European Union membership process successfully, instead of holding debates over whether Turkey should become a full member or not, Turkey's President Abdullah Gül said on Monday in Berlin, while ruling out formulas such as a “privileged partnership” as an alternative to full membership. READ MORE
