How Turkey wants to reshape NATO
Turkey joined NATO at the beginning of the Cold War for U.S. protection in case of Soviet attack. At that time Turkey was clearly on the frontline, but today all that lies in the past and Turkey is pursuing its own assertive and independent foreign and security policy. Ankara’s new-found confidence naturally has consequences vis-à-vis NATO, for this growing assertiveness is testing the alliance’s cohesion, as is illustrated by a number of lingering issues and high-profile disputes. READ MORE
Europe without Turkey
Most European citizens (for example, more than 60% in France and Germany) believe that Turkey should not become part of the European Union. There are various reasons for this opposition – some valid, some based on prejudice: Turkey is too big; Turkish migrant workers might swamp other members; Turkey has a shaky human rights record; Turkey oppresses the Kurds; Turkey hasn’t solved its problems with Greece over Cyprus. READ MORE
Prospects for Electric Energy Export: Promising Trap?
Armenia ranks between 110 and 120 among 213 countries under Power Generation Performance Indicator. Presently, 100 Armenian power companies, including 95 hydroelectric, 3 thermal and a nuclear power plant, generate about 6.5 billion kWh of electricity per year. READ MORE
Erdoğan urges Sarksyan to apologize for occupation remarks
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has said in Baku that Armenian President Serzh Sarksyan should apologize for calling on school children to occupy eastern Turkey. READ MORE
Gryshchenko says Ukraine will learn from Turkish experience
A top Ukrainian diplomat has said his country will keep a close eye on Turkey as the country moves from a constitutional overhaul to the European integration process, stressing both countries can learn a lot from each other. READ MORE
Turkey's Elections and Strained U.S. Relations
Turkey’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) won Parliamentary elections June 12, which means it will remain in power for a third term. The popular vote, divided among a number of parties, made the AKP the most popular party by far, although nearly half of the electorate voted for other parties, mainly the opposition and largely secularist Republican People’s Party (CHP). More important, the AKP failed to win a super-majority, which would have given it the power to unilaterally alter Turkey’s constitution. This was one of the major issues in the election, with the AKP hoping for the super-majority and others trying to block it. The failure of the AKP to achieve the super-majority leaves the status quo largely intact. While the AKP remains the most powerful party in Turkey, able to form governments without coalition partners, it cannot rewrite the constitution without accommodating its rivals. READ MORE
Erdogan wins parliamentary elections, falls short of two-thirds majority
Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan's party has won parliamentary elections. But results show that his AKP will fall short of the two-thirds majority needed to rewrite the constitution without other parties' cooperation. READ MORE
Crisis on Black Sea over wayward Turkish boat
A crisis erupted on the Black Sea on Friday when a Turkish-flagged fishing boat entered the waters of the Romanian economic zone and allegedly failed to heed calls to stop. READ MORE
Turkey's ruling party to lose elections because of incorrect foreign policy
The policy pursued by Turkey's ruling party has not justified the hopes of the people on either external or internal aspects, so the victory of the party in the elections is definitely impossible, said Turkish MP from the opposition Nationalist Movement Party Senol Bal. READ MORE
Europe’s Neighborhood: Can Turkey Inspire?
Since the Arab Spring dawned,Turkey’s potential value as an inspiration for and facilitator of reform in the Middle East and North Africa has been a heated topic of discussion. Critics have been concerned that this debate would both work against Turkey’s EU integration by distracting intellectual and political attention and complicate domestic political dynamics through overemphasis on Turkey’s Muslim identity — in essence making Turkey more Middle Eastern rather than spreading reform and open society. READ MORE
