Latest Articles about Turkey

Interest Growing All-Round in Trans-Anatolia Pipeline Project
Interest is growing among Western gas producers in Azerbaijan, transit companies, and European importers in the Trans-Anatolia project for Caspian gas to Europe. Initiated by Baku as an Azerbaijani-Turkish project, the Trans-Anatolia Gas Pipeline (Turkic acronym: TANAP) is planned to run from the Georgian-Turkish border... MORE

The Trans-Anatolia Gas Pipeline and Its Continuation Options to Europe
Interested parties are considering joining, in one way or another, the Azerbaijani-Turkish Trans-Anatolia Gas Pipeline project (Turkic acronym: TANAP) across Turkey to the European Union’s border. Some of the same interested parties are competing against each other to provide a continuation route for TANAP into... MORE

How Kurdish PKK Militants Are Exploiting the Crisis in Syria to Achieve Regional Autonomy
Turkish-Syrian relations have been always problematic. Dating back to the Cold War, Syria’s support for the Kurdish militants of the Partiya Karkeren Kurdistan (PKK) was a major obstacle to efforts to normalize relations between the two countries until the 1998 Adana Accord allowed Syria and... MORE

Supporters of Syria Take Significant Steps, but No Endgame in Sight
On April 1, Turkey hosted the second meeting of the Friends of Syria group, which produced mixed results as to the future of the Syrian uprisings. While the meeting lent some legitimacy to the opposition organized around the Syrian National Council (SNC) and warned President... MORE

Trans-Anatolia, Nabucco-West Pipeline Projects: An Optimal Fit
As expected (see EDM, January 3, 4, 5), the Nabucco consortium has decided to reconfigure its project for a new role: a European continuation of the Azerbaijani-Turkish, Trans-Anatolia Gas Pipeline (TANAP) project. As TANAP plans to replace Nabucco on Turkey’s territory, Nabucco would link up... MORE

Losing the Initiative: The PKK’s Crumbling Strategy
The winter of 2011/2012 witnessed an intensified campaign by the Turkish government against the Partiya Karkeren Kurdistan (PKK) and the network of organizations and individuals that supports it. The armed group, identified as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the European Union, Canada and the United... MORE

Turkey-Turkmenistan Ties Flourish in Economic Realm
Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimuhammedov’s visit to Turkey on February 28-March 1, highlighted the evolving nature of the two countries’ bilateral relations, built around flourishing economic ties. Berdimuhammedov’s first foreign trip since his reelection on February 12 also provided an opportunity to mark the 20th anniversary... MORE

China Eyes Greater Share of Turkey’s Rising Infrastructure Investments, Including Construction of a Nuclear Plant
China’s Vice President Xi Jinping’s visit to Turkey, where he held several meetings with Turkish leaders, has underlined the growing economic ties and diplomatic exchanges between the two countries, despite their failure to develop joint positions on political issues. Xi met Turkey’s president and prime... MORE

Erdogan Supports Intelligence Chief Fidan
A recent amendment to the law on National Intelligence Service (MIT) personnel, requiring the prime minister’s authorization for their trial, seems to have resolved a crisis among Turkey’s security and judicial apparatus for now. However, this solution also raised many more issues than it solved... MORE

Rising Gas Consumption Reveals Structural Problems in Turkey’s Energy Policies
Heavy winter conditions have strained natural gas supplies in Turkey, shedding critical light on the country’s over reliance on hydrocarbons. Due to the record increases in household consumption and electricity demand, which coincided with interruptions in gas imports from Iran and Azerbaijan, concerns were raised... MORE