The plight of the Turkish captain of a tanker intercepted by Georgian authorities while carrying goods en route to Abkhazia highlighted the dilemmas of Turkey's position on the Georgian-Abkhazian conflict.Since the war last August, Georgia has blockaded the breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia... MORE

On August 31 a joint statement issued by Turkey and Armenia announced that both had agreed to start talks on the establishment of diplomatic ties and the development of bilateral relations. The parties initialed two protocols to regulate these issues, and the consultations on these... MORE

Armenia and Turkey, after an impasse lasting several months, have made further significant progress in their dialogue welcomed and facilitated by the international community. The governments of the two neighboring states plan to sign by mid-October agreements envisaging the establishment of diplomatic relations and the... MORE

Since Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan revealed that his government is working on a plan to address the Kurdish question, the debate has dominated Turkish politics. It is uncommon for Turkish politics to be dominated by a single issue over a long period, however, the... MORE

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's August 6 visit to Ankara for talks with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan secured some twenty agreements covering energy, trade and other fields. Consequently, Ankara has made its most immediate priority to lift the regulation requiring the full inspection... MORE

During the violent ethnic clashes between the Turkic Uyghurs and Han Chinese, in China's northwestern province of Xinjiang on July 5-6, Sino-Turkish relations soured as a result of Turkish public opinion and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan harshly criticizing the Chinese government's handling of the... MORE

The Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, paid a two day visit to Turkey on August 17-18, as the guest of Turkish President Abdullah Gul. They both signed several agreements aimed at improving bilateral relations, including promoting closer cooperation on energy issues.On August... MORE

An Ankara-based think-tank, Uluslararasi Stratejik Arastirmalar Kurumu (USAK), announced the findings of its 2009 public opinion poll on Turkish perceptions of foreign policy (www.usak.org.tr, August 14). The survey shows that the Turkish people prioritize national interests over global causes, and a visible increase in their... MORE

Since Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan revealed that his government is preparing a plan to address the Kurdish question, the domestic Turkish political debate has focused on whether peace between Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and Turkey is achievable. The Turkish President Abdullah Gul, during his... MORE

If implemented, the Burgas-Alexandroupolis and/or Samsun-Ceyhan projects would reinforce Russia's quasi-monopoly on oil transportation from Kazakhstan to international maritime ports. Approximately one half of Western companies' production from Kazakhstan is already being delivered through the Caspian Pipeline Consortium's (CPC) existing pipeline, via the North Caucasus,... MORE