Capitalizing on the European Commission's November 2008 initiative to promote the Corridor and to create a Caspian Development Corporation, the Budapest meeting set the goal of signing the Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) and at least clear the way for signing the Project Support Agreements (PSA's) during... MORE

The high-level conference on energy in Sofia on April 25 and the European Union's summit in Prague on May 7 are survival opportunities for the Nabucco gas pipeline project. This project, which is the centerpiece of the EU-planned Southern Energy Corridor, finally began moving forward... MORE

On April 8 Fethullah Gulen, the leader of the moderate Islamist neo-Nur movement (a Sufi Islamist network that follows the path of Islamist thinker Said Nursi who died in 1960), released a surprising statement. Gulen drew attention to a possible "social engineering" campaign about the... MORE

Simultaneous operations recently conducted in twelve Turkish cities against what police sources described as urban networks of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in which 120 people were detained, including senior members of the pro-Kurdish Kurdistan Society Party (DTP) represented in the Parliament, was widely... MORE

Following the restoration of his political rights, veteran Islamist politician and former Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan, 83, returned to active politics, raising questions about the leadership of the Islamist Felicity Party (SP). Erbakan, the legendary leader of the National Outlook Movement (NOM) advocated a political... MORE

On April 17 Turkey's Energy Minister Hilmi Guler, attended a meeting on the future of the Turkish energy sector where he highlight the need to invest in renewable energy resources and diversify its hydrocarbon supplies. In that context, Guler sent important messages to Turkey's Nabucco... MORE

On April 16 Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan attended the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) Foreign Ministers Council in Yerevan. Following his BSEC meetings, Babacan discussed the recent developments between Turkey, Armenia and Azerbaijan. President Barack Obama's historic visit to Turkey earlier this month had... MORE

In the last week of March 2009, Ankara and Beijing may have taken another step toward upgrading their military cooperation. This has become evident during a visit from General Hasan Aksay, commander of the Turkish military academies, who spent three days in China, starting March... MORE

Turkey's Chief of the General Staff, General Ilker Basbug, delivered a speech at the War Academies Command in Istanbul on April 14, addressing key issues including civil-military relations, national identity, the role of religion, and the fight against terrorism (EDM, April 15). The most surprising... MORE

Turkey's Chief of the General Staff, General Ilker Basbug, delivered a speech at the War Academies Command in Istanbul on April 14 addressing several issues including civil-military relations, national identity, the role of religion, and the fight against terrorism. In a two-hour speech broadcast live... MORE