Prospects for relations
In 2014, the complex Russian-Turkish relationship took on a much different tone. Amidst worsening relations between Moscow and a number of Western countries due to developments in Ukraine, Russia and Turkey have managed to maintain close social contacts and a substantial volume of bilateral trade, as well as have strengthened their political dialogue. Over the past year, the heads of both states have held eight phone conversations with one another ...
The Party after Justice and Development
The June 7 parliamentary elections in Turkey were a truly historic occasion, putting an end to speculation about whether President Recep Erdoğan would be able to gain absolute leadership over the country by amending the constitution. Alas, he could not and Turkey will remain a parliamentary ...
... need to understand that the use of sensitive topics concerning the historical memory and perception of particular events should be as correct as possible, so as not to cause harm to bilateral relations or to the country’s image. In this context Turkey, whose past is closely interconnected with the history of Russia, is a clear example of how the interpretation of one people’s most important events differs from the position of another. For example, 9 May 2015 could have seen the first top-level ...
... exacerbation of the situation on the demarcation line between the armed forces of Azerbaijan and Armenia is undoubtedly Baku’s desire to distract attention from 24 April – the tragic historical date marking the centenary of the Armenian genocide. Turkey is holding a series of national events marking the First World War with the same aim. The main reason for what is happening, however, is different.
For several years after the defeat in the 1992-1994 war in Nagorny Karabakh the situation in the ...
... visit to Moscow, a remarkable meeting took place on 7 April 2015 in Budapest. Following an initiative by the Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto, a meeting was organised between the foreign ministers of Hungary, Serbia, Macedonia, Greece and Turkey (Ankara being represented by Volkan Bozkir, Minister for EU Affairs). The composition of this group certainly recalls the proposed route of the Turkish Stream pipeline, a project which was Russia’s reaction to the plan to halt development ...
... International Affairs Council (RIAC) partnered with the International Institute for the Development of Science Cooperation (
MIRNaS
) to hold a round table discussion on 9 April 2015 entitled “Cooperation in research and education between Russia and Turkey: a resource for developing and internationalising the two countries’ universities”. Those taking part in the event included representatives of government bodies and of leading Russian and Turkish universities, and experts on bilateral ...
Sanctions imposed on Russia by the US and the EU have spurred its search for new directions for cooperation. In this context, Russian leadership sees Turkey as one of the partners with whom it is vital to consolidate economic relations. Moscow and Ankara are now discussing plans for creating a free trade zone. In order to find out how feasible the project is, RIAC editorial board asked N.Ulchenko, ...
... Asia assumes a key importance. The challenges emanating from this region are particularly relevant for Russia, for which Central Asia is worth much in terms of both geopolitics and economics. On the other hand, an influential regional power such as Turkey is also interested in the development of economic, political and cultural cooperation with Russia and the Central Asian states, as well as maintaining stability in the region after the withdrawal of foreign troops from Afghanistan.
Afghan challenges ...
A Russian expert on international politics and foreign policy said NATO-member Turkey cannot be granted membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) as the main purpose of the SCO is to establish an alternative security bloc to NATO.
Fyodor Lukyanov, editor-in-chief of the journal “Russia in Global Affairs” ...
On February 10-11, 2015, RIAC Deputy Program Director
Timur Makhmutov
and Program Manager
Lyudmila Fililppova
visited Istanbul to participate in a conference on proposals of key think tanks for G-20 currently presided by Turkey. The event was sponsored by
Economic Policy Research Foundation of Turkey
and
Centre for International Governance Innovation
, with attendance reaching
one hundred experts and think tankers
from twenty countries.
Dr. Makhmutov delivered a report ...
