Insights into Turkish Domestic and International Politics during 1-15 June 2013
By John VanPool, EGF Turkey and Black Sea Regional Analyst

Key Points:

• Despite heavy police action to clear Taksim Square, the protests continue.
• Erdogan’s hard line stance towards the demonstrations is opening a rift inside the AKP, with one camp supportive of President Abdullah Gul’s conciliatory approach towards protesters.
• The prime minister hints at foreign and domestic plots behind the Gezi Park situation, making him look increasingly out of touch with the reality on the ground in Istanbul.
• Turkey’s play in Syria falters as Sunni extremists come to the fore of the opposition. Meanwhile Bashar alAssad’s forces secure victories against the fractured opposition.
• Exxon and TPAO in talks to secure an exploration block for shale gas in the Black Sea.
• Tensions in Iraqi Kurdistan ebb as Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki visits Erbil.

• June 21, 2013

The Black Sea has lost none of its geopolitical significance over time. Historically, the Black Sea has played an important economic and political role in a wider-region. The realignment of geopolitical and security strategies in Eurasia during the last two decades has led to the “re-discovery” of one of the world’s most significant geostrategic areas. Securing access to new energy deposits from the Caspian has heightened the strategic significance of the Wider Black Sea (WBS) in Western external policy thinking. Unfortunately, since the early 1990s, the region has been bogged down in a belt of protracted conflicts that could potentially threaten both European stability and energy supply, while trans-national crime and other asymmetric security threats are thriving. READ MORE

• June 21, 2013

US President Barack Obama has called for greater efforts to be made to reduce US and Russian nuclear arsenals.

• June 20, 2013

Afghan officials have said the removal of the flag and nameplate from the Taliban's Qatar office is not enough.

• June 20, 2013

North Korea has expressed willingness to restart long-stalled nuclear talks with international partners, China's foreign ministry has said.

• June 20, 2013

ISSUE # 20
06/17/2013
President Viktor Yanukovych said on 13 June 2013 that he could not see a reason why Ukraine should be deprived of the EU membership prospect. READ MORE

• June 19, 2013

Russian President Vladimir Putin faced further isolation on the second day of a G8 summit on Tuesday as world leaders lined up to pressure him into toning down his support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

• June 18, 2013

Emerging markets are suffering a sharp pullback by investors fearful of a shock from China just as confidence in the world economy, and the euro zone in particular, rises, according to a survey of fund managers.

• June 18, 2013