ISSUE #48
12/10/2012
European Commissioner for Enlargement Stefan Fuele said on 4 December 2012 that seven EU member states, including Great Britain, France, the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, Italy and Spain, insist on Ukraine meeting the previously announced political conditions before an association agreement is signed. Meanwhile, Poland and Lithuania want the document signed as soon as possible. READ MORE

• December 12, 2012

Azerbaijan in foreign policy should above all be based on its national interests.

• December 11, 2012

If geopolitics were a game of cards, Russia would be holding onto its stack for as long as possible.

• December 11, 2012

Negotiations on tariffs for electricity with the Russian company Inter RAO are underway and a statement will be made in the coming days, Georgian Energy Minister Kakha Kaladze said on Tuesday.

• December 11, 2012

By the end of this year, Turkey will determine the country that will build the second nuclear power plant in Sinop, Turkish Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Taner Yildiz said, the Hurriyet newspaper reported.

• December 10, 2012

Moscow says it will not seek the ouster of Assad, as international negotiators again fail to reach a breakthrough on the crisis in Syria.

• December 10, 2012

During his recent working visit to Turkmenistan, President Vladimir Putin expressed his content with the development of CIS, the Commonwealth of Independent States. "I note that this is the first time Turkmenistan has held the CIS presidency, and it is certainly doing a very effective job," Vladimir Putin said in his opening speech at the summit.

• December 10, 2012

Insights into Turkish Domestic and International Politics during November 16-30th 2012
By John VanPool, EGF Turkey and Black Sea Regional Analyst

• Turkey requests Patriot missile defense systems from NATO out of fears of Syria launching WMD-tipped rockets at opposition fighters along the border.
• Prime Minister Erdogan’s anti-Israel stance gains him credibility in the Muslim world while alienating him from opportunities to help solve the Israeli-Palestinian situation.
• Investigations continue into the 1993 death of then-president Turgut Ozal. Although unrelated to the country’s current problems, a history of “Deep State” involvement in the government created a country where conspiracy theories fester.
• The AKP conducts an internal discussion on the possibility of revoking immunity from MPs which would specifically affect Kurdish BDP deputies.
• BOTAS raises prices on gas sold for domestic electricity supplies, while Gazprom seals long term export deals with four private Turkish firms.
• ENI continues to worry about its future in Turkey following the row over Cyprus, and TANAP is ratified by Azerbaijan’s parliament.
• In Iraq, Erdogan and al-Maliki trade barbs over the widening rift between the KRG and Baghdad.

• December 10, 2012