Insights into Turkish Domestic and International Politics
16 November – 31 December 2014
By John VanPool, EGF Turkey and Black Sea Regional Analyst

Key Points:

• Russian President Vladimir Putin announces the annulment of the South Stream project, proposing instead a new pipeline to run from Russia to Turkey.
• President Putin and Turkish counterpart Tayyip Recep Erdogan meet and discuss converging views on economic and energy issues, but note their stark differences on the Syrian Civil War.
• The two countries’ partnership in economic and energy sectors has yet to thaw their strategic divergence in regional affairs, especially in light of Russia’s disputed annexation of Crimea and the different approaches to the conflict in Syria.
• Gulen Movement adherents, including the chief editor of the country’s largest daily newspaper, are arrested on allegations of their part in a coup conspiracy.
• Both the Trans-Adriatic and Trans-Anatolian pipeline projects might be boosted by South Stream’s demise, as the two projects lead the way in the burgeoning Southern Gas Corridor.
• Turkey will stick to its deficit cutting plans despite low energy import prices, though unemployment continues to rise while the lira loses value to the American dollar.

• January 12, 2015

German Chancellor Angela Merkel told Russian President Vladimir Putin on the phone on Saturday that a four-way summit to discuss the situation in eastern Ukraine would not take place until there was real progress on the Minsk peace plan.

• January 11, 2015

European Union meetings in Riga last week were heavy with the historical symbolism EU leaders turn to for relief from economic malaise, terrorism or fears of Russia

• January 11, 2015

The new head of Syria's Western-backed political opposition cast doubt on Monday on whether members of his group would attend talks in Russia this month aimed at finding a solution to the nearly four-year Syrian conflict.

• January 6, 2015

Iran denied on Saturday that it had reached an agreement with the United States to ship its surplus enriched uranium to Russia under new concessions aimed at clinching a comprehensive nuclear deal with six world powers.

• January 5, 2015

German Chancellor Angela Merkel's spokesman said on Monday that her government had not changed its position on the desirability of a Greek exit from the euro zone, saying the policy had always been to stabilize the bloc without losing any of its members.

• January 5, 2015

Israel will withhold critical tax revenue and seek ways to bring war crimes prosecutions against Palestinian leaders in retaliation for Palestinian moves to join the International Criminal Court (ICC), Israeli officials said on Saturday.

• January 3, 2015

The German government believes that the euro zone would now be able to cope with a Greece exit if that proved to be necessary, Der Spiegel news magazine reported on Saturday, citing unnamed government sources.

• January 3, 2015