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

Key Points:

• Talks continue between Ocalan and the government, with a ceasefire being mentioned ahead of the March 21 Nevruz holiday.
• The autonomy of Kurdish fighters in Syria and Iraq leave Ankara anxious of the PKK exploiting increasingly fluid borders should peace talks fail.
• Turkey continues to avoid direct military intervention in Syria’s civil war, although fear of the conflict spreading has the country on edge.
• Ratings agencies think Turkey’s ability to cut its current-account deficit will fade over 2013. The central bank’s use of foreign cash in its monetary policies leaves the economy open to global shocks.
• Reliance on energy imports is fueling the growing account deficit, and Turkey’s lack of storage infrastructure prevents the country from sitting on supplies for later use.
• Turkey’s eastern provinces may hold shale gas deposits, while NABUCCO and TANAP’s intelligence sharing agreement will help diversify the country’s import markets

• March 21, 2013

On February 12, Ukrainian President Victor Yanukovych paid a three-day visit to gas-rich Turkmenistan to sign a memorandum of understanding on energy cooperation and reiterate Kyiv’s interest in resuming direct imports of the Central Asian country’s natural gas, which were suspended in 2006 (Interfax-Ukraine, February 14).

• March 20, 2013

CYPRUS’S finance minister pleaded with Russia for help on Wednesday to avert a financial meltdown after the island's parliament rejected the terms of a European bailout, raising the spectre of a looming default and bank crash.

• March 20, 2013

In the past year, tensions surrounding Iran’s nuclear ambitions reached unprecedented levels, verging on war. With Israel assigning a “red line” for Iran’s proliferation efforts, the world nervously awaited for a likely Israeli air strike on suspected Iran’s nuclear sites—with all of its enormous political and economic consequences.

• March 20, 2013

ISSUE # 09
03/18/2013
On 13 March 2013, European Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighbourhood Policy Stefan Fuele said in a speech to the European Parliament that the matter of selective justice in Ukraine is critical to the relations between Brussels and Kiev. READ MORE

• March 20, 2013

Chairman of the Riga Shipyard of the Latvian Republic, Director of the Eiroholdings Company, Vasilijs Melniks, will hold meetings at the State Service of Maritime and River Transport of Turkmenistan and other agencies, State News Agency Turkmen Dovlet Khabarlary (TDH) reported on Tuesday.

• March 19, 2013

China said on Monday U.S. plans to bolster missile defenses in response to provocations by North Korea would only intensify antagonism, and urged Washington to act prudently

• March 18, 2013

Although the threat of war on the Korean Peninsula has been drawing most international attention, from the perspective of Central Asia, another interesting question is whether the new South Korean government will pursue as vigorous a Central Asian strategy as its predecessor.

• March 16, 2013