Insights into Turkish Domestic and International Politics during November 16-30th 2013
By John VanPool, EGF Turkey and Black Sea Regional Analyst

Key Points:

• The AKP-Gulen Movement split hits the front pages and airwaves in Turkey.
• Once friendly outlets controlled by the Gulen Movement turn on Prime Minister Erdogan after a 2004 action plan is released describing AKP complicity with the military to undermine Gulen-owned companies.
• The Constitutional Commission fails on its mission having only agreed to half of the required articles.
• Contentious issues regarding citizenship, the Kurdish issue and a new presidential role remain unresolved.
• Turkey and the Kurdish Regional Government of Iraq look set to sign a pipeline deal despite continued opposition from Baghdad.

• December 10, 2013

Call it the Brussels Consensus. A system of beliefs rooted in European Union treaties helps explain the growing gulf between policy elites and ordinary citizens that may cause a political earthquake in European Parliament elections next May.

• December 9, 2013

Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich met Russia's Vladimir Putin on Friday to lay the grounds for a new "strategic partnership" to shore up Ukraine's creaking economy in defiance of protesters back home enraged by his U-turn away from Europe.

• December 7, 2013

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble has invited euro zone officials to a meeting in Berlin on Friday in a bid to come closer to a solution on a planned European resolution mechanism to deal with troubled banks, a German newspaper said on Friday.

• December 6, 2013

Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich is stopping off in Russia to have talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on his way back home from an official visit to China, Ukraine's UNIAN news agency said on Friday.

• December 6, 2013

The European Union took steps on Wednesday towards lifting visa requirements for Turkish citizens, in a move underscoring a new thaw in relations between Ankara and the 28-member bloc.

• December 5, 2013

China's new air defense identification zone over the East China Sea has caused "significant" unease in the region, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden said on Thursday, adding he had stated Washington's firm objection to the move during talks in Beijing.

• December 5, 2013

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry assured Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday that core sanctions against Iran would remain in place despite its interim nuclear deal with world powers.

• December 5, 2013