February 2011

Key positions:

• Former Turkish Prime Minister, Necmettin Erbakan, passed away Sunday 27 February. He was 84. Erbakan, the first Islamist prime minister of the Turkish Republic, was forced to resign after only a year into his reign by the military, in what is called the first ‘post-modern coup’.

• Under the guidance of current Prime Minister Erdogan, Turkey has stayed on the sidelines throughout much of the past weeks while protests raged throughout the Middle East. Ankara is finding its new position as a dominant regional actor as having less impact than previously thought, but has been forced to act pragmatically due to the proximity of its own citizens and financial interests in the affected nations.

• Prime Minister Erdogan recently spoke in Dusseldorf, Germany, telling Turks there that while they should learn the (German) language and participate in wider culture of their new homeland; assimilation would be an affront to their human rights. The prime minister also spoke positively about Turkey’s accession to the EU, surprising some for the positive manner in which the AKP leader addressed the issue after years of European rejection.

• The Nabucco gas pipeline still appears to be up in the air as none of the participating companies have yet signed any construction agreements, while a Russian delegation has put pressure on the Brussels-EU whilst addressing its own energy security concerns. READ MORE

• February 22, 2011

With construction of the EU's ambitious Nabucco gas pipeline slated to begin in less than a year, huge question marks remain over its financing and the actual supplies of gas it is supposed to transport.

• February 21, 2011

European leaders have launched a trillion-euro bid to cut dependence on Middle East oil and Russian gas, clearing the way to place nuclear power at the center of 21st-century needs.

• February 21, 2011

Iranian Deputy Energy Minister Mohammad Behzad said Iran will increase electricity export to Iraq with the construction of a new power transmission line

• February 21, 2011

The European Union agreed to provide Armenia with a loan of 65 million euros and a grant of up to 35 million euros to help the country out of the global economic crisis

• February 21, 2011

Despite tightening international economic sanctions, Iran is driving to boost its energy industry, including a natural gas pipeline to Iraq and Syria that may even run to southern Europe and another to run through Turkey to Europe.

• February 19, 2011

A top US official visiting Tashkent on Friday praised Uzbekistan for opening up supply routes and building infrastructure for NATO operations in Afghanistan.

• February 19, 2011

The prime ministers of Estonia and Lithuania met Tuesday in the Estonian capital, Tallinn, to wrestle with the Baltic states' "energy island" status within the European Union.

• February 18, 2011