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

Key Points:

• Turkey makes progress on the Kurdish issue, conducting unilateral talks with Abdullah Ocalan. Most Turks appear to support the government’s actions, but the assassination of a PKK co-founder in Paris raises concerns of sabotaging any future agreement.
• The Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) begins oil shipments to Turkey while its relationship with Baghdad continues to deteriorate. Moves by the Iraqi government to bring Kirkuk under military control result in Turkey having to take sides in another civil war.
• The Turkish stock market produced positive returns for investors in 2012, well above the losses experienced by the Eurozone and U.S. But concerns rise over growing credit expansion according to Fitch’s latest report.
• Gazprom’s take or pay contracts end, resulting in over $3 billion in savings for Turkey. Meanwhile, the country invests in large scale refinery upgrades that will double its crude refining capacity. Energy Minister Yildiz visits Algeria and Libya to renew one energy deal in the former and promote investment in the latter.

• January 24, 2013

The U.N. Security Council unanimously condemned North Korea's December rocket launch and expanded existing U.N. sanctions, and Pyongyang reacted with a vow to boost the North's military and nuclear capabilities.

• January 23, 2013

Russia warned Israel and the West on Wednesday against any military strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities. but suggested Tehran should be quicker to cooperate over inspections of its nuclear sites.

• January 23, 2013

The proposed price for the construction of two 1000 MW units of what was supposed to become Bulgaria's second nuclear power plant, Belene, was EUR 6.3 B, not EUR 10 B, as Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov claims, Russian state company Rosatom stated on Tuesday.

• January 23, 2013

Georgia’s NATO integration may appear under doubt, President Mikheil Saakashvili said in his speech at the winter session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.

• January 22, 2013

Up to 150 Russians are preparing to flee the bloodshed in Syria over the next two days on board two planes sent to Beirut from Moscow, a Russian diplomat told AFP on Tuesday.

• January 22, 2013

The Islamic Republic of Iran and Russia have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to increase security cooperation between the two countries.

• January 22, 2013

Ashgabat hosted a meeting of the interdepartmental commission of Turkmenistan on the Caspian Sea, which defined near-term tasks, "Turkmen Dovlet Khabarlary" state news service reported on Monday.

• January 21, 2013