Karel Valansi'nin kaleminden...

Geopolitical earthquakes are redrawing trade routes across Eurasia. Russia’s war in Ukraine has awakened Central Asian countries, which have discovered their strength through cooperation to develop their economies and attain independence. Without the constant attention of Russia, this cooperation contributes to developing  the Middle Corridor , a key trade route linking China to Europe via Central Asia, the Caspian Sea, and the South Caucasus. It is an alternative to traditional east-west trade routes that bypasses Russia and Iran. The Middle Corridor is a  regional initiative , not an external, imposed idea. It boosts regional cooperation, flexibility, economic growth, and diplomatic dialogue. While Russia and China try to maneuver according to new geopolitical developments,  Iran   is ignored   in these initiatives. The Middle Corridor creates a strategic role for Turkey as a central energy hub connecting Europe to additional suppliers. The European Union (EU)...

The U.S. imposed sanctions on the Chinese military over its purchase of Su-35 jet fighters and S-400 surface-to-air missiles from Russia. Accordingly, China's Equipment Development Department (EDD) and its Director Li Shangfu have been blacklisted for their transactions with Rosoboronexport, Russia's state arms exporter. This means any assets they hold in the U.S. have been frozen; likewise, the EDD has been denied export licenses and excluded from the American financial system. An additional 33 names and entities were added to the blacklist; the majority indicted by special counsel Robert Mueller and his team for their involvement in the attempt to influence the American elections. These sanctions were levied in response to the breach of the U.S. sanctions law punishing Moscow for its annexation of the Crimean Peninsula and its cyber interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential elections. The Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) was pa...

Having started in 2011, the political upheavals in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) have irrevocably transformed the region, and the world, as well. Beginning as peaceful protests for democracy, justice and equality, these uprisings resulted in the overthrow of long-time dictators such as Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali in Tunisia, Hosni Mubarak in Egypt and Moammar Gadhafi in Libya – with external interference in the last case. Called the Arab Spring, this rapid change was first seen as a new chapter in the region in which there could be radical change toward democracy. Traditionally, MENA is perceived as immune to waves of democratization, differing from other regions. For this reason, these uprisings were at first appreciated as a popular movement to get rid of mostly secular but authoritarian rulers who had been in power for decades. However, the outcome has been very different. The wave of popular unrest in Syria did not result with the ouster of Bashar Assad as in the case of T...

During her visit to Istanbul, we had the chance to discuss recent events with Professor Ofra Bengio. She shared her views on the terrorist attacks in Paris, developments in Syria, Iraq and KRG, the future of Turkey-Kurdish peace process and Turkish-Israeli relations for Salom readers. Ms. Bengio is a Senior Research Fellow at the Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies, and professor in the department of Middle Eastern History at Tel Aviv University Russia’s military intervention in Syria has dramatically changed the calculations of all involved in Syria. Why Russia wanted to become involved in Syria now? Russia felt that there is a certain vacuum in Syria that needs to be filled. The U.S. was not fulfilling its task of fighting ISIS. Furthermore, Obama put certain redlines but did not act on them so this emboldened the Russians to take this move. Secondly, the Assad regime was in a very shaky situation, almost on the verge of collapse while ISIS was gaining...

Events in Ukraine moved energy security back to the top of foreign policy agenda. Energy diversification and reducing dependence on Russian supplies is essential for Turkey and the EU as well. We discussed with Mr. Mehmet Öğütçü, former Turkish diplomat, chairman of the Global Resources Partnership in UK and The Bosphorus Energy Club in Istanbul, Turkey’s position in the world energy, the role of Russia as an energy giant, the effects of the ongoing war in Iraq, and how the Kurdish oil, Iran’s ambition and newly found Israeli natural gas fields can change the energy picture. Where does Turkey stand in the world energy? With energy prices declining, economic slowdown beginning, geopolitical tensions flaring up in Eurasia, the Middle East and East Asia, and investors taking a wait-and-see attitude, we are undoubtedly going through yet another tumultuous time in history that will likely have a bearing on energy security for both Turkey and the broader energy producing, transiti...