The Relations between Turkey and the Caucasus

Abstract

This article examines Turkish foreign policy towards the Caucasus and argues that Turkey regards the region as a land of opportunity and influence. It first looks into the transformation of Turkish foreign policy in the last decade and its subsequent impact on its policy towards the countries in the Caucasus, namely Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Georgia. The article argues that Turkey’s international stance has been repositioned from being the “buffer-zone” of the Cold War, to the “model country” of the postSoviet era and finally to the “central country” of the new international order, which influenced its policy towards the Caucasus. Finally, the article posits that Turkey is an energy corridor which connects the region to Europe and effective use of energy resources and healthy integration of the region to the world economy would bring peace and stability to the Caucasus

Keywords

• Turkey, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Armenia, Caspian energy, Turkish-Armenian protocols.

References

1. İdris Bal, ““Turkish Model” and the Turkic Republics”, Perceptions, Vol. 3, No. 3 (September-November 1998).
2. Bülent Aras and Rabia Karakaya Polat, “From Conflict to Cooperation: De-securitization of Turkey’s Relations with Syria and Iran”, Security Dialogue, Vol.39, No.5 (2008), pp.495-515.
3. Bülent Aras, “Turkey’s Policy in the Former Soviet South: Assets and Options”, Turkish Studies, Vol.1, No. 1 (2000), pp.36-58.
4. Ahmet Davutoğlu, “Turkey’s New Foreign Policy Vision”, Insight Turkey, Vol.10, No. 1 (2008), pp.77- 96.
5. Hakan Fidan and Rahman Nurdun, “Turkey’s Role in the Global Development Assistance Community: the Case of TIKA (Turkish International Cooperation and Development Agency)”, Journal of Southern Europe and the Balkans, Vol.10, No. 1 (2008), pp.93-111
6. 2009 TİKA Faaliyet Raporu, Ankara, TİKA Yayınları, 2010.
7. TUSKON, at http://www.tuskoneurasia.com [Last visited 1 February 2011].
8. Marmara Grubu Vakfı, at http://www.marmaragrubu.org/aez.htm [Last visited 1 February 2011].

9. Emre İşeri, “Geopolitics of Oil and Pipelines in the Eurasian Heartland”, in Bülent Gökay (eds.), The Politics of Oil, London, Routledge, 2006.
10. Bülent Aras, “Dış Politikada ‘Gaz’ Denklemleri”, Sabah, 17 February 2010.
11. Şaban Kardaş, “Turkey Clears the Way For Azerbaijani Gas Transfers”, Eurasia Daily Monitor, Vol. 8, No. 201, 1 November 2011
12. Bülent Aras, “Bakü”, Sabah, 18 Agust 2010. 13 Ibid.
13. “Kafkasya İşbirliğine Aliyev Desteği”, Radikal, 20 August 2008. 15 Aras, “Bakü.”
14. Today’s Zaman, 25 October 2011.
15. Şaban Kardaş, “Turkey Reacts to Armenian Constitutional Court’s Decision on Protocols”, Eurasia Daily Monitor, Vol. 7, No. 17, 26 January 2010. 18 Ibid.
16. Bülent Aras, “Ermenistan’la Normalleşme”, Sabah, 17 March 2010.
17. Bülent Aras, “Ermenistan’la Normalleşmenin Sonu Mu?”, Sabah, 14 April 2010.
18. Aras, “Ermenistan’la Normalleşme.” “Özür Diliyorum” Kampanyası, at www.ozurdiliyoruz.com [Last visited 22 January 2011].
19. “Kampanya Açık Toplumun Göstergesi,” Taraf, 18 December 2008. Milliyet, 20 July 2008.
20. Semih İdiz, “Azerbaycan da Geniş Açıdan Bakabilmeli”, Milliyet, 8 September 2008.
21. Bülent Aras and Fatih Özbay, ‘‘Türkiye ve Ermenistan: Statüko ve Normalleşme Arasında Kafkasya Siyaseti’’, SETA Policy Brief, No. 12 (Ekim 2009).
22. Jean-Christophe Peuch, “Georgia: Hopeful President Pays First Official Visit to Turkey”, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 20 May 2004, at http://www.rferl.org/content/article/1052878.html [Last visited 20 February 2011].
23. “Georgia’s H1 Foreign Trade Up by 18%”, Civil Georgia, http://www.civil.ge/eng/article. php?id=22544&search=Turkey [Last visited 7 February 2011].
24. Turkish citizens of Circassian origin continue to do trade with Abkhazia. These commercial relations are deemed “illegal” by the Georgian government, and thus Georgian officials frequently interrupt the commercial ships going to Abkhazia.
25. Marianna Vindimian, “Evolution of Turkish Foreign Policy towards Georgia”, ISPI Policy Brief, No.196 (2010), p. 3.
26. “Saakaşvili Gürcistan’ın Yeni Elçilik Binasını Açtı”, Chveneburi, at http://www.chveneburi.net/tr/ default.asp?bpgpid=1370&pg=1 [Last visited 7 Subat 2011]. 32 Vindimian, p. 3.
27. “2008’de Türkiye-Gürcistan İlişkileri”, Hürriyet, 19 December 2009.
28. Manos Karagiannis, “The Turkish-Georgian Relationship and the Transportation of Azerbaijani Oil”, Caspian Crossroads Magazine, Vol. 4, No. 1 (1998).
29. T.C. Moskova Büyükelçiliği, at http://moscow.emb.mfa.gov.tr/Mission.aspx [Last visited 31 January 2011].
30. Bülent Aras, “Türkiye-Rusya İlişkilerinde Çok Boyutlu Ortaklık”, Sabah, 12 August 2009.
31. Bülent Aras, “Rusya, Yunanistan, İran, Azerbaycan”, Sabah, 19 May 2010.