Turkey’s national soccer team coach Fatih Terim talks during a press conference in Istanbul, Turkey, Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2008. Turkey will play Armenia in a World Cup qualifier in the Armenian capital of Yerevan on Sept. 6.
(AP Photo/Ibrahim Usta)
President Abdullah Gül decided to attend the national game in Erivan this Saturday. On the other hand, negotiations re-started in Cyprus. This time more optimism than ever….There may not be substantive developments in near future but symbolically these are giant steps…
Turkish president in Armenia trip
Turkey’s president accepts an invitation to attend a football match in Armenia, a country Turkey has no official ties with.
Turkey president says visits Armenia for soccer game
Usual suspects oppose Turkish-Armenian rapprochement
| Mustafa AKYOL |
‘This is football, not war,’ says Turkey coach
While many worry Turkey and Armenia’s troubled relationship may ruin the World Cup qualification match, Turkish team boss Fatih Terim said that Saturday’s game was “only a football game.”
Blogian (www.blogian.net) » Armenia: Politics Banned in Stadium Amid Turkish Visit
Meanwhile, in Armenia, football
Well, and also Turkish President Abdullah Gul is coming to visit.
It’s hard to overstate how bizarre and awesome this is. But first, some context. This visit is happening because of three things: football, local politics, and war.
First, the football. (Americans may want to skip the next few paragraphs.)
Over a year ago,Armenia and Turkey both got picked to be in Group 5 (Europe) for the 2010 World Cup.
Brief summary for Americans: the World Cup is every four years. About 170 countries want to be in it, but there are only 31 slots. So for the next two years, that 170 will get relentlessly whittled down.
Turkey prepares for a new era with Armenia
Turkish President Abdullah Gül is preparing to go to Yerevan with hopes of a breakthrough in frozen relations with Armenia.
New push for unity in Cyprus
The Greek and Turkish Cypriot presidents will start talks today on reunifying Cyprus as a loose federal state with a small central administration to handle…
Readers’ voices
What hope for Cyprus peace talks?
Conflict stones
Crumbling historic town is a symbol of divided Cyprus
Crisis in the South Caucasus: Turkey’s Big Moment?
The Georgia-Russia crisis offers Turkey "a unique chance to bolster its regional clout, check Russian and Iranian influence and help secure the flow of Western-bound oil and natural gas from former Soviet Central Asia and Azerbaijan," writes Amberin Zaman in an August analysis for the German Marshall Fund of the United States.
Cyprus: bringing down Europe’s last wall? | France 24
A bustling checkpoint is a sign of hope in Cyprus – hope that an end is at last in sight to a dispute that has divided the Mediterranean island for decades."
Turkey pursued ‘balanced’ policy
Former Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze said late Monday that Turkey had pursued a “balanced” policy during
Will the West Lose Turkey?
Ms. Zeyno Baran of the Hudson Institute asks in the Wall Street Journal: Will Turkey Abandon NATO?
Will Turkey side with the United States, its NATO ally, and let more U.S. military ships into the Black Sea to assist Georgia? Or will it choose Russia? A Turkish refusal would seriously impair American efforts to support the beleaguered Caucasus republic. Ever since Turkey joined NATO in 1952, it has hoped to never have to make a choice between the alliance and its Russian neighbor to the North. Yet that is precisely the decision before Ankara. If Turkey does not allow the ships through, it will essentially be taking Russia’s side.
Turkey and NATO: Is non-alliance an option?
| Speaking to Milliyet columnist Fikret Bila, Prime Minister Erdoğan stated that Turkey is being forced to take sides in the Georgian conflict. |
L’Allemagne et « ses » Turcs
Le Monde Diplomatique (France), 1 septembre 2008
Supplément Turquie
Michel Verrier
Les Turcs constituent la première population d’origine étrangère vivant en Allemagne. Leur présence interroge Berlin sur son mod
èle d’intégration et sur ses choix économiques. Mais le couple germano-turc a de vieilles racines qui remontent — au moins — à l’entente entre l’empereur Guillaume II et le sultan Abdülhamid II en 1888.
Drapeaux rouges à croissant et étoile blancs, affiches et banderoles en turc : le Kölnarena, stade couvert au bord du Rhin, à Cologne, avait les couleurs d’un meeting électoral au fin fond de la Turquie, ce dimanche 10 février 2008, pour accueillir le premier ministre turc. Devant vingt mille de ses compatriotes, représentatifs des deux millions six cent mille personnes que compte cette communauté en Allemagne, M. Recep Tayyip Erdogan tiendra un discours offensif, les confortant dans la fierté de leurs origines et les incitant à prendre toute leur place en Allemagne et en Europe.
Turkey torn between Russia and the West
Cengiz ÇANDAR
Georgia lessons for Azerbaijan
Barçin YİNANÇ
Isolation of Turkish Cypriots: a critical issue for negotiations
How "legal" is the international isolation of Turkish Cypriots? How "moral" is the stance on insisting to keep it? How should the topic of isolation be dealt with as serious talks begin between Dimitris Christofias and Mehmet Ali Talat, the leaders of the two communities?
Cyprus — Kypros or Kibris or both?
Greek and Turkish Cyprus are to re-open negotiations on 3 September. But in spite of their declared aim to agree a bi-zonal federation by spring 2009, the political crisis in Turkey may undermine their efforts to reunify their common homeland.
Both sides losing in Turkey-Russia dispute
Due to a new Russian policy, Turkish trucks are forming long queues at Russian borders as average customs proceedings for Turkish trucks take 20 to 40 days.
Turkey is now on the verge of losing long-standing, balanced commercial relations with its top trade partner. The predicted total loss to Turkish firms as a result is about $1 billion so far and, should the problems continue, this number may exceed $3 billion by the end of the year. On the other hand, Russia claims to have lost $26 billion due to contraband passing their borders.
The Caucasus crisis and Turkey’s constructive role
The world has focused on the course of the crisis that erupted in the Caucasus. How this crisis will develop closely interests the US, NATO, the EU and all major countries as well as other global players.
Turkey as the axis of great power politics (1)
According to a Biblical verse, there is nothing new under the sun; everything is repeating itself since humanity seems unable to learn from its past mistakes and derive relevant lessons.
Are people treated equally in Turkey? (2)
My article published on Monday was based on an internal journey I went on after reading a letter of one of my readers. I will respond to the letter as a lawyer and provide the best solution.
Atatürkist foreign policy
In the bipolar world of the Cold War era, some writers and politicians promoted a foreign policy line by which they argued Turkey should leave NATO, stay away from the EU and pursue a policy of "neutrality" or "non-alliance," alleging that this was an Atatürkist approach.
Russia intensifies control of Turkish goods sent from Europe
Russia has expanded the coverage of non-trade barriers against Turkish exporters to this country by enforcing a complete inspection of Turkish trucks coming from Europe.
Already extremely discontent with the tightened controls on Turkish goods at the Russian border — as this causes serious losses to Turkish trade — Foreign Trade Minister Kürşad Tüzmen’s tone was once more that of anger when commenting on this newest development, saying, “This is clearly a non-tariff barrier.”
Turkey’s Caucasus peace plan deemed infeasible
Turkey’s recent proposal to create a platform for peace and cooperation among five Caucasus states is “unrealistic” amid ongoing conflicts involving those nations and U.S. reluctance to offer
Gül must go to Yerevan
The main opposition Republican People’s Party, or CHP, and the Nationalist Movement Party, or MHP, are fuming nowadays over the plans of President Abdullah Gül to pay a “social” one-day trip to Yerevan to watch together with his Armenian counterpart, Serge Sarkisian, the first-ever encounter between the national soccer teams of the two countries.Why? Neither of the two opposition parties so far cited any credible reason why President Gül must avoid traveling to Yerevan for a social event other than stressing that the visit might give Armenia the wrong impression.Irrespective of whether we like it or not, there is a geographic as well as historic reality: Armenia is our northeast neighbor and
Will Gül become Christopher Columbus?
Cengiz ÇANDAR
Armenia vis
it and Turkey’s honor
Oral ÇALIŞLAR
US backs Gül visiting Armenia
The United States said Tuesday that it backed efforts to improve relations between Turkey and Armenia, throwing its support behind a potential visit by President Abdullah Gül to Yerevan to watchCypriot leaders launch reunification talks
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Gov’t to delay the implementation of the National Program
Despite public statements from cabinet members on boosting ties with the European Union in the coming months, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan does not seem very enthusiastic in
Turkish ministers criticize national program, foreign minister over EU
Reactions force government to reveal timetable
The government revealed yesterday the timetable of the National Program which will be submitted to the European Union, following the harsh criticism leveled at the government by media over its
EU process needs action, not words
Mehmet Ali Birand
EU membership and obstacles
It is evident that Turkish membership in the European Union is different from that of other countries. There are ongoing discussions on the matter both in Turkey and EU circles.
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