TUSIAD Turkey Letter: 25 November 2013

THIS WEEK:
FOREIGN POLICY

  • Turkey welcomes nuke deal, repeats its readiness to endorse it
  • Turkey, its allies struggling, tempers ambitions to lead region
  • Turkey and US almost in consensus on Syria and Iraq, Arınç says after meeting with Biden
  • Islamists take root on Turkey-Syria border as battle blurs lines

DOMESTIC POLITICS

  • Turkey’s draft constitution appears dead

Economy/Energy

  • Turkey, Iraqi Kurds make progress on oil deal
  • Turkey’s Central Bank dips deeper into tool kit

Foreign Policy

Turkey welcomes nuke deal, repeats its readiness to endorse it

Turkey has welcomed the deal reached between P5+1 countries and Iran over the latter’s nuclear program and reiterated its endorsement of the process, recalling its earlier efforts for a diplomatic solution to the question.
~~~
Hurriyet Daily News, 24 November 2013, Turkey welcomes nuke deal, repeats its readiness to endorse it

Turkey, its allies struggling, tempers ambitions to lead region

Turkey is rethinking its effort to reshape the region, and is instead reaching out to the Middle East’s two Shiite Muslim powers, Iraq and Iran.

The idealism of leading a new Sunni alliance has given way to a more pragmatic approach centered on securing access to oil and gas for its economy, improving conditions for Turkish businesses and finding a way out of the intractable conflict in Syria. Many analysts describe the shift as a return to the mantra of “zero problems” with neighbors, a slogan that had previously guided Turkey’s foreign policy under the governing party.
~~~
New York Times, 21 November 2013, Turkey, its allies struggling, tempers ambitions to lead region

Turkey and US almost in consensus on Syria and Iraq, Arınç says after meeting with Biden

Ankara and Washington are in agreement regarding Syria and Iraq, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç has said following a meeting with U.S. Vice President Joe Biden at the White House on Nov. 22.
~~~
Hurriyet Daily News, 23 November 2013, Turkey and US almost in consensus on Syria and Iraq, Arınç says after meeting with Biden

Islamists take root on Turkey-Syria border as battle blurs lines

The Syrian rebel groups that Turkey has allowed to proliferate near its border include many who say they have no problem fighting alongside al-Qaeda against Bashar al-Assad.
~~~
Bloomberg, 24 November 2013, Islamists take root on Turkey-Syria border as battle blurs lines

Domestic Politics

Turkey’s draft constitution appears dead

After more than two years of intense work, Turkey’s hopes for a civilian constitution have been declared dead, ready to be buried.

The announcement, coming from various parts of the so-called Conciliation Commission, brings new doubts to the fore about the future of the country’s dragging, slow-motion democratization process, for it raises new questions on whether or not there are any options left for a badly needed social contract.
~~~
Al-Monitor, 20 November 2013, Turkey’s draft constitution appears dead

Economy/Energy

Turkey, Iraqi Kurds make progress on oil deal

Turkey and the Kurdish Regional Government in northern Iraq are quickly forging ahead with a series of deals that would let the semiautonomous region start piping oil to world markets as soon as early next year. But the central government in Baghdad remains a major obstacle.
~~~
Wall Street Journal, 21 November 2013, Turkey, Iraqi Kurds make progress on oil deal

Turkey’s Central Bank dips deeper into tool kit

Turkey’s central bank is doing everything short of raising interest rates to keep a lid on rising inflation, and for the first time in many months it might just be hawkish enough to support the lira.
~~~
Wall Street Journal, 19 November 2013, Turkey’s Central Bank dips deeper into tool kit

 These news items are compiled by TUSIAD Washington Representative Office (TUSIAD-US) from major news publications. They do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of TUSIAD. To subscribe or unsubscribe from this electronic publication, please send an e-mail to usoffice@tusiad.org. These materials may be reproduced and/or distributed, in whole or in part, provided that its source is properly indicated as “TUSIAD-US Web site: www.tusiad.us

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