TUSIAD Turkey Letter: 30 June 2014

This week:

Foreign Policy

  • Iraqi Kurds won’t declare state ‘without telling Turkey’
  • After Opening Way to Rebels, Turkey Is Paying Heavy Price
  • US adopts bill on Christian properties in Turkey
  • Turkey again extends deadline for anti-missile defense proposals

Domestic Politics

  • Erdogan, Survivor of Protests and Inquiries, to Seek Presidency in Turkey
  • Incoming TÜSİAD boss warns of ‘rising polarization’ in Turkey
  • President Gül announces he will not run for second term in August elections
  • Recep Tayyip Erdogan seeks backing from all quarters for his presidential bid
  • Turkey Could Double Its Arms Budget

Economy & Energy

  • Turkey third in income inequality, says TÜSİAD
  • Turkey’s glass half-full but remains insufficient: World Bank Turkey director
  • Econ 101 Is Bunk to Turkey’s Erdogan in Debate on Interest Rates Role

Foreign Policy

Iraqi Kurds won’t declare state ‘without telling Turkey’

Kurds will not surprise Turkey with the establishment of a possible independent state, according to Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Natural Resources Minister Ashti Hawrami.
~~~
Hurriyet Daily News, 30 June 2014, Iraqi Kurds won’t declare state ‘without telling Turkey’

After Opening Way to Rebels, Turkey Is Paying Heavy Price

Turkey allowed rebel groups of any stripe easy access to the battlefields in Syria in an effort to topple President Bashar al-Assad. But this created fertile ground in Syria for the development of the Sunni militant group that launched a blitzkrieg in Iraq this month, the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.
~~~
New York Times, 24 June 2014, After Opening Way to Rebels, Turkey Is Paying Heavy Price

US adopts bill on Christian properties in Turkey

The U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs has adopted a bill on monitoring the return of property confiscated from Christians in Turkey and Northern Cyprus.
~~~
Hurriyet Daily News, 27 June 2014, US adopts bill on Christian properties in Turkey

Turkey again extends deadline for anti-missile defense proposals

Turkey has again extended by two months the deadline for bids for a multi-billion dollar anti-missile defense system tender, despite having provisionally awarded the deal to China.

The new deadline for rival bidding companies to submit their proposals is Aug. 30, allowing U.S. company Raytheon Co and Lockheed Martin Corp and Italian-French team Eurosam SAMP/T to revise their offers and try to head off the Chinese company, with which Turkey is still in talks.
~~~
Hurriyet Daily News, 30 June 2014, Turkey again extends deadline for anti-missile defense proposals

Domestic Politics

Erdogan, Survivor of Protests and Inquiries, to Seek Presidency in Turkey

Having withstood the challenges to his rule from angry street protests and a corruption inquiry, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday announced that he will run for Turkey’s presidency in elections next month, a move that is likely to position him as the country’s dominant political figure for years to come.
~~~
New York Times, 1 July 2014, Erdogan, Survivor of Protests and Inquiries, to Seek Presidency in Turkey

Incoming TÜSİAD boss warns of ‘rising polarization’ in Turkey

The new head of Turkey’s top business organization has said Turkey’s largest problem is “severe social polarization,” while vowing to “avoid taking sides,” speaking at his first comprehensive meeting with the media after taking the post two weeks ago.
~~~
Hurriyet Daily News, 25 June 2014, Incoming TÜSİAD boss warns of ‘rising polarization’ in Turkey

President Gül announces he will not run for second term in August elections

President Abdullah Gül has confirmed that he will not run for a second term in the upcoming presidential elections in August. Gül’s statement comes two days before the date set by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) for the announcement of its own candidate.
~~~
Hurriyet Daily News, 29 June 2014, President Gül announces he will not run for second term in August elections

Recep Tayyip Erdogan seeks backing from all quarters for his presidential bid

Mr Erdogan’s courtship of the army (and of the Kurds) also furthers his hopes of becoming Turkey’s first popularly elected president in August.
~~~
Economist, 28 June 2014, Recep Tayyip Erdogan seeks backing from all quarters for his presidential bid

Turkey Could Double Its Arms Budget

Turkey, which has been spending around US $4 billion a year on weapons and upgrades, may double that to meet procurement goals for 2023.
~~~
Defense News, 28 June 2014, Turkey Could Double Its Arms Budget

Economy & Energy

Turkey third in income inequality, says TÜSİAD

Chairman Haluk Dinçer of the Turkish Industrialists and Businessmen’s Association (TÜSİAD) said on Friday that Turkey ranks third among the countries with the highest levels of income inequality.
~~~
Daily Zaman, 27 June 2014, Turkey third in income inequality, says TÜSİAD

Turkey’s glass half-full but remains insufficient: World Bank Turkey director

Compared to the drive of the first half of the 2000s, Turkey is exhibiting a slower pace of reform, according to the World Bank’s Turkey director. ‘That is a concern because if Turkey wants to be part of the best, it needs to move at the pace of the best,’ says Martin Raiser.
~~~
Hurriyet Daily News, 30 June 2014, Turkey’s glass half-full but remains insufficient: World Bank Turkey director

Econ 101 Is Bunk to Turkey’s Erdogan in Debate on Interest Rates Role

The Turkish leader, 60, is emerging as a global pioneer of putting an untested theory of economics into action. While central bankers around the world, including Turkey’s, have made interest rate decisions based on the textbook assumption that higher rates will work to slow inflation, Erdogan and his administration argue the opposite.
~~~
Bloomberg, 30 June 2014, Econ 101 Is Bunk to Turkey’s Erdogan in Debate on Interest Rates Role

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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