THIS WEEK:
FOREIGN POLICY
• Secretary Kerry and Turkish Foreign Minister Davutoğlu hold joint press conference
• Hagel says US will keep Patriot missile batteries in Turkey for another year
• Raytheon, Lockheed consider fresh bid for Turkey missile defense
• Iraqi Kurdish president in Turkey to back PM’s peace effort
• Nuland says Turkey, US agree on larger strategy but may differ in tactics
DOMESTIC POLITICS
• Turkey moves to silence dissenters, but with one eye on its image abroad
• Turkey’s Kemalists see secularist legacy under threat
ECONOMY & ENERGY
• Net $8.7 bln FDI entered Turkey in first nine months
FOREIGN POLICY
Secretary Kerry and Turkish Foreign Minister Davutoğlu hold joint press conference
Secretary of State John Kerry held a joint press conference with Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu on 18 November. The two focused on a variety of issues, including the ongoing conflict in Syria and developments pertaining to the Iranian nuclear negotiations.
~~~
State Department, 18 November 2013, Remarks with Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu
Washington Post, 18 November 2013, Destruction of Syrian chemical stockpile is ‘on schedule,’ Kerry says
Hagel says US will keep Patriot missile batteries in Turkey for another year
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel says the U.S. will continue to provide two Patriot missile batteries in Turkey for another year as part of that country’s air defenses while the civil war rages on in Syria.
~~~
Washington Post, 18 November 2013, Hagel says US will keep Patriot missile batteries in Turkey for another yea
Raytheon, Lockheed consider fresh bid for Turkey missile defense
U.S. arms makers Raytheon Co and Lockheed Martin Corp are considering ways to sweeten their offer to build a Patriot missile defense system for Turkey after Ankara said it could still back away from a provisional $3.4 billion deal with China, sources familiar with the issue said.
~~~
Reuters, 12 November 2013, Raytheon, Lockheed consider fresh bid for Turkey missile defense
Iraqi Kurdish president in Turkey to back PM’s peace effort
The president of Iraqi Kurdistan called on Turkey’s Kurds to back a flagging peace process with Ankara on 16 November, making his first visit to southeastern Turkey in two decades in a show of support for Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan.
Masoud Barzani’s trip to Diyarbakir, the main city in Turkey’s Kurdish-dominated southeast, comes as Ankara finalizes billions of dollars of energy deals with his semi-autonomous region and amid mutual concern over the ambitions of Kurdish militias in the chaos of neighboring Syria.
~~~
Reuters, 16 November 2013, Iraqi Kurdish president in Turkey to back PM’s peace effort
Nuland says Turkey, US agree on larger strategy but may differ in tactics
US Assistant Secretary of State for Europe and Eurasian Affairs Victoria Nuland has said that the US and Turkey always agree on “larger strategy” but that the two allies may sometimes differ in their tactics.
Nuland’s remarks came in response to a question implying that Turkish-US relations have been strained since the Gezi Park protests that swept Turkish cities this summer.
~~~
Today’s Zaman, 14 November 2013, Nuland says Turkey, US agree on larger strategy but may differ in tactics
DOMESTIC POLITICS
Turkey moves to silence dissenters, but with one eye on its image abroad
The government, it seems, has mounted a delicate balancing act, analysts say: crack down just hard enough to keep critics of the government off the streets, especially as Turkey prepares for three elections over the next 18 months, but not so hard that Turkey’s international image is further damaged, especially in financial circles crucial to sustaining the economy.
~~~
New York Times, 14 November 2013, Turkey moves to silence dissenters, but with one eye on its image abroad
Turkey’s Kemalists see secularist legacy under threat
Tension between religious and secular elites has long been one of the underlying fault lines in the predominantly Muslim but constitutionally secular republic, forged from the ruins of an Ottoman theocracy by Ataturk 90 years ago.
But a stream of provocative comments from Erdogan, who is expected to stand for president in elections next year, has heightened accusations of religiously-motivated interference in private life and exacerbated secularists’ sense of siege.
~~~
Chicago Tribune, 17 November 2013, Turkey’s Kemalists see secularist legacy under threat
ECONOMY & ENERGY
Net $8.7 bln FDI entered Turkey in first nine months
Approximately $8.7 billion of net foreign direct investment (FDI) entered Turkey in the first nine months of the year, according to data released by the Ministry of Economy on Tuesday.
Out of the total FDI of $8.698 billion in the first nine months, $3.321 billion entered the economy via operations of intermediary financial institutions, $1.215 billion came from the electricity, gas and water sector and $1.187 billion from the manufacturing sector. Also, 60.5 percent of the cash capital came from European Union countries.
~~~
Today’s Zaman, 19 November 2013, Net $8.7 bln FDI entered Turkey in first nine months
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