Suchergebnisse

Turkey and Kazakhstan are the two largest Turkic countries acting as flagships for the development of Turkic ideas. The article analyses the current state of bilateral relations between Ankara and Astana. The two countries pay special attention to maintaining a high level of political dialogue, which is accompanied by the signing of various documents. At the same time, economic ties between the two countries are not developing as actively as political ones. Wide opportunities for rapprochement between Turkey and Kazakhstan are provided by cooperation in education and culture.

Humanitarian policy is an important tool of Ankara's strategy towards the post-Soviet states. A number of state institutions in Turkey contribute to the development of ties with the Turkic and Muslim peoples of the former Soviet republics. Ankara participates in international development assistance to the countries of the region and at the same time builds bilateral ties with them. Turkish policy comprises assistance programs in the fields of education and culture, which contribute to the development of the idea of the historical unity of the Turkic peoples.

Turkey persuades the policy of developing multilateral ties with Ukraine starting from 1990s. Nowadays Turkish-Ukrainian relations are becoming deeper both at bilateral and international levels. Turkic minorities inhabiting Ukraine are important factors of the Turkish policy. Crimea accession to Russia has given additional impetus to the regional cooperation between Ankara and Kyiv. At the same time Turkey is interested in keeping balance in its relations with Ukraine and Russia.

Turkey and Iran are two Middle Eastern neighbors building their relationship on the basis of competition and cooperation. Both countries aim at the position of regional leader and want to offer their own «model» of development to the Middle East. Historical neighborship has provided Turkey and Iran not only with the experience of struggle for influence, but an ability to interact in the spheres of overlapping interests as well. Turmoil in the Middle East attracts the attention of researchers to the issue of Turkish-Iranian relations. The article deals with the key areas of regional relations of the two countries reflecting their efforts to keep the power balance though they have contradicting interest. Islamic revolution in Iran in 1979 has put Turkish and Iranian «models» in adversary positions to one another emphasizing religion vs secularism.The Turkish side has broadened the range of its instruments after Justice and Development Party coming to power in Ankara, although its aim remains to be the promotion of Western concepts in the Middle East. The Party's strategy to expand Turkish influence in the region takes into account the Ottoman heritage, which modern Ankara seeks to popularize in order to reinforce its claims to regional leadership. The competitive arsenal of the Turkish leadership includes historical ties with the peoples of the region and the experience of the Europeanization of the Muslim state.Iran is promoting its vision of Muslim democracy, positioning itself as a staunch fighter against the expansionism of the West and, despite the decline in warlike rhetoric, does not refuse to export the values of the Islamic revolution. Ankara is at odds with Western countries on private issues or methods, but generally it shares the same strategic approaches. Tehran, on the contrary, rejects the ideological rapprochement with the West and the borrowing of Western development models, advocating maintaining its own path. In fact, Iran and Turkey offer Middle Eastern countries alternative political transformation options.Iraq and Syria represent both the sphere of Turkish-Iranian competition and the possibility for tactical alignment on the basis of converging interests. The events of recent years have demonstrated that at the times when the Turkey and Iran sense common threats, they put their contradictions on the back burner. Pragmatism and rivalry in Turkish-Iranian relations are not alternatives but exist in parallel as a way of maintaining a regional balance of power between the two countries. This explains the ability of Ankara and Tehran to seek compromises. At the same time, the various approaches of these states to the future structure of the Middle East region will continue to hinder the creation of a stable alliance between them. These realities must be taken into account when assessing the prospects for the development of the regional situation and the potential of Turkish-Iranian relations, the study of which is especially important for Russia, taking into account trilateral cooperation to resolve the crisis in Syria.

Security cooperation has always been an important aspect of the relations between Turkey and the USA. In Cold War era Turkish-American interaction within NATO played a crucial role in this cooperation. After that period the two countries began to search for a new model of their relations. Both Turkey and the USA started to use cooperation within NATO for the purpose of strengthening their global positions. At the same time the USA aspiration to use military bases in Turkey beyond NATO obligations frequently becomes a source of disagreement and crises in the relations of the two countries as it happened during the American intervention to Iraq in 2003. At present new challenges for regional security, especially in the Middle East, demands new forms of interaction between Turkey and the USA. The beginning of "the Arab spring" was met in Ankara and Washington with overlapping interest in changing conservative regimes and promoting "Turkish model". At the same time such questions as participation of Turkey in the fight against ISIL and the USA military cooperation with the Syrian Kurds, whom Ankara considers to be connected with the PKK terrorist organization, has brought serious contradictions between the two countries. The cause of these contradiction is the difference in the perception of threats in Turkey and in the Western countries. While the search for new forms of security cooperation meets with difficulties, NATO remains important for the relations between Turkey and the USA, despite traditionally high level of anti-NATO moods in the Turkish society.

The Eastern Mediterranean has become an arena of fierce competition for an access to sea spaces and their resources, including hydrocarbons. Coastal states and a number of non-regional players are deeply involved in this rivalry. Currently the region is witnessing a confrontation between Turkey and a "balancing coalition", which consists of Greece, Cyprus, Israel and Egypt. The article deals with the problem of maritime spaces delimitation in the Aegean Sea and the Eastern Mediterranean. It also studies the policies of the main actors. The primary goal is to make an assessment of the risks and to analyze possible ways to reduce tension by balancing the interests of major players. The analysis shows that Turkey intends to consistently defend its claims on the continental shelf based on the so-called "principle of justice", thus challenging the Greek claims. Ankara managed to prevent the construction of the EastMed gas pipeline, thus hurting the interests of other countries of the region. In turn, Greece appeals to the norms of international maritime law. Itis actively looking now for allies that could help it contain Turkey. There is a potential "anti-Turkey" coalition comprising France, Israel and Egypt. The authors conclude that, despite the extreme complexity of the situation, especially from the legal point of view, tension in the Eastern Mediterranean can be reduced because the countries of the region are reluctant to engage in a military confrontation with Turkey and alternative routes for energy transportation exist. In addition, there are signs that Greece might be open to a reasonable compromise with Turkey.