Turkish-Russian relations have been transformed in a unique way since the late 1990s. Ever increasing economic relations have paved way for better political relations, bringing cooperation perspectives to fore while having competing agendas at the same time. The past several years witnessed confidence building between the countries as the relationship rose to the level of a multi-dimensional partnership; however, there are also ideational and material factors that limit Russian-Turkish partnership. The future of multi-dimensional partnership will largely depend on both countries’ ability to set a strong structural base for mutual and long-term beneficiary relationship.

On July 13, 2009, an intergovernmental accord on the proposed Nabucco gas pipeline was signed. The 3.300 kilometer long pipeline will transport Caspian, Iraqi and likely Iranian gas in the future depending on the changing situation and its relationship with the USA, and to a lesser extent Egyptian natural gas resources, via Turkey to Austria. The Turkish leg of the pipeline will be 2000 kilometers long.Given that the pipeline is designed to export non-Russian Caspian resources – Azeri, Kazakh, and Turkmeni - to European markets, thereby, diversifying energy supplies for western energy markets, several European states and the US have supported this project. The project is planned to become operational in 2014 with an estimated cost of 7.9 billion euros (10.6 billion dollars). In addition to enhancing its energy corridor role, the pipeline will provide significant benefits to Turkey in terms of revenues, employment, etc.

The Religious Challenge As a monotheistic religion, Islam defines itself as the last of the three great Abrahamic faith traditions. The Qur'ân and hadîth (the two canonical sources of Islam) and the later scholarly traditions reveal an acute awareness of Judaism and Christianity.

The 2009 election results in Israel indicate that right-wing votes have increased remarkably, and that the center-left and left have lost one third of their combined representational power. Based on the results, although a few other coalition alternatives are numerically possible, two options seem most probable today

A recent poll by Pollmark, presented at the Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research (SETA) think tank in Ankara, shows that terrorism is the number-one problem for many in Turkey.  

The current meeting between the Israeli and Palestinian presidents in Ankara comes only a few weeks before the multilateral summit in Annapolis, Maryland, in the US.  

It may look like a paradox, but the current standoff between Turkey and northern Iraq could turn into an opportunity to solve the Kurdish problem in Turkey and the region. Turkey's increased efforts to fight Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) terrorism has the full backing of all the related actors: the Turkish public, the political establishment, security elites, regional actors and international public opinion. The Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government should seize this opportunity and start a process of national reconciliation and healing.  

Turkey has been involved, historically and demographically, with many of the regions of “frozen conflict” in post-Soviet space. At this point, one might consider the position of Turkey as being at the epicenter of Euro-Atlantic and Russian extremes concerning the frozen conflicts. Georgia, since 1991, has been considered a valuable “strategic partner” by Turkey for several reasons. Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdoğan’s Caucasus Pact idea is a good opportunity to create an inclusive (Russia+Turkey+Georgia+Armenia+Azerbaijan) new foreign policy approach at this stage. This approach should be merged with the representation of all the frozen or unfrozen conflict areas, peoples, ethnic groups and regions included under the roof of such an alliance.

Perhaps the most consequential and drastic decision in Turkish foreign policy in recent months was to engage in direct negotiations with Kurdish Regional Government in northern Iraq. This is significant because, since the onset of Iraq War in 2003, Turkey has sought to ignore or marginalize Iraqi Kurds, and has refrained from all acts that could be viewed as concessions or de facto recognition. Although the Iraqi Kurdish leadership has received red-carpet ceremony in Ankara in the1990s, Turkish foreign policy toward northern Iraq, since the war, has been stymied by anxiety and emotional rhetoric. Indeed, the fear of Iraq’s disintegration and the rise of an independent Kurdish enclave in the north, inspiring or even assisting separatist sentiments in Turkey, have appeared to cloud the possibility of rational evaluation of the pros and cons of policy alternatives. As a result, the policy of projecting illegitimacy to the Kurdish Regional Government has cost Turkey a significant loss of clout not only in northern Iraq but also in the wider Iraqi political affairs, as Kurds have come to occupy significant positions in the central government as well.

On Oct. 11, a historic letter was sent out to the world’s Christian community. The letter was signed by 138 leading Muslim scholars and academics across the world. Titled “A Common Word Between Us and You,” it was addressed to Christian leaders of various denominations including Pope Benedict XVI, Greek Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew I, Archbishop of Canterbury Dr. Rowan Williams, Presiding Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and President of the Lutheran World Federation Mark S. Hanson, World Methodist Council General Secretary Rev. George H. Freeman, Baptist World Alliance President Rev. David Coffey, World Alliance of Reformed Churches General Secretary Rev. Setri Nyomi and other Christian figures in leadership positions. The letter was also addressed to all Christians of the world. The full text of the letter, the list of signatories, recipients, responses and media reports can be found on the official Web site www.acommonword.com  

As I write these words in the garden of the Cordoba Mosque in Spain, the centuries-old memory of Andalusia goes through my mind. Andalusia was the scene of the remarkable experience that medieval Spanish scholars called “convivencia,” or coexistence. Embracing diversity as a constructive challenge of fulfillment was the hallmark of Islamic Spain and the Andalusian culture embodied this spirit in the widest sense of the term.