TURKISH
CYPRIOT AND TURKISH MEDIA REVIEW
C
O N T E N T S
No.
225/15 26.11.2015
1. Davutoglu: “One of our essential priorities is to be a
negotiated solution to the Cyprus problem”
2. Akinci: Within five months we achieved progress that
had not been achieved in 47 years
3. Newly appointed Turkish Foreign Minister pays an
illegal visit to the occupied area of Cyprus
4. Akinci refers to “national teams” formulas in sports
5. Bozkir: “EU to open Chapter 17 on December 14 or 15 in
Brussels”
6. Famagusta Initiative called the Turkish Cypriot side
to intensify the works for the opening of Deryneia and Apliki crossing points
7. Eide visited Talat
8. Concerns that the tension between Turkey and Russia
will influence tourism in the occupied area of Cyprus
9. “YODAK”’s delegation attended the general assembly of
the UK NARIC
10. Research in the occupied area reveals an increase of
5.6% amongst the high school students who are users of illegal substances
11. Erdogan and Davutoglu said that Turkey does not want
escalation with Russia
12. Commentary on the tension between Turkey and Russia
13. Russia stops import of Turkish products
14. Russian airstrikes target aid convoy in north-western
Syrian town of Azaz
1. Davutoglu:
“One of our essential priorities is to be a negotiated solution to the Cyprus
problem”
Turkish daily Sabah (online, 26.11.15)
reports that Turkey’s Prime Minister and Justice and Development Party (AK
Party) leader Ahmet Davutoglu, following the official presentation of the
members of the 64th government, presented the government’s programme to the
Parliament on Wednesday.
The program covered certain topics such as
democratization, political stability, sustaining the development of Turkey and
making a new constitution. Above all it emphasized that this government will
completely be a "reform government" in the framework of the 2023
vision.
On the Cyprus issue, Turkish daily Radikal
(online, 26.11.15) reports that Davutoglu
said that one of their essential priorities is to be a negotiated solution to
the Cyprus problem and the Turkish Cypriot “people” to take their rightful
position in the international community. He added: “We will continue as
until today to take decisive steps for the strengthening of the economic
structure of the TRNC (translator’s note: the breakaway regime in the occupied
area of the Republic of Cyprus) and the increase of its prosperity. We will continue to our constructive
contribution as a guarantor country for a just and permanent solution, which is
being negotiated, on the basis of the fundamental founding political will and
the political equality of both people in Cyprus, who are joint owners of the
island and we will also support the efforts of the United Nations towards this
direction”.
Meanwhile, Turkish daily Hurriyet Daily
News (online, 26.11.15) reports that Turkey’s
new government under Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has set the adoption of the
presidential system in line with President RecepTayyipErdogan’s desires as one
its top priorities, together with the approval of a new Constitution and
improvements on democratization.
“The new Constitution should also include a
search for the most effective and healthiest administrative system in order to
allow Turkey to reach its targets for 2023 and beyond on democratization and
development,” Davutoglu said in an address before Parliament late on Nov. 25 as
he outlined his new government’s program.
It is of critical importance to adopt a
pluralistic and participatory administrative model that functions efficiently with
the new Constitution, Davutoglu said, adding that he would also effect
stability while preventing the imposition of political tutelage on the
government.
Recalling that the current parliamentary
system falls short of meeting necessary democratic norms because of the coups
d’état in 1960, 1980 and 1997 that weakened the role of democratically elected
governments, Davutoglu said, “We, as the
AKP, are of the opinion that there is no difference between the parliamentary
and presidential systems in regards to their suitability to democracy if the
latter is built with a democratic perspective.”
Because of political instabilities due to
an “undemocratic parliamentary system” and the need for a more dynamic and
effective government model in line with vision of a “New Turkey”, Davutoğlu
said, “That’s why we believe the presidential system is a more suitable
administrative model.”
Erdogan, who was elected as the first
President through a direct vote, is an advocate of presidential system and has
frequently pressed the government to prioritize the change in the system.
The new Constitution will have a
pro-freedom, human-focused nature, based on the principle of the separation of
powers and check-and-balance mechanisms, he said. “We believe a presidential
system with these aspects will be more suitable to Turkey’s political
experience and future vision”.
(DPs)
2. Akinci:
Within five months we achieved progress that had not been achieved in 47 years
Turkish Cypriot daily Kibris newspaper
(26.11.15) reports that Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci has said that the progress achieved in the negotiations
within the past five months had not been achieved during the last 47 years and
added that if both sides continue like this, finding a solution will be
possible within months, not years.
In statements yesterday in the occupied
area of Cyprus after meeting President Anastasiades and Special Adviser of the
UN Secretary-General for Cyprus, Espen Barth Eide within the framework of the
Cyprus talks, Akinci noted that they want to make concrete statements in the
forthcoming stages of the negotiations and reiterated
that their target is to hold a referendum before May 2016, arguing that this is
something that both sides want very much.
Referring
tothe incidents in Syria, Akinci described them as “saddening developments”
adding that this situation will not influence the negotiations in Cyprus. He said
that they want more “peaceful and stable” developments to happen in our area.
Referring to the visits of Foreign
Ministers of various countries to the Republic of Cyprus, Akinci noted that
this is an indication of the increased international interest for the Cyprus
problem and expressed the wish to have
the opportunity to share the views of the Turkish Cypriots with the Foreign
Minister of the Russian Federation, Sergey Lavrov, but added that no
statement had been made yet on this issue.
Noting that reaching a result in the
negotiations now is closer than ever before comparing to the past 47 years, Akinci described as “productive” the
intensive negotiations held in November adding that they have come to a “good
point” within a month.
According to Akinci, the leaders decided yesterday to establish a committee on education
because of the attacks carried out against the Turkish Cypriots last week in
the government-controlled area of the island. “The future generations must
grow up with peace and tolerance”, he noted adding that the decisions of this
committee are important for preparing the society for the future.
The paper writes that according to Eide’s
statement after the meeting, the leaders will meet three times next month, that
is, on 4, 15 and 20 December, while the negotiators will be meeting every day.
(I/Ts.)
3. Newly
appointed Turkish Foreign Minister pays an illegal visit to the occupied area
of Cyprus
According to illegal Bayrak television
(online, 26.11.15), the newly appointed Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut
Cavusoglu is paying his first illegal “official foreign visit” to the occupied
area of the Republic of Cyprus.
As part of his contacts, Cavusoglu met with
the Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci. Following their meeting, Cavusoglu
and Akinci held a joint press conference at Akinci’s office in the occupied
part of Nicosia.
Cavusoglu, who arrived in the occupied area
of Cyprus this morning, first paid illegal visits to the graves of late Turkish
Cypriot leaders Dr.FazılKucuk and RaufRaifDenktas. He then met with the
self-styled foreign minister EmineColak. They exchanged views on the Cyprus
negotiations process and discussed bi-lateral relations between Turkey and the
“TRNC” during the meeting which lasted for 30 minutes.
Colak said
that the meeting had been useful in evaluating her recent contacts in New York,
Washington D.C., Paris, London and Brussels.
Cavusoglu,
for his part, said that they discussed a wide range of issues from the Cyprus
negotiations process, bi-lateral relations and the water transfer project. He later
inspected the information and e-archive infrastructure project at the “foreign
ministry”.
Cavusoglu also met with self-styled prime
minister Omer Kalyoncu and attended a working lunch of the two “countries”
delegations hosted by Akinci. As part of his contacts, Cavusoglu also visited
the Bogaz Martyrdom and the headquarters of the Turkish occupation forces in
Command Cyprus.
Cavusoglu and his accompanying delegation
will leave the occupied area of Cyprus this afternoon.
4. Akinci
refers to “national teams” formulas in sports
Turkish Cypriot daily Kibris newspaper
(26.11.15) reports that Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci has said that two ways exist for the lifting of the
so-called embargo in the field of sports, which is allegedly implemented on the
Turkish Cypriots. In statements the day before yesterday within the
framework of the so-called presidency cup in basketball, Akinci argued that one of these ways is the recognition of the
“TRNC”, as he described the breakaway regime in the occupied area of Cyprus,
and the other is the solution of the Cyprus problem. He said that the most
realistic way is the solution. He added: “We
cannot overcome the embargoes in the current situation, but this does not mean
that we will lean to the one side. Let us exert efforts and knock on every door”.
Responding to the question why the field of
sports is not included in the confidence building measures between the two
communities, Akinci noted that we should be cautious on this issue and added:
“Sports is not like listening to music, it includes competition and sides.
There might be supporters and fanatic elements. I am not opposing to this, but
its timing should be well thought”.
Called to comment on a meeting held between
the Cyprus Basketball Federation (KOK) and the Turkish Cypriot so-called
basketball federation, Akinci said that he supports such meetings and added:
“The sides may recognize or not recognize each other. There is no drawback in
negotiating. We are also negotiating without recognizing the official titles.
This point should be accepted: The
federal roof will have two founding states and sports will be in these fields
of power. For example, we are not going to abandon basketball. We will play
more. We will be opened to the international arena. Therefore, it is wise for
these institutions to have relations from now. It will start unofficially
and afterwards will be continued”.
Referring to a formula as regards the
Cyprus national team, Akinci said: “At
the national teams’ level there might be a single basketball team or like the
example of Britain, separate national teams might be formed. I think that a
dialogue is useful. Evaluations must be made and the most appropriate must be
done”.
Asked to
comment on theTurkish Cypriot so-called football federation’s chairman, Hasan
Sertoglu’sstatement that they will buy a team in Europe, Akinci
said that he is following the issue through the media and does not want to make
a comment without being informed. He
noted that he is planning on discussing the details with Sertoglu within the
forthcoming days.
(I/Ts.)
5.Bozkir:
“EU to open Chapter 17 on December 14 or 15 in Brussels”
Turkish daily Sabah (26.11.15-online in
English) reports that the Turkish EU
Minister VolkanBozkir has said that the EU will open Chapter 17 on economic and
monetary policy in Turkey's EU accession talks in December.
"Hopefully,
we will open Chapter 17 on December 14 or 15 in Brussels," Bozkir said at
the Turkish Ministry for EU Affairs in Ankara on Thursday.
Out of 35 policy chapters, so far 14 chapters
have been opened and 17 remain blocked, including Chapter 17 on economic and
monetary policy and Chapter 26 on education and culture.
The
Cyprus issue remains a major obstacle to Turkey's EU membership bid.
Bozkir
added that five or six more chapters may open sometime in 2016.
Bozkir
also touched upon the relations between Turkey and Russia and said that the two
countries “do not have the luxury of unfriendly relations”
He also noted that he expected ties with
Moscow to be maintained following the incident, which elicited a furious
response from Russian President Vladimir Putin.
6.Famagusta
Initiative called the Turkish Cypriot side to intensify the works for the
opening of Deryneia and Apliki crossing points
Turkish Cypriot daily YeniDuzen
newspaper (26.11.15) under the title: “Let’s
do the necessary and open the crossing points”, reports that the Famagusta
Initiative, in a written statement yesterday, gave information concerning the
process for the opening of Deryneia and Lefka-Apliki crossing points and called
the Turkish Cypriot side to regulate the soonest possible the issue of the
Deryneia road.
The
Famagusta Initiative explained in the statement that the “process for the
opening” of the two crossing points continues. It added that as they were
informed by the Mayor of Deryneia in a meeting they held, the Greek Cypriot
side has prepared the 300 metre road and is waiting for the Turkish Cypriot
side to proceed with the necessary regulation in order to asphalt the 2.7km
road which is in its responsibility.
Referring to the meeting the Famagusta
Initiative held last week with the so-called minister of interior AsimAkansoy
with whom they discussed the issue, the Initiative said that they were informed
by Akansoy concerning the process of the works for the opening of the two
crossing points and added that Akansoy
promised them to speed up the works.
The
Initiative explained in the statement the social, cultural and economic
benefits from the opening of the two crossing points and called the Turkish
Cypriot side not to wait for the European Commission to approve the amount of
1.2 million euro which was demanded for the asphalt of the road, the
electricity and the water infrastructure in the area, since, the process will
be prolonged.
“We
consider that by all means, the state is able economically to make the
infrastructure and to asphalt the road”, said the Initiative.
(AK)
7.Eide
visited Talat
Turkish Cypriot daily Vatan newspaper
(26.11.15) reports that the Special
Adviser of the Secretary-General on Cyprus, Espen Barth Eide met with the
leader of the Republican Turkish Party-United Forces (CTP-BG) Mehmet Ali Talat.
According to a written statement issued
by CTP, the meeting took place at the party’s headquarters and lasted for an
hour.
During the meeting, Eide and Talat discussed the recent developments on the Cyprus problem.
(AK)
8. Concerns
that the tension between Turkey and Russia will influence tourism in the
occupied area of Cyprus
Turkish Cypriot daily Kibris newspaper
(26.11.15) reports that after the crisis
in the relations between Turkey and Russia, which came up after Turkey had
brought down a Russian airplane in Syria, “black clouds” started wondering
above the efforts of the tourism sector of the breakaway regime in the occupied
area of the Republic of Cyprus to penetrate into the Russian market.
In statements to Kibris, FaizSucuoglu, self-styled tourism
minister of the regime, said that the
situation is bad and wished for the relations between the two countries to get
improved the soonest. “These
incidents will scare the people”, noted Sucuoglu recalling of the Foreign
Minister of the Russian Federation, Sergey Lavrov’s call on the Russians not to
visit Turkey. After these statements, important Russian operators announced
that they had stopped the sales for Turkey, said Sucuoglu pointing out that this situation will influence the breakaway
regime’s tourism, because the occupied area of Cyprus “does not seem much
different than Turkey in the eyes of the foreign countries”.
Sucuoglu noted that it was not easy to
promote and market the breakaway regime in Russia, but they succeeded and
created a formula on the issue of the flights. He pointed out that they are
waiting now because of the crisis and added: “I am not pessimistic. If the
crisis continues, Turkey’s tourism and both countries’ economy could be
seriously influenced. I think that reason will prevail in both Turkey and
Russia on this issue”.
Meanwhile, writing in his column in Turkish
Cypriot daily Diyalog newspaper (26.11.15), columnist ResatAkar reports that Sucuoglu met yesterday with a leading
Russian tour operator, who told him that, upon an instruction which came from
above, they included the occupied area of Cyprus in their “boycott list”.
(I/Ts.)
9.“YODAK”’s
delegation attended the general assembly of the UK NARIC
Turkish Cypriot daily Star Kibris
newspaper (26.11.15) reports that a
delegation of the so-called higher education planning evaluation, accreditation
and coordination council ("YODAK") in the occupied area of the
Republic of Cyprus, composed by Prof. Dr
HuseyinGokcekus, chairman of "YODAK", and Prof. Dr OlgunCicek, member
of "YODAK”, attended the annual general assembly of the “UK NARIC”.
[Translator’s note: UK NARIC is the designated United Kingdom national agency
for the recognition and comparison of international qualifications and skills.
It performs this official function on behalf of the UK Government]
The general assembly took place in
London between November 23-24. Within
the framework of their stay in London, Gokcekus and Cicek held a private
meeting with the chairman of UK NARIC, Dr. Cloud Bai-Yun with whom they reached
to an agreement.
The
agreement envisages that the UK NARIC will undertake initiatives to solve the
problem of equivalence which the students who graduate from the “TRNC
universities” experience in some EU countries.
Also
“YODAK”’s delegation held contacts with the director and officials of Quality
Assurance Agencies (QAA). Within the framework of the meeting, “YODAK”, YOK
(Turkey’s Council of Higher Education) and QAA, agreed to cooperated and
establish a joint working group that will carry out the evaluation of the “TRNC
universities” in 2016.
(AK)
10.Research
in the occupied area reveals an increase of 5.6% amongst the high school
students who are users of illegal substances
Turkish Cypriot daily Ortam newspaper
(26.11.15) reports on the results of a
research which was conducted in the occupied area of Cyprus concerning the
“penetration of the use of psychoactive substances among high school students
in the TRNC” and writes that according to the results of the research, there is
an increase of 5.6% on the users of illegal substances.
According to the paper, 2,236 high
school students attended the research. Commenting
on the results of the research, so-called prime minister Omer Kalyoncu pointed
out to the spreading of drugs in the “country” and called all related bodies to
protect children of all ages from illegal substances.
(AK)
11. Erdogan
and Davutoglu said that Turkey does not want escalation with Russia
According to Turkish daily Hurriyet Daily
News (online, 25.11.15), President
RecepTayyipErdoğan on Nov. 25 said that Turkey did not want any escalation with
Russia over its downing of a Russian plane on the Syrian frontier but vowed to
always defend the Turkish borders. "We have no intention to escalate
this incident. We are just defending our security and the rights of our
brothers", Erdogan said in a televised speech in Istanbul.
"Turkey has never favoured tensions
and crisis, it has and will always favour peace and dialogue," said
Erdogan. But he added: "No one should expect us to remain silent when our
border security and our sovereignty are being violated."
On the same issue, HDN also reports that
Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, echoing Erdogan following the downing
of a SU-24 Russian jet the previous day, said on Nov. 25 that Turkey is not
aiming to escalate tension with Russia.
“Russia is
our friend and neighbour. Our bilateral communication channels are open. But
our security, as for every friendly country, should be based on the principle
of respect under international law. It’s normal to protect our national
airspace”, Davutoglu said, addressing party members in Parliament.
Everybody should know that Turkey will take
all necessary measures to maintain its border security, he said. The Prime
Minister also said that “both parties should take care not to escalate the
tension”.
The downing of Russian jet on Nov. 24 was
not an incident that Turkey desired, Davutoglu said. While noting Turkey’s
strong political, economic, cultural ties with Russia, Davutoglu said that
Ankara had underlined the importance of avoiding such incidents in every
meeting with Russian officials.
12. Commentary
on the tension between Turkey and Russia
Columnist Murat Yetkin, writing in Turkish
daily Hurriyet Daily News (online, 26.11.15) under the title “The day after”,
comments on the tension between Turkey and Russia after Turkish jets shot down
the Russian warplane as follows:
“The shooting down of the Russian war plane
by Turkish jets by the Syrian border on Nov. 24 caused many capitals around the
world to hold their breath for a few hours.
This was the first Russian plane to be
downed by a NATO country since the Korean War, and it came at a time when
Russia was flexing its muscles to protect the Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria.
(…)
However, neither the international
community nor the specific circumstances of the incident have allowed the
escalated tension to become a large-scale crisis.(…)
Nov. 25 showed that this crisis management
had worked not so badly.
Perhaps encouraged
by a telephone conversation with Obama, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan - who
had closed Nov. 24 by saying that Turkey was not happy to have shot down the
plane that had ignored repeated warnings - opened Nov. 25 with another
statement on the issue, saying that Turkey did not want to escalate tension. Erdogan
was followed by Prime Minister Davutoglu, who said that Turkey had not wanted
to shoot down a Russian plane, but it was obliged to as it had repeatedly
violated Turkish airspace despite warnings.
Later,
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu called Russian Foreign Minister
Lavrov over the incident, but it seems that Lavrov is not prepared to meet him
yet, at least until the upcoming Balkan Summit on Dec. 3. It is understandable
that Russia needed time.
President Putin issued some harsh
statements over the incident, including claims that Turkey’s leaders were
trying to spread “Islamization” in the Middle East. He also supported Lavrov in
saying that Russian tourists should not come to Turkey. Meanwhile, the decision
to send brand new S-400 missile systems to Syria and to send the missile
cruiser “Moskova” off the coast of Latakia (despite the fact that its mission
was announced quite a while ago), as well as the carrying out of huge operations
with the Syrian army against Turkmen militia near the Turkish border, can be
seen as measures aimed at assuaging the fever in the Kremlin and in the Russian
public.
Still,
Lavrov’s statement that Russia would not get into a war with Turkey over the shooting
down of the jet summarized everything. Breaths that were held one day were
somewhat relieved the next.
It is clear that Russia will not let the
incident go unanswered. At some point it will respond sometime, somewhere,
against Turkey or something Turkish. But
economic interdependence between the two countries remains strong: From the
natural gas trade (as TurgutÖzal foresaw in 1984 when it was started), to
Turkish construction companies’ work in Russia, from nuclear energy to tourism.
This interdependence makes it harder for the two countries to go further.
After all, a number of Russian tourism agencies have already announced that
they have continued to accept customers for the Turkish Mediterranean coast for
the spring and summer 2016 seasons, despite statements from the Kremlin.”
13. Russia
stops import of Turkish products
According to Turkish daily Sabah (online,
26.11.15), Russia has reportedly stopped
the import of Turkish products onto its soil as of Thursday, following the
downing of a Russian warplane for violating Turkish airspace.
According to Adnan Dalgakıran, who is a
member of the Turkish Exporters' Assembly, Russian customs are refusing to
accept Turkish goods and products, for a number of excuses including inventory
and others.
All
vehicles without a Turkish license plate –including those with Kyrgyz, Romanian
and Kazakh plates- , carrying Turkish products are also denied entry, according
to reports.
Meanwhile, Turkish daily Today’s Zaman
(online, 26.11.15) reports that Russia is considering cancelling a raft of
joint business projects with Ankara after Turkey shot down of one of its
warplanes, top government officials said on Wednesday, igniting concern among
Turkish companies from the tourism, construction and food sectors, which all
benefit from Russian business.
Russia and
Turkey have important trade and economic ties -- their bilateral trade volume
in 2014 touched $30 billion. Ankara and Moscow had earlier vowed to raise this
figure to as much as $100 billion by the year 2020. Shortly after the downing
of a Russian warplane, Moscow said that Ankara could expect to be on the
receiving end of economic and business sanctions, warning that the move could
result in cancelling some important joint projects. Initially, Russia came up
with a number of economic retaliations relating to critical sectors such as
tourism and food.
Turkey's trade ties with Russia will become
difficult after the incident, former Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEİK)
Eurasia coordinator TugrulErkin told the Sozcu daily, saying that Turkish
exporters and importers could be subject to extra taxes. “Contractors and
exporters are thinking quite pessimistically,” Erkin said. “Investors are also
thinking this way, pondering ‘what kind of reaction will they show us after
this',” he added.
Textile producers, on the other hand, are
even more nervous. “Turkish textile and apparel producers have a corner in the
Russian market. Many Turkish brands have investments in Russia. They are
gaining experience in Russia. However, due to the economic crisis in Russia,
our exports have shrunk to very low levels. We were already waiting anxiously
for the sector to recover,” İstanbul Apparel and Textile Exporters Association
(İHKİB) President HikmetTanrıverdi told the Hürriyet daily.
Turkish construction and beverage companies
also have significant interests in Russia. Shares in EnkaInsaat, which has
construction projects in Russia and two power plants in Turkey using Russian
gas, fell for a second day on Wednesday. Brewer AnadoluEfes, which has six
breweries in Russia and controls around 14% of the market, also saw its shares
fall on Tuesday. Turkish shares hit six-week lows on Wednesday and the lira
extended losses on fears that rising tensions with Russia could hurt the already
shaky economy. The lira fell to as low as 2.89 against the US dollar on
Wednesday. Shares in Turkish Airlines slipped to new two-month lows while
developer Enka shed 2.7%.
Turkey
imports almost all of its energy from Russia, including 60% of its gas and 35%
of its oil. Russia's state Atomic Energy Corporation (Rosatom) is due to build
Turkey's first nuclear power station, a $20 billion project, while plans are on
the table for a gas pipeline from Russia known as TurkStream. Russia is also
active in the Turkish banking sector. Russia's Sberbank operates in Turkey and
signed a 500 million euro loan deal in June to finance the construction of
İstanbul's third airport.
When looking at trade ties with Russia,
Turkey is on the weaker end of the two countries' trade balance. As of the end of 2014, Turkey had imported
more than $23 billion in goods from Russia while exporting just under $6
billion. While natural gas accounts for the bulk of the imports, the
countries share trade ties in other sectors including the textile, food and
automotive industries. In the first nine
months of this year, Turkey imported $15.8 billion in goods from Russia,
exporting only $2.7 billion. Here are the key areas of economic and trade
relations between the two countries:
Tourism
- Turkey's seaside resorts are among the
most popular tourism destinations for Russians; for Turkey, Russia is the
source of the second-largest number of tourist arrivals after Germany.
- Turkey, which has visa-free travel with
Russia, has become more attractive for Russian tourists after Moscow suspended
flights to Egypt. About 4.4 million Russians, including 3.3 million Russian
tourists, visited Turkey in 2014.
Food
- Turkish food exports so far have not been
affected by Moscow's ban on most Western food imports launched in 2014. Last
year, 4% of Turkey's exports, mainly textiles and food, worth $6 billion went
to Russia, Renaissance Capital said in a note on Tuesday.
- Turkish food exports to Russia have
fallen 40 percent over January to September this year to $2.7 billion.
- Russia is Turkey's biggest export market
for fruits and vegetables, at the $1 billion mark, with the second largest
buyer of Turkish produce being Germany, at $300 million.
Energy and
commodities
- Turkey is
the second-largest buyer of Russian natural gas after Germany. Russia is
Turkey's largest natural gas supplier, with Ankara buying 28-30 billion cubic
meters (bcm) of its 50 bcm of natural gas needs annually from Russia.
- Russia
also supplies oil and oil products to Turkey. Russia was its fourth-largest
supplier in 2013, according to the Russian Embassy in Turkey.
- Turkey together with Egypt is the largest
buyer of Russian wheat. It bought 4.1 million tons of Russian wheat in the
previous marketing year, which ended on June 30. Turkey is also a large buyer
of Russian steel semi-finished products.
Projects
- Turkey commissioned Russia's state-owned
Rosatom in 2013 to build four 1,200-megawatt reactors in a project worth $20
billion.
- Russia and Turkey also have the
TurkStream pipeline project, an alternative to Russia's South Stream pipeline
to transport gas to Europe without crossing Ukraine. The South Stream plan was
dropped last year due to objections from the European Commission.
- Russia's Gazprom has recently almost halved
the planned capacity of its TurkStream gas pipeline project to 32 billion cubic
meters (bcm) per year.
Construction, retail
- Turkish contractors have been engaged in
nearly 2,000 projects in Russia since 1988 at a value of nearly $62 billion. In
2014 alone, contractors were pursuing 47 projects in Russia with a total value
of $3.9 billion.
- Russians have also shown significant
interest in the Turkish housing sector, as the third top foreign buyer of
Turkish real estate in the first ten months of this year.
- A total of 36,000 Turkish people work in
Russia, including 1,000 employers, while Turkish investors hold $6.5 billion in
investments in this country.
- More than 30 Turkish brands operate
around 7,000 stores in Russia, though that number has reportedly declined
recently amid the country's economic crisis. Most of them are clothing stores,
while furniture and home furnishing brands are active in Russia.
14. Russian
airstrikes target aid convoy in north-western Syrian town of Azaz
Turkish daily Sabah (online, 26.11.15)
reports that at least seven people died,
10 got injured after an apparent airstrike, reportedly by Russian jets,
targeted an aid convoy in northwestern Syrian town of Azaz near a border
crossing with Turkey on Wednesday.
Footage filmed at a crossing on the Syrian
side of the border with Turkey's southern province of Kilis showed lorries
burning. The head of the rebel-run border crossing in the same area said
separately that air strikes hit a garage for commercial trailers, killing seven
lorry drivers.
Anadolu news agency reported that 20
lorries were targeted, which were carrying cement and iron brought from Turkey
in a regular procedure.
Speaking to Daily Sabah, SerkanNergis from
the Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH) said that the tucks were probably carrying aid supplies or commercial materials.
Anaid worker who filmed the aftermath
initially said that it appeared that aid trucks had been targeted.
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TURKISH AFFAIRS SECTION
(DPs/
AM)
