Turkey and Crimean Tatars: more like Brotherhood than coastal neighborhood of the Black Sea bit.ly/1n9DbYH | RFE/RL [Straits in Between-2] 1. Turkish PM Erdogan is ethnic-Tatar ISTANBUL, Turkey — The Crimean Tatars, an ethnic-Turkic people with millions of its diaspora living inside Turkey, would appear to fit in with the role Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has carved out for himself. He is also the leader of the Islamist-rooted Justice and Development party (AKP). 2. Erdogan backed Morsi, against Assad Erdogan has spent much political capital casting Ankara as a protector of Muslims along its periphery. He was a harsh critic of the overthrow of Muslim Brotherhood leader and Egyptian President Muhammad Morsi, and was one of the first world leaders to call for military intervention in Syria against the regime of Bashar al-Assad in the Arab Spring uprising. 3. Turkeys FM the first envoy for new govt in Kiev Amid the recent political upheaval in Ukraine, Ahmet Davutoglu, Turkeys foreign minister, was the first envoy to meet with Ukraines new government in Kyiv, following months of protests that led to the ouster of the countrys pro-Russian president, Viktor Yanukovych. 4. Erdogan promised NOT to leave Crimean Tatars With an eye on the past, Erdogan himself has promised not to leave Crimean Tatars in the lurch. But Erdogan, who has appeared at times to relish conflict with other world leaders, has carefully nurtured his relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin and appears unlikely to stake out a position that would put Ankara-Moscow ties at serious risk. 5. Turkey gets 3/4 of gas/oil from Iran/Russia If you look at Erdogans mercurial political style, he has pretty much yelled at every and any head of government he has dealt with, with the exception of the Russian and the Iranian president, Cagaptay says, not because he likes them necessarily but because Turkey gets about three-quarters of its gas and oil from Iran and Russia. 6. Ottoman Empire fought 17 wars with Russia Ottoman-Russian history is also a factor, says Cagaptay, who wrote in a recent paper that, over a period of almost 400 years, the Ottoman Empire fought in at least 17 wars with Russia and lost all of them. 7. 1936 Montreaux treaty: Turkey control over Bosphorus straits Further complicating matters is that the 1936 Montreaux treaty, which gives Turkey control over the straits that link the Black Sea to the Mediterranean, also limits the weight of warships that would be allowed to pass through from states not located on the Black Sea. Any adaptation of this restriction by Turkey in favor of its NATO partners would put the treaty at risk. Next ▶ [Straits in Between-3] Ankaras role to resolve Ukraine crisis Read in full on Rfe : bit.ly/1n9DbYH
Posted on: Mon, 10 Mar 2014 04:11:11 +0000