– Turkish Russian relations AsthetwomostinfluentialandpowerfulactorsinEurasiathenatureof the Turkish-Russian relationship affects the situation in the Black Sea, South Caucasus, Central Asia and Middle East and steers the foreign policy formulations of both regional states and global powers. Examin- ing post-Cold War relations between Eurasia’s most prominent actors, this book takes into account regional dynamics and global power struggles and identifies three important stages in Turkish-Russian rela- tions during the period. Using complex interdependency theory the authoroffersvaluableinsightsintotheinitialconfrontationalperiodand its transition to an atmosphere of compromise, cooperation and the evolution of multi-dimensional partnership. Leadership theory then explains the most recent deterioration in rapport as crises in Syria and Ukraine have placed severe strain on the previously warm bilateral relations. Fatma Aslı Kelkitli isAssistant Professor in the department of Political Science and Public Administration at Istanbul Arel University. – Turkish Russian relations Competition and Cooperation in Eurasia ı Fatma Asl Kelkitli Firstpublished2017 byRoutledge 2ParkSquare,MiltonPark,Abingdon,OxonOX144RN andbyRoutledge 711ThirdAvenue,NewYork,NY10017 RoutledgeisanimprintoftheTaylor&FrancisGroup,aninforma business ©2017FatmaAslıKelkitli TherightofFatmaAslıKelkitlitobeidentifiedasauthorofthis workhasbeenassertedbyherinaccordancewithsections77and 78oftheCopyright,DesignsandPatentsAct1988. Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthisbookmaybereprintedor reproducedorutilisedinanyformorbyanyelectronic,mechanical, orothermeans,nowknownorhereafterinvented,including photocopyingandrecording,orinanyinformationstorageor retrievalsystem,withoutpermissioninwritingfromthepublishers. Trademarknotice:Productorcorporatenamesmaybetrademarks orregisteredtrademarks,andareusedonlyforidentificationand explanationwithoutintenttoinfringe. BritishLibraryCataloguinginPublicationData AcataloguerecordforthisbookisavailablefromtheBritish Library LibraryofCongressCataloginginPublicationData Names:Kelkitli,FatmaAslı,author. Title:Turkish-Russianrelations:competitionandcooperationin Eurasia/FatmaAslıKelkitli. Description:Abingdon,Oxon;NewYork,NY:Routledge,2017.| Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex. Identifiers:LCCN2016042577|ISBN9781138218284(hardback)| ISBN9781315437934(e-book) Subjects:LCSH:Turkey--Foreignrelations--Russia(Federation)| Russia(Federation)--Foreignrelations--Turkey.|Geopolitics-- Eurasia.Classification:LCCDR479.R9K452017|DDC 327.561047--dc23 LCrecordavailableathttps://lccn.loc.gov/2016042577 ISBN:9781138218284(hbk) ISBN:9781315437934(ebk) TypesetinTimesNewRoman byTaylor&FrancisBooks Contents List of tables vii Acknowledgements viii Introduction 1 PARTI Multiple ties that bind Turkey and Russia 17 1 Flourishing of a multifaceted relationship 19 PARTII The issues of competition and cooperation 33 2 Clashing positions amidst attempts to gain ground in the South Caucasus 35 3 Low-intensity Turkish–Russian rivalry in the Steppes of Central Asia 57 4 Collaboration in the Black Sea 65 5 Sensitive spots: Chechen and Kurdish matters 77 6 The growing gap in the Middle East 86 vi Contents PARTIII Consolidation of economic association 103 7 Broadening and deepening of economic bonds 105 Conclusion 129 Index 137 Tables 3.1 Natural gas transportation by years (1987–2015) (million cubic meters) 111 Acknowledgements Some parts of Chapter 2 were published as an article named “Russian Foreign Policy in South Caucasus under Putin” in Perceptions (Jour- nal of International Affairs) 13(4), 2008, by the Center for Strategic Research (SAM), and some parts of Chapter 3 were published as an article named “The Meeting of the Crescent and the Dragon: Post- Cold War Sino-Turkish Rivalry and Cooperation in Central Asia and the Middle East” in the Journal of Central Asian and Caucasian Stu- dies 9(17), 2014, by the International Strategic Research Organization (USAK). They reappear here with the publishers’ permission. Introduction This book examines the post-Cold War bilateral relationship between Eurasia’s two prominent and long-standing actors, Turkey and Russia, by taking into account regional dynamics as well as global power struggles that have impact on their interaction. Probing the course of Turkish–Russian rapport is significant due to the fact that these two countries are the most influential and powerful actors in Eurasiaby all historical, political, economic and military accounts. For this reason the state of their relationship, its character of being conflictual or cooperational has region-wide implications, affecting the situation in the Black Sea, South Caucasus, Central Asia and Middle East and steers the foreign policy formulations of both the regional states and also of the global focuses of power that has interests and stakes in these regions. This study will investigate the post-Cold War Turkish–Russian rela- tions by focusing on the two states’ association in the fields of politics, economics and security. It is possible to observe three important shifts in the course of Turkish–Russian relations in this erawhich aredefined as problem/goal changes by Charles Hermann (1990, 5). First, the conflictual and confrontational atmosphere of the early 1990s during which Turkey and Russia occasionally tangled over bilateral and regional matters that is to say accusing each other of supporting the separatist forces in each other’s territory, squabbling over passage of Russian ships through Turkish Straits and provisions of Treaty on Conventional Forces in Europe, siding with different parties of the conflicts in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Nagorno-Karabakh and backing competitive energy projects, evolved into a climate of mod- eration and compromise at the end of the decade which resulted in toning down of the mutual complaints and harsh criticisms in addition to the planting of the seeds of lasting cooperation between the two states in the energy field.