The September 15-16 Turkic summit in Istanbul -- or, as Turkish President Abdullah Gül might put it, the family reunion -- saw the launching of a supranational club meant to help integrate and increase the global clout of Turkic-language-speaking countries. The “[s]iblings, who gathered following a long separation” can now further their interests and promote development and stability through the new Cooperation Council, Gül told his counterparts from Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan.
In Gül's words, this secular fraternity is all about values, influence, success and, of course, giving love. “The hearts of your siblings in Turkey will beat together during our bitter and sweet days,” declared Gül as he exchanged rhapsodic courtesies with fellow Turkic leaders. “We are from now on one nation, but we are also six states,” he declared in a takeoff on the old “one nation, two states” slogan describing the relationship between Turkey and its close ally, Azerbaijan.
Azerbaijan, a big Turkic integration enthusiast, suggested that the Council must be complemented with a common kitty to sponsor joint projects. The "fund will be established in the near future and Azerbaijan will ensure all the necessary financial support for the project,” Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said. Turkic nations already cooperate through a parliamentary assembly, TurkPa, that held its first plenary session last year.
NATO's disaster-preparation exercise in Armenia has begun, and the Turks taking part did not, in the end, cross the border:
More than half of the exercise participants are Armenian rescuers and firefighters employed by Yeritsian’s ministry. Ten others represent neighboring Turkey, with which Armenia has no diplomatic relations.
With the Turkish-Armenian border remaining closed, the Turks had to travel to Armenia via Georgia. Turkish officials indicated in July that Ankara might temporarily reopen the frontier for the exercise. Officials in Yerevan dismissed such possibility as public relations stunt.
On 11 September 2010 at 09:05 a.m., an earthquake of 7.2 Richter Scale (equal to the moment magnitude) occurred in the Kotayk region of the Republic of Armenia. The hypocenter was located in 10 km depth, and the epicentre was located 8 km north-east of the city of Abovyan.
A high number of casualties have been reported (first estimations amount to 12,000 dead and 17,000 wounded) and thousands of buildings have been destroyed. The cities of Charencavan and Abovyan, as well as the adjacent rural communities are amongst the most affected areas.
The water supply and drainage systems of the region are no longer functioning. Means of communication, gas and energy supply systems, as well as infrastructure and means of transport are heavily affected. Fires have spread, the hospitals of the region have been destroyed and humanitarian organisations cannot operate anymore. Thousands of citizens have lost their homes. The international airport of Yerevan was affected by the earthquake but is still usable...
Turkey's new national security strategy is formally removing Greece, Iran, Iraq and Russia from its official list of "threats" -- but that's not keeping Ankara from going on an unprecedented arms buying spree, including new fighter jets, attack helicopters, tanks and submarines, reports Hurriyet:
“You don’t buy weapons to use them in wars, you buy them for deterrence. As your deterrence increases, and you need to be really strong for that, your potential enemies refrain from attacking you,” one senior procurement official said Wednesday, explaining the logic behind the continued large-scale arms-purchasing programs.
Turkey currently spends more than $4 billion a year on defense procurement, a figure that is expected to rise by at least $1 billion not long after 2015 due to the new large-scale buys.
Today's Zaman has a little more on the changed thinking on Russia:
Russia, whose energy and Caucasus policies were seen as a threat to Turkey in the past, is now to be described as a potential partner which can cooperate with Turkey on trade and which shares with Ankara a common vision for stability in the Caucasus.
No word on whether Armenia is still a threat, and no mention of establishing a base in Azerbaijan.
Construction and machinery work starts on the final stages of the mainland tunnels that will connect with the current undersea Bosphorus tunnel. Engineers prepare the drilling machinery for the final stages. The tunnel is due to open in 2012.
Jonathan Lewis is a freelance photojournalist based in Istanbul.
That's what the Russian newspaper Nezavismaya Gaezta says, citing Azeri news reports alleging Azeri dissatisfaction with their relations with Russia (summary via RT):
Meanwhile, Azerbaijan and Turkey may have prepared their “symmetrical answer to Yerevan and Moscow,” Nezavisimaya Gazeta daily said. A Turkish military base may be deployed in Azerbaijan as a result of the talks between Baku and Ankara, the paper noted.
“The topic was allegedly discussed during the recent visit of Turkey's President Abdullah Gul to Baku and his meeting with Azerbaijan’s leader Ilkham Aliev," the daily said. According to Azerbaijan’s media, the military base may be deployed in Nakhichevan autonomous republic, an exclave between Armenia and Turkey.
The relations between Turkey and Azerbaijan are so close that the question arises why Ankara has not yet deployed its military base in the friendly country, the paper asked. Baku may have expected Russia’s more effective role in settling the conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh, the daily explained.
Hoping that Russia could “influence its strategic ally – Yerevan – and help to promote the restoration of Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity,” Baku "did not venture on strengthening a pro-Turkey vector or another one,” the daily stressed.
However, the authorities in Baku think that “expectations were overestimated” as the situation over Nagorno-Karabakh remains unchanged, the daily said.
“Baku, in fact, has determined the limitation of its expectations after which it will probably try to change the situation in its favor by other actions,” the daily said. “This limit is President Medvedev’s visit to Baku scheduled for September.”
Ramadan is the month-long festival considered to be the most important in the Islamic faith, during which many fast throughout the day in order to reflect and worship. Ramazan, as it is called in Turkish, is celebrated in Istanbul as a joyous festival with daily events held around the city peaking at Iftar, the meal at sundown that signals the end of the daily fast.
Many Istanbulites have been taking Iftar outside to beat the summer heat, making this a very difficult and long Ramadan. Due to the long summer days of August, those who fast are not supposed to eat, drink or smoke from roughly sunrise at 5 a.m. until sunset after 8:30 p.m.Though not all Turks fast, the trend seems to be growing.
Monique Jaques is a freelance photojournalist working in Turkey and Afghanistan.
Mohammed Mostafaei, a human rights lawyer for an Iranian woman who was recently sentenced to death by stoning, looks out from a barred window at the Kumkapi Foreigners Detention center in Istanbul on Aug. 5. At the time of the photo, Mostafaei was unsure whether he'd be sent back to Iran, from where he fled after an arrest warrant had been issued for him.
The 31-year-old said he first fled to Turkey, where he was detained for an undisclosed passport issue. He then flew to Norway two days later with a one-year Norwegian travel visa and may consider applying for asylum. Mostafaei has promoted the case and the sentence of Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani widely within the international community.
Jonathan Lewis is a freelance photojournalist based in Istanbul.
Russia has clarified its short-term modernization plans for the Black Sea Fleet:
Three patrol boats of a new project and three submarines of 636 project will be laid up at Russian shipyards for the Black Sea Fleet before the end of 2010, Russian Navy Commander Admiral Vladimir Vysotsky said.
"They [the ships] will be included in the Black Sea Fleet," Vysotsky said. "The three submarines of the 636 project have already been laid, and they will be included in submarine forces of the Black Sea Fleet."
The ships appear, given Vysotksy's description, to be Krivak III class frigates, a version of which has been produced for export to India. That would contradict some earlier reports that the ships would be the newer Admiral Gorshkov-class frigates. And Moscow appears to have opted for 636(Kilo)-class submarines rather than the newer Lada/St. Petersburg class that some had expected. (A side note: Really? You're naming a new submarine 'Lada'?)
While this may be look like a downscaling of Russia's expectations, it's a more realistic plan that has a greater chance of success, argued Dmitry Gorenburg in a good analysis of Russia's Black Sea Fleet plans a month ago:
If the Navy announces that the new ships will consist of Admiral Gorshkov frigates and Lada submarines, the Black Sea Fleet is likely to be in for more delays and disappointments. But if the modernization does end up consisting of Kilo submarines and Krivak III frigates, then it is much more likely to happen quickly and successfully.
In addition, Russia will soon be getting back its only currently functional submarine in the Black Sea Fleet:
Young girls play on July 18 in the central Istanbul district of Tarlabasi, a community facing displacement as developers threaten the run down, but centrally located district.
Jonathan Lewis is a freelance photojournalist based in Istanbul.
Remember when we thought that the prospect of Turkish troops going to Armenia, through a temporarily opened border, for a NATO exercise was a further step toward rapprochement between the two countries? Well, never mind. For all the enthusiasm Turkey apparently held for the idea, it was less popular among Armenian officials, who quickly rejected the notion:
The Armenian Foreign Ministry refrained from officially commenting on the possibility of a temporary border opening. But a diplomatic source in Yerevan shrugged off the Turkish statement as "a public-relations stunt aimed at burnishing Turkey's image."
"Armenia has no desire to contribute to that effort," the source, who asked not to be identified, told RFE/RL. The Armenian government might refuse to let any personnel or vehicles enter the country from Turkey during the exercise, he added.
Other Armenian officials went on the record rejecting the Turkish reports:
The talks on a temporary opening of the Armenian-Turkish border during the NATO military drills to be held on September 11-17 in Armenia are groundless, assure correspondents of the RA Ministry of Emergency Situations with which NATO is organizing this year's military drills.
During the initial and final planning conferences organized within the framework of the NATO military drills, there was no mention of the opening of the Armenian-Turkish border. The Armenian, North-Atlantic and Turkish delegations didn't even make a proposal," Deputy Director of Armenia's Rescue Service of the RA Ministry of Emergency Situations Sergey Azaryan told "A1+".
