Turkey’s Policies in Its Overlapping Neighbourhood with Russia and the European Union

Abstract

After the enlargements of the European Union (EU) in 2004 and 2007, the importance of the Black Sea region, including the Caucasus (Wider Black Sea), increased in the agenda of the Union, and Russia became a geographical neighbour of the EU. Whereas the EU started showing interest in the region only after its enlargement, Turkey emphasised its importance by initiating the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) already in 1992, immediately after the end of the Cold War. By doing so, Turkey demonstrated its intention to focus on a multilateral regional approach, until the international conjuncture and the surprise effect of the changes in the international scene following the 9/11 attacks forced Turkey to address other priorities. Similarly, for more than two decades, Turkey has been making efforts towards strengthening its relations with Russia while balancing its policies towards the west and the east. The first part of this chapter analyses Turkey’s regional policies in relation to the EU, the second part in relation to Russia. The chapter concludes by answering questions regarding Turkey’s perception of the EU and Russia in the region, its own role and its EU accession ambitions. The questions that the chapter tackles include: How does Turkey perceive the other two actors and their policies in its neighbourhood? How does Turkey see its own role in its neighbourhood?