Event Summary
Historically, relations between Turkey and Russia have been characterized more often by competition—if not outright war—than by cooperation. Yet centuries of imperial rivalry and decades of Cold War hostility have recently given way to quite different dynamics. Russia has become Turkey’s largest trading partner and a major target of Turkish foreign investment. Since Vladimir Putin became the first Russian leader to visit Turkey in 500 years, engagement between the two countries has increased in intensity and seriousness. Some analysts have seen a convergence of perspective between Ankara and Moscow on issues ranging from Palestine to Iran to the Caucasus. Further, as energy looms larger in the domestic and regional calculus of both countries, especially in terms of their respective European relationships, the strategic importance of their rapprochement has grown.
Event Information
When
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
9:30 AM to 3:45 PM
Where
Saul/Zilkha Rooms
The Brookings Institution
1775 Massachusetts Ave., NW
Washington, DC
Map
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On July 15, the Center on the United States and Europe and the Energy Security Initiative at Brookings hosted leading experts from Turkey, Russia and Europe for a conference focusing on Turkey’s and Russia’s roles in European energy security and the role of energy in shaping cooperation and stability in neighboring regions. Richard Morningstar, special envoy for Eurasian energy at the U.S. Department of State, provided a keynote address.
Participants
Panel 1: Emerging Russian-Turkish Relations
Nonresident Fellow and Director, Turkey Project, The Brookings Institution
Stephen Larrabee
Senior Political Scientist, RAND Corporation
Vladimir Milov
President, Institute of Energy Policy, Russia
Volkan Vural
Counselor to Chairman, Doğan Holding, Turkey
Panel 2: The East-West Energy Corridor and Europe's Energy Security
Alexandros Petersen
Fellow for Transatlantic Energy Security and Associate Director, Eurasia Energy Center
Atlantic Council of the United States
Acting Director, Center on the United States and Europe, The Brookings Institution
Mithat Balkan
Former Turkish Ambassador to Iran and Austria
Jeff D. Makholm
Senior Vice President, National Economic Research Associates, Inc.
Keynote Address: U.S. Energy Diplomacy in Eurasia
Visiting Fellow, The Brookings Institution
Keynote Address: Richard Morningstar
Special Envoy for Eurasian Energy, U.S. Department of State
Panel 3: Common and Competing Interests in the Region
Moderator: Martha Brill Olcott
Senior Associate, Russia and Eurasia Program, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Saban Kardas
Research Assistant, Sakarya University, Turkey
Cory Welt
Director, Eurasian Strategy Project, Georgetown University
Victor Nadein-Raevsky
Senior Scientific Research Fellow, Institute for World Economy and International Relations (IMEMO), Russia