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No Conflict but Competition Between Turkey and Russia: Turkish FM
Turkish Foreign Minister Ismail Cem said on Thursday there is no conflict, but peaceful yet intense competition between Turkey and Russia in Central Asia and Caucasus.
Cem made the remarks on the first day of a conference of Turkish ambassadors to countries in the region, adding Turkey has put special emphasis on its relations with these countries where many Turkish companies are pouring investments.
The minister paid a visit to Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan last week.
The visits, in addition to the ambassadors' meeting, came amid rising criticism within the country that Ankara has been neglecting this neighboring region.
Critics said that following the collapse of the former Soviet Union, there was an important opportunity for Turkey to assert itself among the newly independent Turkic-speaking countries in the region, but relations between Turkey and these countries have not reached a "satisfactory" level.
Turkey hopes a 1,760-kilometers-long oil pipeline crossing Georgia and linking the Azeri capital Baku with the Turkish Mediterranean port of Ceyhan will be pumping by mid-2004.
The Baku-Ceyhan pipeline deal was signed among the three countries on the sidelines of Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) summit at Istanbul last November, under the promotion of the United States.
Moscow opposes the plan, arguing oil should run to a Russian terminal for transport by tanker through Istanbul's Bosphorus Strait.
Analysts said that whether the line is finally built or not, it's clear Russia sees Turkey as acting here as an instrument of U.S. policy, in which Washington quietly wresting control of its traditional sphere of influence.
Stressing the importance of bringing Caspian rich oil and natural gas resources to the world market, Cem said Turkey has been willing to cooperate with all countries, including Russia, on energy issues.
But he said Turkey will not allow the use of the Turkish straits as a pipeline during transportation, citing that crashes of oil tankers through the straits are endangering the life of 12 million people at Istanbul, Turkey's biggest city, across the straits.
The minister viewed "ethnic separatism" and "radical religious terrorism" as two major threats in Central Asia and Caucasus, calling for increased cooperation on these security issues among Turkey, countries in the region and Russia.
Turkey has been trying to enlist Russia to a "Caucasus Stability Pact", aiming at forestalling a chaos it sees imperilling its strategic economic and political interests in the region.
The pact was raised by Turkish former President Suleyman Demirel, a vigorous proponent of Turkish interests in the Caucasus and Central Asia, during a visit to neighboring Georgia.
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