TUSIAD Turkey Letter: 28 October 2013

US envoy concerned about Turkey’s China missile deal, praises intelligence chief
As conveyed through remarks by Ricciardone, the White House’s position over Ankara’s prospective deal with China is quite clear-cut. Such deal will have an impact on decades-long bilateral defense cooperation between the two longstanding NATO allies, since Turkish companies involved will be subject to U.S. sanctions.
“We are very concerned about the prospective deal with the sanctioned Chinese firm. Yes this is a commercial decision, it is Turkey’s sovereign right, but we are concerned about what it means for the allied air defense,” Ricciardone told reporters, as he underlined that the issue is now “a strategic mutual defense question.”
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Hurriyet Daily News, 24 October 2013, US envoy concerned about Turkey’s China missile deal, praises intelligence chief

Turkey, Iraq eye closer cooperation on Syria as relations thaw
Turkey and Iraq, both concerned by the rise of al Qaeda in Syria, said on Friday their strained relations were improving and they would cooperate more closely to limit the spillover from Syria’s civil war.
The two countries’ dealings have been tense in recent years, not least because of Turkey’s strengthening ties with northern Iraq’s autonomous Kurdistan region, locked in a dispute with the federal government over oil and land rights.
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Reuters, 25 October 2013, Turkey, Iraq eye closer cooperation on Syria as relations thaw

International Oil Companies Gamble on Turkey’s Shale Gas
While information on Turkey’s hydrocarbon reserves remains elusive, some shale investors are willing to take the risk.
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Al-monitor, 25 October 2013, International Oil Companies Gamble on Turkey’s Shale Gas

Kurdish rebels are ready to re-enter Turkey from northern Iraq, the head of the group’s political wing said at his mountain hideout, threatening to rekindle an insurgency unless Ankara resuscitates their peace process soon.
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Reuters, 22 October 2013, Kurdish rebels threaten new fight in Turkey as Syria clashes intensify

Turkey’s controversial infrastructure
The world’s first sea tunnel linking two continents will be inaugurated on October 29th, marking the 90th anniversary of the founding of Ataturk’s Republic. Stretching over 76km (47 miles), and with 1.4km of it laid at the bottom of the sea, the $3 billion “Marmaray” rail system will “eventually link London to Beijing, creating unimagined global connections” boasts Mustafa Kara, mayor of Istanbul’s Uskudar district, where the tunnel comes out.
Turkey’s prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, initiated the scheme in 2004 in his Justice and Development (AK) party’s first term in power. By 2025 over a million commuters are expected to use what even AK’s critics concede is an engineering marvel, thinning the nightmarish traffic that plagues this city of 14m people.
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The Economist, 26 October 2013, The Sultans Dream

Turkey to spend $60 bln on R&D by 2013
The Turkish government aims to increase its federal budget allocation to research and development (R&D) to 3 percent, valuing at approximately $60 billion, by 2023, Technology Minister Nihat Ergun said.
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Turkish Press Review, 23 October 2013, Turkey to spend $60 bln on R&D by 2013