Saudi ban shows importance of rules-based trade
Güven Sak, PhD
25 October 2020
Turkey still does not have an ambassador in Tel Aviv, our president campaigns against Israel whenever he gets the chance, and conditions under the COVID-19 pandemic are less than ideal, yet Turkish-Israeli trade continues unhindered. In the first nine months of 2020, Turkey’s exports to Israel amounted to $3.2 billion, almost the same as the export volume of 2019. Troubled political relations between the two countries have not had a direct impact on bilateral trade. There are no calls for boycotts, nor measures to slow down trade between Turkey and Israel. Despite the troubled relationship between Erdoğan and Netanyahu, the system works.
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A Schuman Plan for Cyprus
Güven Sak, PhD
18 October 2020
Turkish Cyprus is due to hold the second round of its presidential elections on Sunday. The tragedy of the situation is that the outcome of the election probably won’t change things too much for the enclave to go forward. Whoever gets elected will have to act within a very narrow margin of choices because the Cyprus conflict is no longer merely about the inhabitants of the island.
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Turkey is aging at an inopportune time
Güven Sak, PhD
11 October 2020
“A pessimist sees the difficulty at every opportunity, the optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty” said Churchill. I consider myself a born again optimist, yet as an experienced citizen of Turkey, I see much difficulty as well. Like Madeleine Albright, I am an optimist who worries a lot nowadays.
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Turkey is diversifying its energy imports
Güven Sak, PhD
04 October 2020
In a secret meeting in 1942, then U.K Prime Minister Winston Churchill said, “The challenge of working with allies is that sometimes they develop opinions of their own and we don’t always perhaps give those opinions the respect they deserve.” Alliances are crucial for success in foreign policy. Good alliances cannot form unless statesmen understand the concerns and possible regional problems of their allies and take the long view. Everybody, including Turkey, needs to think about these words of wisdom.
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