85
• Supporting countries in developing close relations beyond the region.
Throughout the 1990s, Turkey played an important role in regional security in
Central Asia and the Caspian Sea by virtue of the BTC pipeline. In a globalizing
world, ever-increasing energy demands are shaping not only the economic but also
the strategic policies of all nations. With this in mind, the Republic of Turkey has
focused its efforts on the development of economic, safe, and environmentally sensitive transport systems to transport the rich hydrocarbon reserves of the Caspian
Basin to Western markets. The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Crude Oil Pipeline Project is
just one of the results of these efforts. Within the scope of HPBH Project, the BTC
aims to transport mostly Azerbaijani petroleum produced in the region to Ceyhan
and to transport it to world markets via tankers, beginning in Baku and ending in
Ceyhan (www.btc.com.tr 2016).
This critical project aims to establish a safe transport system to be used to export
petroleum to the international market. In addition, the project will establish a transport system that is both economically viable and environmentally sustainable. With
the BTC HPBH, the most critical leg of the East-West Energy Corridor, both the
geopolitical importance of Turkey and the political and economic stability of
Azerbaijan and Georgia will be contributed. The project ensures that Azerbaijan
will be among the best producers in the world, with Georgia becoming an important
transit nation. The route will form an energy bridge between the East and the West
and, as important as anything else, will lead to other pipeline projects that will transport crude oil and natural gas from the countries of the region to world markets, as
highlighted on many national and international platforms (www.btc.com.tr 2016).
Mustafa Aydin argues that the successes of Turkish policy toward Central Asia
and the Caspian States are self-evidently limited, giving the example of Turkey’s
meager contributions to the ethnic conflicts which have split the Caucasus region
(Aydin 2005:10). After the collapse of the Soviet Union, fears mounted about the
possible expansion of radical Islam into the power vacuum which formed in its
wake, yet Turkey’s secular political system combined with a liberal economy provided a model to work from. Turkey, with its own modest economic and industrial
resources, has been limited in its actual ability to influence Central Asia and the
Caspian region, but the strengthening of nationalist leadership in the Central Asian
Turkic republics will benefit Turkey in long term. Despite several setbacks, the
emergence of newly independent Turkic republics in the region represented a turning point in Turkey’s regional role. Turkey has become one of the key players in a
region where it previously had an insignificant influence. The lesson learned is that,
Russia’s position notwithstanding, an overly aggressive foreign policy in Central
Asia and the Caucasus is not advisable given the demonstrable success that has been
achieved through cooperation rather than competition (Aydin 2005:10).
Brenda Shaffer however believes that in the latter phase of its Caspian energy
diplomacy, Turkey ought to be viewed by regional states as no more than an actor
working in sync with the United States. This view chimes with Baku and Tbilisi’s
enthusiasm for sharing strategic cooperation with Ankara in the Caspian. Turkey
also has an infrastructure problem, and domestic pipelines may not have the capacTurkey
• Supporting countries in developing close relations beyond the region.
Throughout the 1990s, Turkey played an important role in regional security in
Central Asia and the Caspian Sea by virtue of the BTC pipeline. In a globalizing
world, ever-increasing energy demands are shaping not only the economic but also
the strategic policies of all nations. With this in mind, the Republic of Turkey has
focused its efforts on the development of economic, safe, and environmentally sensitive transport systems to transport the rich hydrocarbon reserves of the Caspian
Basin to Western markets. The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan Crude Oil Pipeline Project is
just one of the results of these efforts. Within the scope of HPBH Project, the BTC
aims to transport mostly Azerbaijani petroleum produced in the region to Ceyhan
and to transport it to world markets via tankers, beginning in Baku and ending in
Ceyhan (www.btc.com.tr 2016).
This critical project aims to establish a safe transport system to be used to export
petroleum to the international market. In addition, the project will establish a transport system that is both economically viable and environmentally sustainable. With
the BTC HPBH, the most critical leg of the East-West Energy Corridor, both the
geopolitical importance of Turkey and the political and economic stability of
Azerbaijan and Georgia will be contributed. The project ensures that Azerbaijan
will be among the best producers in the world, with Georgia becoming an important
transit nation. The route will form an energy bridge between the East and the West
and, as important as anything else, will lead to other pipeline projects that will transport crude oil and natural gas from the countries of the region to world markets, as
highlighted on many national and international platforms (www.btc.com.tr 2016).
Mustafa Aydin argues that the successes of Turkish policy toward Central Asia
and the Caspian States are self-evidently limited, giving the example of Turkey’s
meager contributions to the ethnic conflicts which have split the Caucasus region
(Aydin 2005:10). After the collapse of the Soviet Union, fears mounted about the
possible expansion of radical Islam into the power vacuum which formed in its
wake, yet Turkey’s secular political system combined with a liberal economy provided a model to work from. Turkey, with its own modest economic and industrial
resources, has been limited in its actual ability to influence Central Asia and the
Caspian region, but the strengthening of nationalist leadership in the Central Asian
Turkic republics will benefit Turkey in long term. Despite several setbacks, the
emergence of newly independent Turkic republics in the region represented a turning point in Turkey’s regional role. Turkey has become one of the key players in a
region where it previously had an insignificant influence. The lesson learned is that,
Russia’s position notwithstanding, an overly aggressive foreign policy in Central
Asia and the Caucasus is not advisable given the demonstrable success that has been
achieved through cooperation rather than competition (Aydin 2005:10).
Brenda Shaffer however believes that in the latter phase of its Caspian energy
diplomacy, Turkey ought to be viewed by regional states as no more than an actor
working in sync with the United States. This view chimes with Baku and Tbilisi’s
enthusiasm for sharing strategic cooperation with Ankara in the Caspian. Turkey
also has an infrastructure problem, and domestic pipelines may not have the capacTurkey