Turkmen Terzi
The South Caucasus region has grown increasingly important for the energy security of a large part of the world, as it is situated at the centre of Eurasia’s major energy and transport corridors.
The region, comprising the former Soviet republics of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia, is known to be one of the most unstable in the world due to its strategic location and rich mineral resources. Turkey was among the first countries to recognize the independence of these three South Caucasus nations following the dissolution of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) in 1991.
Turkey played a key role in Azerbaijan’s military victory over Armenia in Nagorno-Karabakh in November 2020 after 44 days of war. Since then, Turkey has begun challenging Russia and Iran’s dominance in the South Caucasus region.
Turkey has historical ties with the South Caucasus nations as the Ottoman Turks ruled the region and Ankara established strong political and economic ties with Azerbaijan and Georgia after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Georgia is a very strategic country for pipelines. The Baku–Tbilisi–Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline is a 1,768-kilometre-long crude oil pipeline, the world’s second-longest oil pipeline in the former Soviet Union, carrying crude oil from the Azeri–Chirag–Gunashli oil field in the Caspian Sea to Turkey’s Mediterranean Sea via Tbilisi.
The South Caucasus Gas Pipeline, also known as the Baku–Tbilisi–Erzurum Pipeline, runs from Azerbaijan’s capital of Baku through the Georgia-Turkey border, connecting to the Trans-Anatolian Gas Pipeline (TANAP). TANAP, the longest (1,811 kilometre) natural gas pipeline in Turkey, the Middle East and Europe, transports natural gas extracted in Azerbaijan’s Shah Deniz region, first to Turkey and then to Europe by connecting to the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), which originates at the Greek-Turkish border. These energy pipelines allow Turkey to transfer much-needed oil and gas from the Caucasus to Turkey and Europe without traversing Russian or Armenian territories.
The United States and European Union nations have cooperated with Turkey in the South Caucasus for security reasons and energy deals. Turkey is a natural partner for Europe and the US in the region against Russia and Iran. However, Turkey is the only NATO member that did not join the West’s economic sanctions against Russia and in fact has increased its economic ties with Moscow. The TurkSteam and Blue Stream pipelines carry Russian gas to Turkey, and Russia building a nuclear power plant in Turkey.
Peace in the South Caucasus is imperative for the success of Turkey’s energy projects as well as to protect the Muslim population in the region. On Jan. 16, 2000 then-Turkish President Süleyman Demirel put forward a proposal for the establishment of a “Stability Pact for the Caucasus” to stop war between Russia and Chechnya. Erdogan proposed a revised version of Demirel’s proposal on Aug. 13, 2008 in Moscow to establish a “Caucasus Stability and Cooperation Platform” (CSCP).
Although Turkey’s sway in the region is on the rise, Russia and Iran will attempt to increase their influence in the South Caucasus against Turkey and the Western bloc. While Russia has always backed Armenia, Iran views the Turkey-Azerbaijan collaboration as a threat to its national security at its borders.
The Star