Bulletin de liaison et d'information - Institut kurde de Paris

Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro de la Prensa-Basm Özeti
some time. with the Russian Federatiöjlover the Revolutionary Gùaids, and IrdIl
the objections of the West'
is believed to have an estimated
The militari situation
Iran is trying to strengthen its
Though Iran claims that its
nuclear facilities are subject to
400-500 ~ons ofchemic~ weapons.
Along with short-range ballistic
anned forces in'line wim its goals in~tiOi1 by the International missile production. Iran is trying to
of having a say m' the Middle East Atomic Energy Agency, and that expand the range of its SCUD BIC
and in Ùle Central Asian republics. these facilities are being used for missiles - obtained from the - '
Since its Islamic Revolution peaceful aims, the country is Russian Federation and North
this country has co\'ered significant expected to gain in the medium Korea ~ beyond the 100 kilometer
ground not only in îts conventional term the technology needed for range to gain the capacity to hit tararmaments
drive but also in the nuclear weapons production. No gets in Israel.
fieId f de . substantive information exists as to Although the T-";an anned
0 mass strucbon weapons. . al 1J cuu
Efforts to create a nuclear infrà- the production of biologiC forc;es are deployed primarily
tru .. 'all weaoons in h:m. butjt is belièved towards the Gulf Remon, Iran has
s c~e are connnumg, espeC1 Y that work in this area is still at the C"
to reparr and render operational the research stage. Chemical weapons become a greater potential military
Bushehr reactor in cooperation production is be, ing Qrgaru, .zed by threat for Turkey as a result of the
, intensified- Irarùan arms buildup.
Business as usual with Iran despite crises
ELlF SEMÎHA KÜFLÜ
Ankara-Turkish Daily News
Though political controversy, border
security and regime problems usually
take center stage in the relations
between Turkey and Iran, things do
move forward when "mutual interests" are at
stake,
On the whole, Turkish-Iranian links have
been a mine field of crisis but in the realm of
economic tiesthere have been more ups than
downs over the past seven years.
Economic interests have been a conclusive
factor during this period for both nations and,
specifically, the huge natural gas supply
scheme recently signed is the crowning deal.
International business circles li~t Turkey and
Iran as large "emerging markets" and attempts
to capitalize on this opportunity are growing.
, Irait is rich in resources, with human
, resource potential to meet the demands of the
region as well as Western demands - and
Turkey is not the only country with a geograph-'
, ic .arid,strategie advantage... ' '
Iran can be seen as a dome that covers and
negcitia~~s within a prospective ~ea - .
Azerbw)an,AnneD.I8, Turkmemst1Jn, Pakist1Jn
andAfghanistan- with the major portion of
the world's crude oil being exported through
the Strait ,of Hormuz and, of course, the world' s
. largest inland water basin, the Caspian Sea. ,
The 2Sooyearnatural. gas .deal
Iiài1 bal; 21 trillion cubie meters of gas reserves,
ranking itst;cond to Russia in this commodity.
The country' is the world' s third largest oil
e~porter behind Saudi Arabia and Norway,
earning $16 billion' a year from such exports.
Turkey came to the brink of losiog its longtime
and most,important ally, the United States,
when it signed a multibillion dollar natural gas
.deal with Iran to buy Iranian and Central Asian
natural gas, and announced the construction of
a pipeline between Turkey and Iran.
.Turkey,perhapsfor the frrst time in its history,
acted without bending to its strongest
ally's views and openly signed the deal. TIùs
Chronologyof key events
in Turkish-Iranian ties
1IH
Part. 2.
, JANUARY.
31- A three-man Turkish delegation
leaves for Iran to investigate .
damage done by a Turkish air raid
on a Kurdistan Workers' Party
, (PKK) camp the previous week and
a claim that nine Iranians were
killed. Iran demands an apology
and compensation.
FEBRUARY
3- Turkey says an air raid aimed
at PKK camps in Iraq had killed
Iranians by mistake, and expresses
"deep sorrow" over the incident,
indicating it will do what it can to
make reparations.
MARCH
26- Turkey says Iran has turned
over 14 PKK members who had
escaped over their joint border from
a sweeping military operation in the
East'
APRIL
1- Iran's Ambassador in Turkey
Mohammed Reza Bagheri and
Iranian Erzurum Consul General
Mohammed Reza Rasit visit the
newly elected Erzurum Mayor
Ersan Gema1maz, who is from the
pro-Islamic Welfare Party (RP).
JULY
25- Turkish President Demirel
holds talks \Vith Iranian P..resident
Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani in
Tehran.on secwity cooperation and
economic and regional issues.
1IH
APRIL
16- Turkish Foreign Minister
Erdal Inonu tells a concerned Iran
that Turkey plans to withdraw its
troops from northern Iraq in the
immediate future after completing a
sweep against the PKK in the
region.
MAY
3- Iranian Oil Minister
Gholamreza Aghazadeh says in
Ankara Iran would sell Turkey 4
million tons of crude oil in 1995,
the same amount as in 1994.
5- Turkey and Iran sign an energy
agreement worth around $20billion
under which Tehran would
supply Turkey with natural gas for
23 years.
JUNE
26- Iran backs a Turkish plan for
joint mili~ action against the
PKK on thetr common border, but
stopped short of letting Turkish
troops enter its territory.
21- Turkey insists that PKK
members driven away from their
bases in northern Iraq are now
installing themselves in Iranian territory.
AUGUST
3- Iran has handed over 34 terrorists
to Turkey, Ali Reza Barati,
, ,
36