Russia, Turkey and Eurasia : intersection of Turkish and Russian foreign policy spheres in Eurasia

The end of the Cold War, sudden collapse of the Soviet Union in early 1990s, and the drastic changes they cause in the international system, induced a substantial transformation in the global scale and in the ambiguously bordered space called Eurasia. Redefined international balances, posited the two regional powers who have struggled for dominance in the region for centuries, against each other. The shortlived Turkish-Soviet rapprochement during their respective revolutions at the beginning of the century, and the tensions of pre-World War II period ended with the joining of Turkey to the anti-Soviet Western alliance in 1952, and Cold War polarisation determined the character of bilateral relations throughout the following half of the century. As the USSR entered the process of collapse, Turkey began to formulate policies towards the ex-Soviet republics which, seemed to escape Russian attention, and tried to create a sphere of influence particularly over the Turkic states. Although theses efforts were frustrated by the end of relative Russian isolation in 1992-1993 and turning its attention back in the former Soviet territory, Ankara succeeded in increasing its influence relatively in the Caucasus and Central Asia. In mid-1990s, two regional powers, despite the continuation of the struggle over Eurasia, managed to settle their bilateral relations over a strong basis. This work aims to examine the clash of interests of Turkey and Russia over the former USSR territory besides their bilateral relations, and identify the major areas of conflct and possibilities for co-operation.