THE NEW STRATEGIC ALLIANCE : KURDS & TURKS IN MIDDLE EAST & CENTRAL ASIA

Indeed, Turkey’s loss of Kurdistan would significantly weaken its geopolitical standing in West Asia and prevent it from accomplishing its strategic plans for Central Asia, the Caucasus and Russia. A unified Kurdish state (consisting of the Kurdish areas of Turkey and Iraq) would dominate the southeastern and eastern parts of Turkey and block its access to Azerbaijan, the Caucasus and the Turkic republics of Central Asia. Turkey’s rival for influence in the Caucasus and Central Asia is the United States, which has already secured decent positions for itself in Azerbaijan. If the gas pipeline linking Azerbaijan’s Shah Deniz field with the Turkish city of Erzurum (through which a gas pipeline linking Turkey and Iran already passes) is built, the United States, having gained the support of the Turkish Kurds, would be able to control the supply of energy resources from Central Asia to Turkey.

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