List All News ArticlesEMU Hosts a Conference on Isolation of Turkey from Eastern Mediterranean Gas Forum
Published Date: Wednesday, 11 May 2022
“Turkey's Isolation from the Eastern Mediterranean Gas Forum: Ideational Mechanisms and Material Interests" seminar was held at EMU within the cooperation of Eastern Mediterranean University Cyprus Policy Center (EMU-CPC) and Business and Economics Faculty, Political Science and International Relations Department. The opening speech of the seminar was delivered by EMU Political Science and International Relations Department Head and EMU-CPC Chair Prof. Dr. Ahmet Sözen. Highlighting the importance of the topic discussed and its timing, given the developments in the Eastern Mediterranean, Prof. Dr. Sözen gave the floor to the guest speaker Assoc. Prof. Dr. Pınar İpek. The Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB) Economy and Technology University academic staff member Assoc. Prof. İpek has important studies in the field of international political economy energy security.
%20(1).JPG?RenditionID=3)
During her speech, Assoc. Prof.0 Dr. İpek emphasized that the policies to develop hydrocarbon resources, while highlighting new cooperative structures in the Eastern Mediterranean, also triggering mutually escalating tensions. Touching on Turkey's deteriorating relations with Greece, the Greek Cypriot Administration and Israel on the development of hydrocarbon resources, Assoc. Prof. Dr. İpek stated that this interaction led to Turkey's exclusion from the process of institutionalization of the Eastern Mediterranean Gas Forum. Assoc. Prof. Dr. İpek stated that in the regionalization process between 2010 and 2020, intellectual mechanisms played an important role in the failure to reach an agreement between Turkey and the aforementioned regional actors. Noting that in addition to Turkey's exclusion from the Eastern Mediterranean Gas Forum, there have been shifts in Turkish foreign policy preferences, Assoc. Prof. Dr. İpek cited ancient cognitive factors, redefined ideas of cause and effect, and exogenous ideas as causes.
%20(1).JPG?RenditionID=3)
Upon the questions asked by the participants, Assoc. Prof. Dr. İpek highlighted the importance of liquefied gas, shale gas and renewable resources and claimed that renewable resources will make the planned pipeline project in the Eastern Mediterranean more attractive to international investors. Assoc. Prof. Dr. İpek stated that the developments in the Eastern Mediterranean are of great importance in the environment of Russia's war against Ukraine, and that the Russian gas's ability to export natural gas to the Asian market, which is defined as the “energy angle", through new routes, reduces Russia's dependence on the European market.
