...in Turkey, he accused the West of trying to force its vision of democracy on the former Soviet Union. He added that he was concerned that those who resist "will be punished with a truncheon made of bombs and missiles, as it was in Belgrade" - AP
For years, Russian investors have placed bids on Turkish electricity plants, oil refineries and LNG projects. But privatization in the 1990's was trumped by political instability in Ankara. As a bargaining tool, the Turkish side never tires of bringing up tanker traffic volume in the Bosphorus. Developing safer pipeline infrastructure is now in both parties' interest.
Russia, like Iran, cannot hide its distaste for the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline project. It bypasses both countries on its way from Caspian oilfields to the Mediterranean. BTC also places Anatolia, Turkey's sleepy inland, at the heart of world energy supply.
The Nabucco project, another pipeline route for natural gas deliveries, crosses Turkish territory on its way to Austria. If Nabucco gets the official go-ahead, a final feasibility report will be submitted by the end of this month and shipping contracts will be signed in early 2005.
Military weaponry, and not only Kalashnikovs, is an important aspect of Russian-Turkish trade. The Turkish air force has issued a $2.5 billion tender to acquire 145 attack helicopters. According to Moscow's business daily Kommersant, finalists included the "Ka-50-2 Erdogan," a Russian model produced specifically for the occasion. But Turkish authorities rejected it arguing it was partially manufactured in Israel.
In the meantime, another option surfaced as favorite: the "Pah-2 Tiger" proposed by EADS, a European consortium. Moscow has now made a counteroffer with the "Mi-28NE," or night hunter, a model produced in the industrial city of Rostov na Donu. Sales of amphibian planes for use in fire extinction were also part of the Agreement on Military-Technical Cooperation. - LINK
The Russian diplomat, who is responsible for relations with the OIC, said that dialogue with the community of 57 countries (an "Islamic mini-UN" of a kind) had become "more vigorous" recently and was "progressing on various levels". "It is very important that Russia has acquired the status of a guest in the OIC," he said, adding that Turkey will chair the Islamic community from January 2005. ITAR-TASS
Speaking about possible ways to remove anxiety in Russia's relations with Cyprus, Mr. Putin said that apart from actively developing relations between Moscow and Ankara, "there is, above all, one way which to remove all types of anxiety: it is to develop our relations with Greece as actively. Then, all anxiety will disappear."
According to the president, "we have very good relations with Greece, but our economic cooperation needs to be brought to the level of our political contacts.
"We should not decrease our economic cooperation with Turkey, but we must expand our economic contacts with Greece."
Speaking about Russian tourists in Greece, Mr. Putin cited Turkey as an example. "Two million Russian tourists" visited that country this year, he said. "That means that we hold second place after Germany in terms of visiting that country.
"Incidentally, it is rather difficult to enter Greece, and not through our own fault," Mr. Putin stressed. - December 23 (RIA Novosti)
Putin is playing on borrowed time.
Military weaponry, and not only Kalashnikovs, is an important aspect of Russian-Turkish trade. The Turkish air force has issued a $2.5 billion tender to acquire 145 attack helicopters. According to Moscow's business daily Kommersant, finalists included the "Ka-50-2 Erdogan," a Russian model produced specifically for the occasion.
Ka-50-2 Erdogan
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/russia/ka-50-2.htm
Beginning in 1997 Kamov company, in partnership with IAI, began competing in the tender for a $4 billion contract for the supply of 145 combat helicopters to the Turkish Army. In compliance with the tender requirements, KAMOV/IAI group submitted the required documentation on the Ka-50-2 Erdogan tandem twin-sitter in November 1999. On 06 March 2000, Bulent Ecevit, the Prime Minister of Turkey, announced that Boeing and Eurocopter, French/German company, would be excluded from the list of the Bidders for the combat helicopters supply contract. Among the remaining competitors for the contract award are KAMOV/IAI (Israel Aircraft Industries Ltd.) group with its Ka-50-2 Erdogan, Agusta company from Italy with its A129 Mongoose and Belltextron company from the USA with its AH-1Z King Cobra.
IAI and Kamov teamed together to offer the tandem-seater Ka-50-2, the world's most powerful attack helicopter, in reponse to the Turkish Land Forces (TLF) requirement for 145 attack helicopters. IAI and Kamov complied with the Turkish requirement for a tandem cockpit by reconfiguring the existing side-by-side configuration to a tandem one. The Turkish version of the Ka-50-2 is called ERDOGAN. Another Turkish requirement, which was achieved by IAI and Kamov is the integration of a turret gun instead the original fixed gun. The new ERDOGAN uses a folding turret gun, as an integral part of its armament system.
The Ka-50-2 is the product of a joint effort by Israel Aircraft Industries' Lahav Division, a world leader in avionics modernization and the Kamov Company, the developer of advanced coaxial rotor technology. Kamov is responsible for the helicopter airframe, with its various subsystems, while IAI is responsible for the avionics and weapons delivery system. The integration of a state-of-the-art Western avionics suite with a robust Eastern platform offers best value, in terms of both performance and price.
The Ka-50-2, with its combat proven avionics and advanced anti-tank guided missiles, offers a high level of combat effectiveness. Moreover, the helicopter features superior flight performance, safe and easy piloting and high combat survivability due to its unique coaxial rotor technology and sound aeronautical engineering.
The Ka-50-2 is equipped with IAI's flexible modular avionics suite, which can be readily tailored to meet the TLF's operational requirements and provides extensive growth potential.
IAI and Kamov conducted successful demonstration flights of the Russian helicopter with IAI's Core Avionics. These demonstration flights demonstrated the helicopter's "Glass Cockpit" with multifunctional displays and Control & Display Unit (CDU) driven by centralized Mission and Display computers, flight navigation and the operation of the Helicopter Multi-Mission Optronic Stabilized Payload (HMOSP) targeting system. The demonstration flights included night mission capability demonstrations, utilizing Night Vision Goggles (NVG) and the day/night targeting system.
After eliminating Italy's Agusta (A129-I), it was announced in March 2000 that the US company Bell Helicopter-Textron with its AH-IZ King Cobra had come in first and the Russian-Israeli Kamov/IAI consortium with its KA-50/52-Erdogan had come in second. Disappointed with Turkey's elimination of the French-German Eurocopter consortium from its $4 billion attack helicopter co-production project, French President Jacques Chirac reportedly decided to suspend his state visit to Turkey.