Turkish Policy towards the Caucasus: A Balance Sheet of the Balancing Act

In the course of the past few years, Turkey’s relations with all three South Caucasus countries had been highly episodic. Thus far, Turkey had not achieved tangible results from its high profile attempts to influence the course of events, for example, in setting up a regional platform where countries of the regions would collaborate, or leveraging the prospect of an open border with Armenia to bring about the resolution of the Karabakh conflict. If Turkish foreign policy towards the Caucasus was judged on the basis of some of its proclaimed goals – such as ironing out problems with neighbors or solving regional conflicts, it fell short of accomplishment.