Turkey, Armenia and Azerbaijan

Hosted by: AIIA NSW in Sydney

The event will start on: Wednesday, 21 September 2011 6:00 PM

And will end on: Wednesday, 21 September 2011 7:30 PM

At The Glover Cottages, Sydney

124 Kent Street , Sydney NSW

02 9247 8504     nsw.branch@aiia.asn.au

Posted by: nsw   

Turkey, according to George Friedman, author of two recent books The Next 100 Years and The Next Decade, is set to become a significant global power. The European Union is being sniffy about the prospect of Turkey joining its exclusive though fragmented club, but the importance of Turkey is being recognised by many others, including the United States, Russia, Middle East nations, and, of course, the newly emergent Caucasus countries that once formed the southern part of the Soviet Union.

Critical oil pipelines now connect these states with Turkey, and new ones are planned, including the controversial Nabucco project, which will link Azerbaijan with Vienna via Turkey, and reduce Europe’s dependence on Russian gas.

These pipelines are only possible because of the end of years of chaos in the Caucasus during the rule of the Soviet Union, particularly the largely unreported and brutal Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict which persisted between 1992 and 1994, following 100 years of bloodshed and hatred between Armenians and Turks. Azerbaijan is now Turkey’s most important partner, but the conflict with Armenia made progress difficult until uneasy reconciliation in recent years. Just a week or so ago Armenians were firing on Azerbaijan positions. 

So can this important region now live in peace?

The author of an important new book, Unreconciled Differences: Turkey, Armenia and Azerbaijan, will address this question as he traces the conflicts.

Meet Scott Taylor, former soldier, war correspondent, author and military analyst.

Canadian Scott Taylor is the editor and publisher of Esprit de Corps, an Ottawa-based magazine celebrated for its unflinching scrutiny of Canada’s military. As a war correspondent, Taylor reported from the Persian Gulf during the 1991 Operation Desert Storm. He has since made 21 trips to Iraq - before and after Saddam Hussein’s regime was toppled. He is the recipient of of the 1996 McQuill Award, for outstanding work in communications. In 2008, he was named Press TV’s ‘Un-embedded Journalist of the Year.’

A columnist for the Halifax Chronicle Herald and Embassy magazine, Scott has also contributed to the Toronto Globe and Mail, Reader’s Digest, and Media magazine.

In September 2004, he and a Turkish colleague spent five harrowing days as captives of the Ansar al-Islam insurgents in northern Iraq. Since then he has reported regularly from Afghanistan and the Caucasus.

Please join us for this event, organised with the help of AIIA member, the consul-general of the Republic of Turkey. Turkish snacks will be served.