In December 2014, the foreign ministers of Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Turkey met in the eastern Turkish city of Kars for the fourth high-level, tripartite meeting in just over two years. Amid raging conflicts in Ukraine to the north and Syria to the south, as well as steady news of troubles at home, the Kars meeting might appear unexceptional – even unimportant – in comparison.
But this meeting underscored a fast-moving and increasingly relevant trilateral partnership, which may be bucking the doom and gloom in the Black Sea region.
Out of the ashes
Scarcely believable now, but four years ago Turkey was being lauded internationally for its red-hot economy, an enviable model of Islamic democracy, and its perceived diplomatic nous. Then-foreign minister Ahmet Davutoglu’s 'Zero Problems' slogan was an expression of accomplishment rather than irony, and the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) had a hard-won international reputation for being effective, if sometimes temperamental, stewards.
