Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation
Orange: Members. Green: Observers
Russia and Turkey have a long history of mutual distrust which has often erupted into conflict. From the days of the Ottoman and Russian Empires, the two peoples have striven for dominance in the Black Sea region. These conflicts included the Crimean War of the 1850s, which sucked in European powers France and Britain, fighting on the same side for once. The bloody and largely inconclusive Victorian war left a bitter legacy on both sides which extended right up to the end of the Cold War in the 1990s when a degree of rapprochement appeared to take place. Subsequent troubles in the region have rattled that new relationship. Some, therefore, may consider the two countries to be strange bedfellows in a regional trading bloc whose aims include bringing peace to the region. The Organization of the Black Sea Economic Co-operation (BSEC) is a group of 12 nations situated in the south-west of Asia, most of whom have a shoreline with the Black Sea. They are: Russia, Turkey, Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Moldova, Romania, Ukraine and Serbia. The strange-bedfellows observation could equally be applied to Russia and Ukraine following the former's annexation of modern Crimea. Meanwhile Turkey and Greece continue to squabble over Cyprus. BSEC was founded in 1999, following exploratory discussions with neighbouring states, organised by Turkey. Its stated aims are to foster co-operation, peace, stability and prosperity in the region, and has a particular emphasis on encouraging small and medium enterprises (SMEs) across the region. Inevitably in a region with such a turbulent history, there are political rifts within the community. Turkey and Greece, for instance, have been involved in tit-for-tat vetoes of new member states. The total population of the group is more than 359 million, though 146 million of those are accounted for by Russia alone. The EU, eager to extend its influence, is actively engaged in dialogue with the BSEC on trade and business development, talking of a "ground up" approach to further progress.
What trade deals are there with other countries and economic unions?
None
