Turkish-Russian relations: The challenges of reconciling geopolitical competition with economic partnership

Turkey and Russia, regional powers that have traditionally belonged to two opposing continental systems, have been undergoing "teuctonic" change since the late 1980s. Their relations over the past decade have been marked by a combination of cooperation and competition. Unprecedented levels of economic cooperation have fostered a new climate of interdependence between Turkey and Russia, perhaps even exerting a moderating influence on their geopolitical competition in Eurasia. But, the hardening of Russia's approach in 1999 to Chechnya, and to the West in general, does not appear to be a good omen for the future of Turkish-Russian relations.