Geopolitical Perspectives and Development
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Geopolitical Perspectives and Development Geopolitical Perspectives and Development EUBSR 2013 International Conference, Volume 1 Edited by: Constantin HLIHOR Peter KOPECKÝ Copyright © 2014, Italian Academic Publishing All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without either the prior written permission of the publisher, except by a newspaper or magazine reviewer who wishes to quote brief passages in connection with a review. Applications for the copyright holder’s permission to reproduce any part of this publication should be addressed to the publishers. Geopolitical Perspectives and Development: EUBSR 2013 International Conference, Volume 1 ISBN 978-88-98471-06-5 Disclaimer Every reasonable effort has been made to ensure that the material in this book is true, correct, complete, and appropriate at the time of writing. Nevertheless the publishers, and the editors do not accept responsibility for any omission or error, or for any injury, damage, loss, or financial consequences arising from the use of this book. First published in 2014 by Italian Academic Publishing Cover design Robert Bogdan BEȚA Cover picture source EUBSR International Conference – eubsr.ucdc.ro Editors Constantin HLIHOR Peter KOPECKÝ DTP Robert Bogdan BEȚA Italian Academic Publishing www.editoriap.com Table of Contents The Russian Black Sea Fleet in Istanbul (1798) ...................................... 7 Zeynep Ayşe SÖZEN The Balkan Wars (1912–1913): Geopolitical and Military Issues ........ 13 Gavriil PREDA The Other Eastern Partnership: East(中国)Meets East ................... 36 Pierrot FRISCH Turkish-Soviet Disputes during the Post-war Period. Security Implications for the Black Sea Region ................................................... 76 Laurențiu Cristian DUMITRU The Relationship between the United States and Russia regarding the Black Sea Region (2001–2013) ............................................................... 89 Ioan Dragoș MATEESCU The Energetic Resources Disputes among the Global Players at the st Beginning of the 21 Century. Case Study: Venezuela ....................... 116 Filofteia REPEZ, Romeo Ionuț MÎNICAN The Energy Security in the Wider Black Sea Region: The Geopolitical Implications to Romania’s Energy Strategy ........................................ 130 Constantin HLIHOR From Clasical Geopolitics to Contemporary Geopolitics. Statutory Elements of a Strong Grounded Science in Reality and Actuality ..... 157 Cătălina TODOR Considerations on Diplomatic Blackmail in the International Contemporary Community ................................................................. 178 Mădălina TOMESCU European Union’s Challenge: Turkey .................................................. 194 Gabriel LEAHU Considerations on the Geostrategic Position of Romania to the Black Sea ..... 202 Mihai Cristian APOSTOLACHE 6 EU and Balkan States without EU Membership: Agreement and Controversy on the Responsibility to Protect Doctrine ..................... 213 Alexandru LUCINESCU Western Balkans and the EU: Surpassing the Fatigue of Enlargement .. 231 Gabriel LEAHU Non-determined Events in the New Global Security Equation: A Challenge to Both the Academic and Intelligence Communities in Providing Decision-making Support .................................................. 249 Gabriel CHIRCĂ The Security of South-Eastern European States ................................. 262 Cătălin Iulian BALOG The Bessarabia Affair: A Moment of Tension in the Soviet-Romanian Relations as Part of the Movement of Non-alignment with the Politics of the Economic Integration in the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (C.M.E.A.) .......................................................................... 274 Andi Mihail BĂNCILĂ Politique de sécurité et de défense commune de l’Union Européenne et les défis de la région pontique ............................................................. 282 Gheorghe CIAȘCAI The Russian Black Sea Fleet in Istanbul (1798) Zeynep Ayşe SÖZEN Istanbul Technical University, Istanbul, Turkey [email protected] Abstract: Upon the Ottoman government’s appeal to the Russians and the British following Napoleon’s embarkment in Egypt in 1798, a squadron of the Russian Black Sea Fleet was sent to Istanbul under the command of Vice Admiral Ushakov. The squadron, after arriving in the Bosphorus in August, was joined by the Ottoman fleet at the Dardanelles in September. This exceptional joint fleet sailed into the Mediterranean Sea in a coalition against the French. This paper shall focus on the role played by Alexander Ipsilanti, ex-hospodar of Wallachia and his son Constantin Ipsilanti, Grand Dragoman of the Porte in the alliance treaty signed between the Porte and the Russian Empire towards the achievement of a sustainable peace. Keywords: Ottoman-Russian Treaty, Napoleon, Ipsilanti family. 1. The Triggering Event: Napoleon’s Invasion of Egypt The arrival of the Russian Black Sea Fleet in Istanbul in 1798 marks one of the rare moments in the history of the Ottoman Empire. The transitory alliance between the Ottoman Empire, Great Britain and the Russian Empire was triggered by Napoleon’s embarkment in Egypt, which had come as a shocking surprise to Selim III. Ottomans’ suspicions of Napoleon’s movements had been relieved by Moralı Esseyid Ali Efendi, the first resident Ottoman ambassador to Paris, who had informed the Porte that Napoleon had no intentions of occupying Egypt. The ambassador had, seemingly been convinced by Talleyrand himself. About 8 days after the arrival of Esseyid Ali Efendi’s letter to Istanbul, (Selim III’s famous remark was “What a jackass!”- “Ne eșek herifmiș”) the Ottoman government was to declare war on France (September 12, 1798). (An exhaustive account of Moralı Esseyid Efendi can be found in Maurice Herbert’s “Moralı Esseyid Ali Efendi: Fransa’da İlk Daimi Türk Elçisi”).[1] The preceding period had witnessed warming relations between the Ottomans and the French, affirmed and reaffirmed through bilateral 8 Zeynep Ayşe SÖZEN military and cultural relations. One important consequence of these relations had been the arrival of French engineers and officers in the company of General Albert Dubayet, the French Ambassador to the Porte in 1796 to aid Selim’s efforts towards the establishment of a new military force, the Nizam-ı Cedit. The cumulative influence of these experts was far reaching. The experts served to broaden the scope of the Imperial School of Naval Engineering, formerly founded by Mustafa III in 1773 to train technical staff. [2] On the other hand, there also seems to be a softening of relations with the Russians before the arrival of Aubert Dubayet. In 1796, both the pro- French Reis-ül Küttab Ebubekir Ratip Efendi and Grand Dragoman Gheorghe Moruzi were dismissed to be replaced by Mustafa Rasih Efendi and Constantine Ypsilanti, known for their Russian sympathies. Morkva mentions a secret meeting between the Russian Ambassador to the Porte, Kochubei and Reis Efendi (which meeting could not possible have been held without the presence of the Grand Dragoman, Constantine Ipsilanti), when the ambassador warned the Ottoman Minister about the activities of Napoleon’s agents in Albania and Greece. [3] Following the arrival of the new Russian ambassador Tomara, who replaced Kochubei in 1797, the sessions with the Reis-ül Küttab continued, during which the Porte was informed of French actions and intentions. The Russians had promised the support of the Black Sea Fleet as early as May 1798. Some of these sessions were held between Fonton, the Dragoman of the Russian Embassy and Constantin Ipsilanti in secret, for fear of raising suspicion among other members of the diplomatic community in Istanbul.[4] The official Ottoman appeal to the Russians was dated 24 July 1798. As promised, a squadron commanded by Vice Admiral Ushakov was despatched from Sevastopol and arrived in Istanbul on August 24 to be joined by a Turkish fleet on the Dardanelles in September. The Russian Black Sea Fleet in Istanbul (1798) 9 2. Istanbul Treaty of 1799 The alliance was crystallized in a Treaty on January 3, 1799. The Treaty consisted of 13 main articles, supplemented by 13 secret ones. The respective contributions of the parties to the composition of the whole agreement remain ambiguous. The parties defined the aim of the Treaty as the protection of integrity of both Empires. The first section, confirming the Jassy Peace Treaty of 1792 provided mutual guarantees of border protection, military assistance, rights to enter allied ports for both parties and delineated the duration of the agreement as eight years. The supplementary conditions, which were secret, covered an action plan in collaboration with the British Fleet against the French, granted free passage of Russian ships through the Straits, closed the Black Sea to other states and assured logistic services for the Russian Fleet. Morkva, in his very comprehensive PhD Thesis refers to the most interesting secret article of the Treaty, namely clause 6, which detailed the possible use of the Russian land army in the event of a French aggression on Ottoman soil. Should this happen, the Russians were to send an army of 75-80 thousand men with artillery support. [5] 3. The Fate of the French Military Experts The French team, composed of engineers and artillery officers faced a “reversal of fortune” following the Ottoman-Russian alliance. The