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When President Vikto Yanukovych of Ukraine fled his capital Kiev on Feb. 21, 2014, after the Maidan protests, very few could have predicted that it would unfold into a second Cold War between Moscow and the West.

Only five days later on Feb. 26, Russian forces sneaked into the strategic Crimean Peninsula in the Black Sea, essentially occupying the Ukrainian territory.

A surprising Russian proposal to construct a new natural gas pipeline from Russia to Europe via Turkey in order to bypass both Ukraine and Bulgaria is still one of leading issues being discussed in the relevant capitals.

As his first 100 days in office show, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has certainly lived up to his words of being a “sweating president,” as he had claimed before he was voted in as Turkey’s first ever directly elected president in August.

The Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) and Renaissance Holding of Turkey have agreed to jointly invest in projects across Russia’s regions.

The two parties will invest in the healthcare and infrastructure sectors, using public private partnership (PPP) models, while also undertaking the construction of new shopping centers in the regions.

Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yıldız is expected to meet Gazprom Deputy Chairman Alexander Medvedev to discuss a potential revision of gas prices from Russia to Turkey Nov. 25, ahead of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to the country on Dec. 1.

Ukraine has accused Russia of sending in dozens of tanks and other heavy weapons into Ukraine’s rebel-controlled eastern areas.

National Security and Defense Council spokesman Andriy Lysenko said on Nov. 7 at least 32 tanks, 16 artillery systems and 30 trucks loaded with fighters and ammunition had crossed into eastern Ukraine from Russia.