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Turkey–Ukraine relations

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Turkish-Ukrainian relations
Map indicating locations of Turkey and Ukraine

Turkey
Ukraine
Diplomatic mission
Embassy of Ukraine, AnkaraEmbassy of Turkey, Kyiv

Turkey and Ukraine have a long chronology of historical, geographic, and cultural contact. Diplomatic relations between both countries were established in early 1990s when Turkey became one of the first states in the world to announce officially about recognition of sovereign Ukraine. Turkey has an embassy in Kyiv and a consulate general in Odesa. Ukraine has an embassy in Ankara and a consulate general in Istanbul. Turkey is a full member of NATO and Ukraine is a candidate. Also both countries are BLACKSEAFOR and BSEC members.

Historical relations

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Ottoman empire

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Black Sea Region in 1600

The Ottoman Empire began to dominate the Black Sea region in the second half of the 15th century. In 1475, it conquered the Genovese colonies on the Crimean Peninsula, and in 1478, the Crimean Khanate recognized the suzerainty of the Ottomans, becoming their vassal state. In the late 15th century, the Crimean Tatars began a 200-year campaign of raids on Ukrainian territories, independently and jointly with the Ottomans, to capture slaves and goods that were sold in markets in the Middle East. Some kidnapped slaves attained high positions among the Janissaries, and the Ruthenian women Roksoliana even became politically influential as the wife of Süleyman I. In the 15th–17th centuries, the Ottomans and the Crimean Khanate were in constant contact with the Ukrainian Cossacks (whose emergence was partly a reaction to Ottoman and Tatar raids) and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.[1]

With the rise of the Zaporozhian Cossacks in the mid-16th century, the Cossacks mounted organized resistance and carried out attacks on Turkish-Tatar centers in southern Ukraine and on the Ottoman heartland, even attacking Istanbul several times. However, Ukrainian Cossack leaders also sought alliances with the Ottomans: in 1669, Hetman Petro Doroschenko submitted to the Ottoman Sultan in order to obtain support in the fight against Poland. The Ottomans then briefly ruled parts of right-bank Ukraine, but were largely pushed back by the end of the 17th century. With the conquest of the Crimea by Russia in 1774–1783, Ottoman influence in southern Ukraine came to an end.[1] Following the annexation of Crimea in 1783, large sections of the Muslim population emigrated to the Ottoman Empire, reaching a total of around 1.8 million Crimean Tatars fleeing to Turkey by 1922. Their descendants (estimated at 3–5 million people) still form a significant community of Crimean Tatar descent in Turkey today.[2]

Ukrainian People's Republic and Soviet Era

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During the First World War, the Ottoman Empire was one of the first powers to recognize the independent Ukrainian People's Republic. On February 9, 1918, the Central Rada of the Ukrainian People's Republic signed a peace treaty with the Central Powers (Brest-Litovsk Peace Treaty), in which the Ottomans recognized Ukraine as a sovereign state and exchanged diplomatic missions. Even after the founding of the Ukrainian SSR in 1922, the young Republic of Turkey initially maintained separate political, economic, and cultural contacts with Soviet Ukraine and concluded a friendship treaty (“Treaty of Friendship and Brotherhood”). From 1923, however, these relations were completely integrated into the diplomatic framework of the Soviet Union, so that by 1991 there were no longer any independent bilateral relations between Ankara and Kiev.[1] Since Turkey was neutral at first and then became part of NATO in 1952, cultural and economic ties with the Ukrainian Soviet Republic remained rather limited.

Independent Ukraine and Turkey

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Turkey recognized Ukraine diplomatically immediately after its secession from the USSR on December 16, 1991. Formal diplomatic relations were established on February 3, 1992, and both countries opened embassies in Ankara and Kiev.[3] Both countries cooperated in regional initiatives such as the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC), founded in 1992. After the Orange Revolution, contacts deepened further. In 2004, an action plan to strengthen relations was adopted, and in 2011, the presidents of both countries agreed to establish a High Strategic Council for closer mutual coordination, giving the relationship the status of a strategic partnership.[3]

In late January 2010 Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan agreed to form a free trade zone between the two countries during 2011.[4] But bilateral free trade talks were put on hold in 2013.[5]

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Istanbul, 3 November 2018

Following the end of 2015, Turkey and Ukraine experienced closer relations as a result of both countries increasingly strained relationship with Russia.[5] On 20 August 2016 Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan told his Ukrainian counterpart Petro Poroshenko that Turkey would not recognize the 2014 Russian annexation of Crimea; calling it "Crimea's occupation".[6] On 9 January 2017 Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu stated "We support the territorial integrity of Ukraine and Georgia. We do not recognize the annexation of the lands of Ukraine".[7] Turkey's self-perception as the protective power of the Crimean Tatars also played a role in this. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan stated in 2021: “Russia has usurped Crimea... Things cannot go on with a mentality of occupation.”[8]

In 2020/21, relations reached a new level. Ankara expressly supported Ukraine's rapprochement with NATO and the EU. In October 2020, a new consultation mechanism in the 2+2 format (a “quadriga” of foreign and defense ministers) was launched.[9] On February 3, 2022, shortly before the start of the war, both governments signed a comprehensive free trade agreement after twelve years of negotiations.[10]

Russian invasion of Ukraine

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After Russia's large-scale attack on Ukraine in February 2022, Tukey condemned the Russian invasion but, unlike Western countries, did not impose any sanctions against Russia. On February 27, 2022, just a few days after the start of the war, the Turkish government announced that it would strictly enforce the Montreux Convention and thus deny warships passage through the Turkish straits. At the same time, Ankara openly offered its services as a mediator. In March 2022, Turkey hosted peace talks between Ukrainian and Russian. Although these talks did not lead to a breakthrough, Ankara achieved a significant success in the summer of 2022 with signing of the Black Sea Grain Initiative in Istanbul to ensure the safe export of Ukrainian grain via the Black Sea. The agreement alloweed grain to be shipped from Ukrainian ports under Turkish mediation until July 2023, before Russia let the agreement expire.[11]

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv, 18 August 2022

As of April 2022, number of Ukrainian refugees in Turkey has reached up to 85,000.[12]

In June 2025, Turkey once again hosted Russian-Ukrainian peace talks.[13]

Economic relations

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Economic relations between Ukraine and Turkey have developed dynamically since 1991. Bilateral trade volume rose from around US$4.8 billion in 2019[3] to US$7.3 billion in 2023.[10] Turkey ratified a bilateral free trade agreement in August 2024, which provides for the mutual abolition of customs duties on 95% of goods and is expected to increase bilateral trade volume to over US$10 billion.[10]

Even before the agreement came into force, both countries enjoyed lively trade relations. Ukraine traditionally exports mainly raw materials and agricultural products (grain, oilseeds, metals) to Turkey, while Turkish industrial products (machinery, vehicles, textiles, chemical products) and consumer goods are supplied to Ukraine. Turkish companies are actively involved in infrastructure development in Ukraine: around 600 Turkish companies have invested there, with a total investment of approximately US$3 billion. Many Turkish companies are particularly active in the construction sector. Thanks to visa-free travel introduced in 2017, 1.6 million Ukrainians visited Turkey in 2019, making them one of the largest groups of foreign tourists.[3]

Military relations

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In February 2020, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed an agreement on military-financial cooperation. It provided for the Turkish side to allocate about $36 million for the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine for the purchase of Turkish military and dual-use goods.[14]

Russian invasion of Ukraine

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Main article: Russian invasion of Ukraine

On 3 February 2022, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan volunteered to organize a Ukraine-Russia conference during a visit to Ukraine, as EU leaders increased up outreach to the Kremlin to calm worries of a Russian invasion.[15] As the crisis escalated, Ukraine ambassador to Turkey asked Turkey to close the nation's Black Sea-Mediterranean straits to Russian warships.[16] On 25 February, on the other hand, the Republic of Turkey abstained from voting on Russia’s suspension from the Council of Europe as it calls for open dialogue between the parties under any circumstances.[17] Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu also reiterated Turkey's "readiness to host negotiations that could take place between the Russian Federation and Ukraine," accordingly.[18] On 27 February 2022, Cavusoglu publicly stated that Turkey had shifted its terminology to refer to Russia's assault on Ukraine as a "war," and committed to enforce elements of the 1936 Montreux Convention's international pact which allows Turkey to prohibit Russian warships from entering the Bosporus and Dardanelles and thus hinder Russian vessels' transit from the Mediterranean to the Black Sea.[19] On 28 February, President Tayyip Erdogan public confirmed that the straits would be closed to prevent an escalation of the war, while also pledging to maintain relations with both Ukraine and Russia.[20]

Turkey has provided Ukraine with Bayraktar drones since 2019, which played a significant role in deterring Russian advances in the early stages of the 2022 Russian-Ukrainian War, but has not imposed sanctions on Russia for the conflict.[21][22]

On 3 May 2022, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Turkey of having "double standards" by welcoming Russian tourists while attempting to act as an intermediary between Russia and Ukraine in order to end the war.[23]

Ukraine's ambassador to Turkey said that Turkey is one of the countries that is buying grain that Russia stole from Ukraine.[24]

On 17 July 2022, Russian, Ukrainian and Turkish military delegations met with United Nations officials in Istanbul to start talks on the resumption of exports of Ukrainian grain from the Black Sea port of Odesa. On 22 July 2022, Russian and Ukrainian officials have signed the deal to allow grain exports from Ukrainian Black Sea ports. Under the agreement, a coalition of Turkish, Ukrainian and UN staff will monitor the loading of grain into vessels in Ukrainian ports, to allay Russian fears of weapons smuggling [25][26] before navigating a preplanned route through the Black Sea, which remains heavily mined by Ukrainian and Russian forces.[25] On 29 October 2022, Russia said it was suspending its participation in the grain deal, in response to what it called a major Ukrainian drone attack on its Black Sea fleet. US President Joe Biden called the move "purely outrageous".[27]

In July 2023, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared that “there is no doubt that Ukraine deserves membership of NATO”.[28]

Cultural relations

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Abduction of Turkish dissidents

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There has been a rise in number of Turkish dissidents fleeing to Ukraine, following the violent crackdown launched by Turkish leader Erdoğan following the failed 2016 coup. In 2018, the Turkish government pressured then-President of Ukraine, Petro Poroshenko, to handle dissidents. Subsequently, Ukraine imprisoned and deported two Turkish journalists, and a blogger, revoking their visas.[29][30]

According to Radio Free Europe in February 2020, the Ukrainian government was found complicit in letting the Turkish intelligence abduct Turkish dissidents, mostly those who linked with the Gülen movement; Kyiv had already deported a number of Gulenists back to Turkey in 2021.[31][32]

Crimean Tatars

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Main article: Crimean Tatars in Turkey

The Crimean Tatar community plays a special role: due to forced emigration since the 18th century, millions of people of Tatar-Crimean origin now live in Turkey. Ankara, in turn, supports the cultural and religious interests of the Crimean Tatars—for example, a memorial museum commemorating the deportation of the Crimean Tatars in 1944 under Stalin was opened in Turkey in 2015. On the Ukrainian side, Crimean Tatar culture is recognized as part of its own cultural heritage; in 2017, the Ukrainian government officially included the Crimean Tatars in the Council of the Ukrainian Diaspora.[2]

Humanitarian relations

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Main article: 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquake

On February 6, 2023, two powerful earthquakes with magnitudes of 7.8 and 7.5 struck southern Turkey and northern Syria, causing widespread destruction and loss of life. According to the Turkish disaster agency, the earthquakes have killed more than 50,000 people in Turkey and over 8,000 people in Syria.

On the same day, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba announced that Ukraine might send several dozen emergency workers to Turkey to assist in the relief efforts. Additionally, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry received 27 requests from citizens who were unable to get in touch with their relatives in Turkey.

Later that day, Ukrainian foreign ministry spokesman Oleg Nikolenko reported that they had located six Ukrainian citizens who were safe and in satisfactory condition, but their houses were destroyed. They were currently living with Turkish relatives.

On February 7, 2023, President Volodymyr Zelensky issued a decree ordering the sending of humanitarian aid to Turkey to help the country overcome the consequences of the earthquake.[33]

Public opinion of the Russian invasion of Ukraine

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The public opinion among Turkish citizens for providing military equipments to Ukraine has been varying. In a 2023 poll by Eurobarometer, 63% of Turkish citizens supported their country providing military equipments to support Ukraine against the invasion, and additional 67% of Turkish citizens supported providing financial aid to Ukraine.[34] However, in the same poll conducted in spring 2024, the support for providing military equipments to Ukraine has drastically fallen to 42%.[35] As a result of the conflicts in the Middle East since 2023, there is an increasing hostility towards Western support for Israel, where Turkish citizens have accused Western countries of "double standards" for supporting Israel in the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East.[36] The support rose again by 13% according to the latest poll conducted in autumn 2024, where 55% of Turkish citizens support their country supplying military equipments to Ukraine.[37]

Diplomacy

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c "Turkey". www.encyclopediaofukraine.com. Retrieved 2025-06-27.
  2. ^ a b Bildung, Bundeszentrale für politische (2024-02-26). "Die krimtatarische und ukrainische Diaspora in der Türkei". bpb.de (in German). Retrieved 2025-06-27.
  3. ^ a b c d "Relations between Türkiye and Ukraine / Republic of Türkiye Ministry of Foreign Affairs". www.mfa.gov.tr. Archived from the original on 2025-03-16. Retrieved 2025-06-27.
  4. ^ Ukraine and Turkey start forming free trade zone, UNIAN (January 25, 2010)
  5. ^ a b Ukraine, Turkey may forge anti-Russian alliance in Black Sea, UNIAN (16 March 2016)
  6. ^ Erdogan Tells Poroshenko Turkey Won't Recognize Crimea As Russian, Radio Free Europe (20 August 2016)
  7. ^ Turkey does not review the position on Ukraine and Georgia in favor of, Ukrayinska Pravda (9 January 2017)
  8. ^ "Turkey: Walking the Tightrope between NATO, Russia and Ukraine". Institut Montaigne. Retrieved 2025-06-27.
  9. ^ "Ukraine, Turkey to meet in quadriga format by year-end". www.ukrinform.net. 2021-10-07. Retrieved 2025-06-27.
  10. ^ a b c "Turkey ratifies free trade agreement with Ukraine". www.ukrinform.net. 2024-08-02. Retrieved 2025-06-27.
  11. ^ "One year of the Black Sea Initiative: Key facts and figures | UN News". news.un.org. 2023-07-10. Retrieved 2025-06-27.
  12. ^ "Türkiye'ye kaç Ukraynalı sığınmacı geldi? Erdoğan açıkladı". 25 April 2022.
  13. ^ "Russia and Ukraine fail again to agree ceasefire but commit to prisoner swap". www.bbc.com. 2025-06-02. Retrieved 2025-06-27.
  14. ^ "Візит турецького президента до Києва - перший крок до зони вільної торгівлі". Deutsche Welle.
  15. ^ "Erdogan offers Ukraine-Russia peace summit to defuse crisis". Al Jazeera. AL Jazeera and News Agencies. 3 February 2022. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
  16. ^ Gumrukcu, Tuvan (2022-02-24). "Erdogan 'saddened' by Russian invasion, Ukraine urges Turkey to shut straits". Reuters. Retrieved 2022-02-28.
  17. ^ Gumrukcu, Tuvan (25 February 2022). "Erdogan says NATO, Western reaction to Russian attack not decisive". Reuters. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
  18. ^ AFP (26 February 2022). "Turkey Urges Russia to End Conflict in Ukraine". The Moscow Times. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
  19. ^ "Turkey to implement pact limiting Russian warships to Black Sea". Reuters. 27 February 2022. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
  20. ^ "Erdogan says Turkey cannot abandon ties with Russia or Ukraine". Reuters. 28 February 2022. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
  21. ^ Isachenkov, Vladmir; Bilginsoy, Zeynep (5 August 2022). "Putin hosts Erdogan for talks on trade, Ukraine, Syria". AP News.
  22. ^ Falk, Thomas (11 March 2022). "What do we know about Ukraine's use of Turkish Bayraktar drones?". Al Jazeera English.
  23. ^ "Volodymyr Zelenksy criticises Turkey for move to defy Nato sanctions with Russian tourism boost". inews.co.uk. 3 May 2022.
  24. ^ "Ukraine's envoy says Turkey among those buying grain stolen by Russia". Reuters. 3 June 2022. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  25. ^ a b "Russia, Ukraine sign UN-backed grain export deal". Al Jazeera English. 22 July 2022.
  26. ^ Dikmen, Yesim; Kucukgocmen, Ali (2022-07-13). "Turkey, Russia, Ukraine, U.N. meet on grain exports". Reuters. Retrieved 2022-07-13.
  27. ^ Ljunggren, David (2022-10-30). "Russia halts Ukraine Black Sea grain exports, prompting food crisis concerns". Reuters. Retrieved 2022-10-30.
  28. ^ "Ukraine 'deserves' NATO membership, Turkey's Erdogan says". Reuters. 2023-07-08. Retrieved 2024-07-10.
  29. ^ Miller, Christopher (18 July 2022). "Turks Living in Fear as Erdogan's Wrath Stretches to Ukraine". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
  30. ^ "CORRECTED: Ukraine arrested Turkish blogger for Ankara: Police". 18 July 2018.
  31. ^ Miller, Christopher (5 February 2020). "In Kyiv, Erdogan Said All the Right Things -- Unless You're a Turkish Dissident in Ukraine". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
  32. ^ "Ukraine deports suspected Gulen supporters to Turkey - Al-Monitor: The Pulse of the Middle East". 6 January 2021.
  33. ^ desk, The Kyiv Independent news (2023-02-07). "Ukraine to send humanitarian aid to Turkey after deadly earthquake". The Kyiv Independent. Retrieved 2023-02-07. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  34. ^ "Standard Eurobarometer 100 - Autumn 2023". Europa.eu. Retrieved 2024-07-28.
  35. ^ "Standard Eurobarometer 101 - Spring 2024". Europa.eu. Retrieved 2024-07-28.
  36. ^ "Ny mätning: Här tvärvänder stödet för att skicka vapen till Ukraina". Sveriges Television. 21 June 2024.
  37. ^ "Standard Eurobarometer 102 Autumn 2024". Europa.eu. Retrieved 2024-12-29.
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