TheRusso-Ottoman alliance was adefensive alliance between theRussian Empire and theOttoman Empire directed againstFrance between 1799 and 1806, during theFrench Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars.
The first treaty of defensive alliance, including secret clauses, was signed on 3 January 1799 [O.S. 23 December 1798].[1] That was complemented by theAnglo-Ottoman alliance, formed later that month.[2] The alliance was renewed on 23 September [O.S. 11 September] 1805.[1]
French victory over Russia in theWar of the Third Coalition caused a shift in Ottoman policy away from Russia and towards France.Selim III refused to ratify the treaty signed in September 1805. By February 1806, Russian warships were being blocked from theTurkish Straits.[3] In October, Russia invaded the Ottoman Empire and in December the Ottomans formally declared war. TheRusso-Ottoman War lasted until 1812.[4] In March 1812, Russia demanded an alliance as part of the treaty to end the war, which was rejected by the Ottomans, who preferred neutrality. It did not find its way into theTreaty of Bucharest, which formally ended the Russo-Ottoman War in May.[5]