 | You can helpexpand this article with text translated fromthe corresponding article in Ukrainian. (February 2024)Click [show] for important translation instructions.
|
 | |
 Turkey |  Ukraine |
|---|---|
| Diplomatic mission | |
| Embassy of Turkey, Kyiv | Embassy of Ukraine, Ankara |
Turkey andUkraine 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 inKyiv and a consulate general inOdesa. Ukraine has an embassy inAnkara and a consulate general inIstanbul. Turkey is afull member ofNATO and Ukraine is acandidate. Also both countries areBLACKSEAFOR andBSEC members.
TheOttoman Empire began to dominate theBlack Sea region in the second half of the 15th century. In 1475, it conquered theGenovese colonies on theCrimean Peninsula, and in 1478, theCrimean Khanate recognized the suzerainty of the Ottomans, becoming theirvassal state. In the late 15th century, theCrimean 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 theJanissaries, and theRuthenian womenRoksoliana even became politically influential as the wife ofSüleyman I. In the 15th–17th centuries, the Ottomans and the Crimean Khanate were in constant contact with the UkrainianCossacks (whose emergence was partly a reaction to Ottoman and Tatar raids) and thePolish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.[1]
With the rise of theZaporozhian 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 attackingIstanbul several times. However, Ukrainian Cossack leaders also sought alliances with the Ottomans: in 1669,HetmanPetro Doroschenko submitted to the Ottoman Sultan in order to obtain support in the fight against Poland. The Ottomans then briefly ruled parts ofright-bank Ukraine, but were largely pushed back by the end of the 17th century. With the conquest of the Crimea byRussia 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]
During theFirst World War, the Ottoman Empire was one of the first powers to recognize the independentUkrainian People's Republic. On February 9, 1918, theCentral Rada of the Ukrainian People's Republic signed a peace treaty with theCentral Powers (Brest-Litovsk Peace Treaty), in which the Ottomans recognized Ukraine as a sovereign state and exchanged diplomatic missions. Even after the founding of theUkrainian SSR in 1922, the youngRepublic 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.
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 theOrange 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 2010Ukrainian PresidentViktor Yanukovych andTurkish Prime MinisterRecep Tayyip Erdoğan agreed to form afree trade zone between the two countries during 2011.[4] But bilateral free trade talks were put on hold in 2013.[5]
Following the end of 2015, Turkey and Ukraine experienced closer relations as a result of both countries increasingly strained relationship withRussia.[5] On 20 August 2016Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan told hisUkrainiancounterpartPetro Poroshenko that Turkey would not recognize the2014 Russian annexation of Crimea; calling it "Crimea's occupation".[6] On 9 January 2017 Turkey's Foreign MinisterMevlüt Çavuşoğlu stated "We support the territorial integrity of Ukraine andGeorgia. 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. PresidentRecep 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]
AfterRussia's large-scale attack on Ukraine in February 2022, Turkey condemned the Russian invasion but, unlike Western countries, did not impose anysanctions 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 theMontreux Convention and thus deny warships passage through theTurkish straits. At the same time, Ankara openly offered its services as a mediator. In March 2022, Turkey hostedpeace talks between Ukraine and Russia. Although these talks did not lead to a breakthrough, Ankara achieved a significant success in the summer of 2022 with signing of theBlack Sea Grain Initiative in Istanbul to ensure the safe export of Ukrainian grain via the Black Sea. The agreement allowed grain to be shipped from Ukrainian ports under Turkish mediation until July 2023, before Russia let the agreement expire.[11]
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 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 tovisa-free travel introduced in 2017, 1.6 million Ukrainians visited Turkey in 2019, making them one of the largest groups of foreign tourists.[3]
.jpg)
In 2019, Turkish unmanned aerial vehicle manufacturerBaykar soldTB2 Bayraktars to Ukraine. In 2020, Turkey sold numerous military equipment to Ukraine, including twoAda-class corvettes. Deliveries of TB2 Bayraktars to Ukraine began in 2021. Ukraine first used TB2s against Russian-backed rebels in the Donbas region on October 26, 2021, and released footage of the operation to the press. Russia strongly condemned the use of Turkish weapons and demanded that Türkiye halt its arms exports to Ukraine.[14][15][16]
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 theArmed Forces of Ukraine for the purchase of Turkish military and dual-use goods.[17]
On October 3, 2022, the first Ukrainian warship built in Türkiye,Hetman Ivan Mazepa, was launched. The second Ukrainian warship built in Türkiye,Hetman Ivan Vyhovskyi, was launched on August 2, 2024.[18][19][20]
Former NATO Secretary GeneralJens Stoltenberg stated that during a defense cooperation meeting between NATO and Ukraine, former Ukrainian PresidentPetro Poroshenko told him that the United States and other NATO countries were not selling Ukraine the necessary weapons, and that only Türkiye had been selling them prior to the war.[21]
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 aRussian invasion.[22] As the crisis escalated, Ukraine ambassador to Turkey asked Turkey to close the nation's Black Sea-Mediterraneanstraits to Russian warships.[23] On 25 February, on the other hand, the Republic of Turkey abstained from voting on Russia’s suspension from theCouncil of Europe as it calls for open dialogue between the parties under any circumstances.[24] Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu also reiterated Turkey's "readiness to host negotiations that could take place between the Russian Federation and Ukraine," accordingly.[25]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 the1936 Montreux Convention's international pact which allows Turkey to prohibit Russian warships from entering theBosporus andDardanelles and thus hinder Russian vessels' transit from the Mediterranean to the Black Sea.[26] 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.[27]
Turkey has provided Ukraine withBayraktar 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.[28][29]
On 3 May 2022, Ukrainian PresidentVolodymyr Zelenskyy accused Turkey of having "double standards" by welcoming Russian tourists while attempting to act as an intermediary between Russia and Ukraine in order toend the war.[30]
Ukraine's ambassador to Turkey said that Turkey is one of the countries that is buying grain that Russia stole from Ukraine.[31]
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 havesigned 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[32][33] before navigating a preplanned route through the Black Sea, which remains heavily mined by Ukrainian and Russian forces.[32] 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".[34]
In August 2022, some news sources published images of Turkish-madeKirpiMRAP vehicles being used by the Ukrainian Army.BMC, the manufacturer of the Kirpi vehicles, stated that they did not sell the vehicles to Ukraine and that the vehicles used by Ukraine were already in the Turkish army's inventory. Neither the Turkish nor Ukrainian sides made any statements about the vehicles. A source who stated that they had received information from Ukrainian authorities said that Ukraine had received 200 Kirpi vehicles and that the first batch of 50 had been delivered.[35][36][37]
In July 2023, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared that “there is no doubt that Ukraine deserves membership of NATO”.[38]
Russian Foreign MinisterSergey Lavrov criticized Turkey for selling weapons to Ukraine despite Türkiye acting as a mediator between Russia and Ukraine.[39]
There has been a rise in number of Turkish dissidents fleeing to Ukraine, following the violent crackdown launched by Turkish leader Erdoğan following the failed2016 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.[40][41]
According toRadio Free Europe in February 2020, the Ukrainian government was found complicit in letting the Turkish intelligence abduct Turkish dissidents, mostly those who linked with theGülen movement; Kyiv had already deported a number of Gulenists back to Turkey in 2021.[42][43]
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 underStalin 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 theCouncil of the Ukrainian Diaspora.[2]
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 MinisterDmytro 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 spokesmanOleg 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, PresidentVolodymyr Zelensky issued a decree ordering the sending of humanitarian aid to Turkey to help the country overcome the consequences of the earthquake.[44]
The public opinion among Turkish citizens for providing military equipments to Ukraine has been varying. In a 2023 poll byEurobarometer, 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.[45] However, in the same poll conducted in spring 2024, the support for providing military equipments to Ukraine has drastically fallen to 42%.[46] As a result of the conflicts in the Middle East since 2023, there is an increasing hostility towards Western support forIsrael, where Turkish citizens have accused Western countries of "double standards" for supporting Israel in the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East.[47] 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.[48]
Petro Poroshenko, a billionaire who was Ukraine's president from 2014 to 2019, expressed dismay to Stoltenberg in an undated conversation that Nato wasn't supporting Ukraine against Russia, while Turkey was directly selling weapons to Kyiv in 2019. "Ukraine needed more weapons and equipment. They desperately needed drones, anti-tank weapons and modern air defence," Stoltenberg writes. "Poroshenko was grateful that Turkey had delivered the advanced Bayraktar drones, but dissatisfied that the United States and other Nato countries would not sell weapons to Ukraine."
{{cite web}}:|last= has generic name (help)
|  | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Africa |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Americas | ||
| Asia | ||
| Europe |
| |
| Oceania | ||
| Multilateral relations | ||
| Disputes | ||
| Diplomatic missions | ||
| Related | ||
