{"id":11452,"date":"2022-12-17T11:16:00","date_gmt":"2022-12-17T11:16:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.globalpanorama.org\/2022\/12\/cu-4\/"},"modified":"2024-11-20T21:58:36","modified_gmt":"2024-11-20T18:58:36","slug":"impact-of-russia-ukraine-war-on-turkish-foreign-policy-cigdem-ustun","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.globalpanorama.org\/en\/2022\/12\/impact-of-russia-ukraine-war-on-turkish-foreign-policy-cigdem-ustun\/","title":{"rendered":"Impact of Russia-Ukraine War on Turkish Foreign Policy – \u00c7i\u011fdem \u00dcst\u00fcn"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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February 24th, 2022, has been a turning point in the\nforeign policy directions of several countries. Finland and Sweden abandoned\ntheir long-term non-alignment policy and decided to become NATO members. The EU\nimposed sanctions on Russia and took quick steps to decrease its dependence on\nRussian energy sources. While not participating in the sanctions and\nanti-Russia camp, Turkey is demonstrating its position as pro-Ukraine. Turkish\nMinistry of Foreign Affairs stated<\/a> that it does not recognize Russia\u2019s decision to annex\nDonetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and\nZaporizhzhia. Turkey\u2019s Bayraktar drones have been referred to as a game\nchanger, increasing Turkey\u2019s visibility in the war. By June 2022, the Ukrainian\ndefense ministry stated<\/a> that the country had received 50 armed drones from Turkish arms company\nBaykar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just after the attack on Ukrainian territory, Turkey\ncalled the invasion war, and FM Mevl\u00fct \u00c7avu\u015fo\u011flu declared<\/a> that \u201c[Turkey] will implement the Montreux Convention\u201d, which meant\nprevention of warships belonging to belligerent states from passing through the\nStraits except returning to their home bases, significantly limiting Russian\nwarships\u2019 mobility between their headquarters in the Black Sea and missions in\nthe Mediterranean Sea. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sweden and Finland\u2019s applications for NATO membership\nemphasized Turkey\u2019s position as a NATO ally with equal voting rights. Turkey\nopposed their membership because of their support to the PKK-related PYD and\ntheir arms embargo on Turkey since 2019. By the end of June 2022, Turkey,\nFinland, and Sweden signed a Trilateral Memorandum<\/a> stating that \u201cFinland and Sweden will not provide\nsupport to YPG\/PYD, and the organization described as FET\u00d6 in T\u00fcrkiye\u201d and\n\u201cFinland and Sweden confirm that now there are no national arms embargoes in\nplace between them. Sweden is changing its national regulatory framework for\narms exports in relation to NATO Allies\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since the war in Ukraine started, Turkey has also fostered\nits position as a regional power that can act as a mediator. Turkey played a\nfacilitation role in the grain deal between Ukraine and Russia. The agreement was referred<\/a> to as \u201ca beacon of hope\u201d by U.N. Secretary-General\nAntonio Guterres. A Joint Coordination Center was established in \u0130stanbul to\nmonitor the implementation, including the representatives of Ukraine, Russia,\nand Turkey. Since August 2022, 122 voyages from Ukraine and 144 voyages to Ukraine<\/a> have been assisted through this center. Another\nfacilitation effort of Turkey was the exchange of prisoners of war between\nRussia and Ukraine. In September 2022, more than 200 prisoners were released<\/a> after the agreements were brokered by Turkey and\nSaudi Arabia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One can observe that since the start of the Russia-Ukraine\nWar, Turkey has been taking steps to present itself as a balancing actor\nbetween the East and the West without being anti-Russian. In the past, Turkey\u2019s\nrole in the Black Sea was perceived as a peculiar one. Although it has been a\nNATO ally, it was not supportive of American presence in the region and opposed\nother allies such as Romania. Current Turkish policy highlights its NATO\nmembership while keeping diplomatic channels open with the East, connecting\nboth sides.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A shift of axis has been one of the main debating\nthemes of Turkish foreign policy. The possibility of a strategic alliance with\nRussia has occupied the agenda lately, especially since Turkey purchased\nRussian S-400 missiles. However, it would be wrong to assume that Turkey and\nRussia can be considered strategic allies since their interests and policies\noppose each other in conflict zones such as Syria, Libya, and Ukraine. Turkish\nofficials repeatedly stated that Turkey supports Ukraine’s territorial\nintegrity and sovereignty. Although Turkey is not officially participating in\nthe sanctions against Russia, it is also careful not to allow any institutions or persons to breach the\nsanctions<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The war in Ukraine and the increasing tension between\nTurkey\u2019s western allies and Russia have had implications for human security.\nThe territorial integrity and protection of the sovereign rights of Ukraine are\na priority. Still, the dependency on energy sources from Russia has put a lot\nof pressure, especially on European countries, as the energy prices are increasing\nand citizens\u2019 discontent is increasing. The need for alternative energy\nresources and diversification has become one of the most urgent matters in the\npolitical and economic agendas of the EU countries. Here, Turkey\u2019s geopolitical\nposition again attracts attention with its potential to link alternative energy\nresources to Europe. Although Turkey\u2019s desire to become an energy hub is not\nnew, the need for alternative energy routes is now more urgent than ever. Since\nestablishing renewable energy sources and infrastructure would not be feasible\nto meet the needs of the European countries in the short term, turning to coal\nand nuclear energy and finding alternative natural gas resources are essential.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hence, one can observe that Turkey\u2019s (in)famous\ngeostrategic position and ability to keep diplomatic channels open with the\nEast is strengthening its hands in relations with its Western allies. However,\nstatements that would suggest Turkey\u2019s alignment more with Eastern countries,\ni.e., joining the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, have the potential to\nincrease doubts about Turkey\u2019s intentions in an era where geopolitics is on the\nrise. As the tension between Turkey\u2019s Western allies and Russia is growing, it\nis not hard to project the difficulties in managing a balancing act in the\nregion and at a more global level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Similarly, future Russian efforts to increase its\ninfluence to drive a wedge between Turkey and the West would not be surprising.\nOne should also consider the increasing right-wing politics around the globe,\nincluding in Europe. The political rhetoric is incrementally polarized, and the\nemphasis on \u201cus vs. them\u201d is increasing daily. Inferring from previous election\ncycles, it can easily be projected that the future is prone to diplomatic rows\nand tensions between Turkey and the European countries since Turkey\u2019s\nrelationship with Europe is not solely a foreign affairs matter but also a\ndomestic issue reflecting on the identities both in Western countries and\nTurkey. In such a fragile and strained political environment, Turkey\u2019s\ntraditionary approach in the region could be the guide in future endeavors, not\nonly with the regional countries but also regarding international mechanisms at\na more global level. Thus, Turkey should keep diplomatic channels open and\namicable relations with the eastern countries while remembering its position in\nthe Western alliance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Assoc. Prof.  \u00c7i\u011fdem \u00dcst\u00fcn, \u0130stanbul Ni\u015fanta\u015f\u0131 University<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00c7i\u011fdem \u00dcst\u00fcn graduated from Bilkent University, Department of Political Science and Public Administration, and completed her master’s degree in International Relations and European Studies at the University of East Anglia. She completed her PhD on security cultures of the European Union and Turkey at the University of Limerick, Ireland. \u00dcst\u00fcn is an associate professor in the field of European Union and is a faculty member in the Department of International Relations at Istanbul Ni\u015fanta\u015f\u0131 University. She has books and articles published by national and international publishers on EU-Turkey relations, EU and Turkey neighborhood policies, which are her research areas.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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To cite this work: <\/strong> \u00c7i\u011fdem \u00dcst\u00fcn, \u201c”Impact of Russia-Ukraine War on Turkish Foreign Policy\u201d, Panorama, Online, 17 December 2022, https:\/\/www.globalpanorama.org\/blog\/2022\/12\/17\/cu-4\/ <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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This article has been prepared with the support provided to the International Relations Council<\/a> and the Global Academy<\/a> by the Heinrich B\u00f6ll Stiftung Association Turkey Representative within the scope of the project titled ‘Foreign Policy for the 21st Century; Peaceful, Equitable, and Dynamic Turkey’.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Copyright@UIKPanorama. All on-line and print rights reserved. Opinions expressed in works published by the Panorama belongs to the authors alone unless otherwise stated, and do not imply endorsement by the IRCT, Global Academy, or the Editors\/Editorial Board of Panorama.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

February 24th, 2022, has been a turning point in the foreign policy directions of several countries. Finland and Sweden abandoned their long-term non-alignment policy and decided to become NATO members. The EU imposed sanctions on Russia and took quick steps to decrease its dependence on Russian energy sources. While not participating in the sanctions and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":9741,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[510,512,486,507,508],"tags":[656,563,713,621,650,644],"class_list":["post-11452","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-100-years-of-the-republic","category-crisis-in-ukraine","category-opinion","category-russia","category-turkey","tag-english","tag-foreign-policy-and-diplomacy","tag-heinrich-boll-foundation","tag-russia","tag-turkiye","tag-ukraine"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.globalpanorama.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11452","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.globalpanorama.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.globalpanorama.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.globalpanorama.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.globalpanorama.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11452"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.globalpanorama.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11452\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.globalpanorama.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9741"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.globalpanorama.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11452"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.globalpanorama.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11452"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.globalpanorama.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11452"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}