New Geopolitics Research

New Geopolitics Research

Turkey’s Policy towards the Ukrainian Crisis and Relations with Russia

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
1 Department of Political Science, Faculty of Law and Political Science, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran.
2 Master's student in Middle East Studies, Faculty of Law and Political Science, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran.
3 MA in Central Asian and Caucasus Studies, Eco College of Insurance, Allameh Tabatabaei University, Tehran, Iran.
Abstract
The Ukraine crisis due to Russia's invasion of this country is one of the most important crises in Europe after World War II, which has become a place of conflict between major and regional powers. Turkey's attempt to play a role as a problem solver in the Ukraine crisis and maintain relations with Russia stems fromTurkey's conservative strategy in this war. This approach has created strategic ambiguity and has been interpreted as distancing Ankara from its western allies. Since Turkey has realized that the escalation of the war will complicate its relationship with NATO, it is trying to capitalize on its good relations with Ukraine and Russia, and play the role of a mediator. This research, using a qualitative method based on descriptive analysis and from the perspective of the balance of power, seeks to answer the following question: Which variables formed Turkey’s policy towards war and in relation to Russia? The hypothesis of the research is that Turkey's policy towards the Ukraine crisis is a balanced and interest-oriented policy based on internal variables (Justice and Development Party, strategic culture, nationalism, eastern identity, and western values) and external variables (membership in NATO, European Union, relations with the United States, and different geopolitics). And based on this argument, Turkey, while playing the role of a mediator between the two sides of the conflict, puts military-security support to Ukraine due to its membership in NATO, extensive relations with Russia, and non-sanctions of this country on the agenda.
Keywords

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