First gulf crisis and Turkish foreign policy

The main intention of the present study is evaluating the effects of first Gulf crisis on Turkish foreign policy at that period. To put it in a different way, how Turkish foreign policy was affected by first Gulf Crisis and which stages of the crisis had an impact on Turkish foreign policy will be discussed through this study. Even though Turkey supported the war against Iraq, Turkey did not be an active part of Gulf War. However, this situation could not be considered as Turkey entirely remained outside of the war. Rather, Turkey was a member of Gulf Coalition, which was established against Iraq, and thus, a neutrality claim about the attitudes of Turkey cannot be suggested. The most prominent person was the president of Turkey of the time, Turgut Özal. In the general sense, Özal conducted an active foreign policy. Therefore, during the period, he was very influential in foreign policy and his approaches played a significant role. It is undeniable that the interaction among Turkey, the United States and Western countries at that period is a major subject to discuss the matter. Therefore, scrutinizing the conducted foreign policy in relation with the attempts of the UN and NATO towards the first Gulf crisis could be beneficial. Keywords: Iraq, invasion, the Gulf War, Turkey, Turkish foreign policy