Turkish-Russian relations in the XXI. century (2000-2020)

This study comprehensively discusses Turkish-Russian relations in the 21st century. When we look at the history of Turkish-Russian relations, although it is possible to start the relations between the two communities from the sixth century, sources start the first official relationship from 1492. It can be seen that the relations between Turkey and Russia have become more important since the 1990s after the Cold War. After the collapse of the USSR, Turkish-Russian relations acquire a new dimension. The 90s are also known as the years when many problems arose in relations between the two countries. Trade and economic relations constituted the most important area of this period, in which competition prevailed. It would be appropriate to say that from the 1990s to the present, economic and trade relations have always overshadowed political relations. In the first part of this study, which we have dealt with in three parts, the historical development of Turkish-Russian relations until 2000, and in the second and third parts, the political, diplomatic, military and security relations and economic and commercial relations between the years 2000-2020 were tried to be discussed in detail. As far as we can see in our study, economic and trade relations have taken on the role of a locomotive in cooperation between the two countries, imparting a different quality to political, military and security issues, as well as relations with third countries. The most striking indicator of this is the rapidly growing foreign trade turnover between the two countries and the great efforts of the leaders of the two countries since the early 2000s. Over the years, many strategic projects have been signed and implemented in the context of bilateral relations, rebuilt on the basis of economic partnership. Although relations between the two countries have not yet reached the level of strategic partnership in general, it is clear that they have reached a strategic dimension in areas such as trade, economic and energy. Our research also noted that the momentum achieved in Turkish-Russian relations and the good level of relations also serve regional stability and common interests. From this point of view, the course of Turkish-Russian relations between 2000-2020, as well as the reasons and consequences of relations between the two countries in the field of political-diplomatic, trade-economic, military-security and energy are comprehensively discussed.