From the National Pact to the Sèvres and Lausanne: The Birth of Two Syndromes

Turkey’s response to the war in Ukraine in the context of systemic changes and regional dynamics

“…While in 2014 the Western response to the annexation of Crimea was rather muted, in 2022 the West reacted immediately and decisively against Russia, imposing a series of costly sanctions on the aggressor, and providing substantial military assistance to Ukraine (Tziarras, 2022). Consequently, trans-Atlantic ties have been boosted and the idea of a unitary West has been strengthened, while Russia has proved unable to achieve a quick victory on the battlefield and become more dependent economically on China (Lo, 2023, p. 7).…”

“…On March 10, the Antalya Diplomacy Forum provided the opportunity for Sergey Lavrov and Dmytro Kuleba to meet for the first time since the war started. Although the two foreign ministers' discussion on the possibility of temporary ceasefire agreements failed to produce a breakthrough, the fact that they were willing to conduct negotiations with Turkish mediation represented a diplomatic achievement for Ankara (Tziarras, 2022). At the end of March, a new round of talks organized in Istanbul produced the most tangible result to date, a draft treaty identifying Ukraine's neutral status as a key condition of peace.…”

“…Consequently, an examination of the Turkish strategic perspective on the war in Ukraine brings us closer to a comprehensive understanding of the conflict. This explains the relatively high number of studies (Isachenko, 2023;Isachenko & Swistek, 2023;Bechev, 2023;Adar, 2022;Tziarras, 2022;Yang, 2023) addressing Turkey's role in the war. Building upon the findings presented in these articles, this paper aims to contribute to the academic discourse on the subject by interpreting Turkey's response to the war in relation to systemic changes and regional dynamics.…”