7.

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What are the main dynamics of ​Turkey-USSR​relations during the Cold War?
 
Turkey and Russia have succeeded in developing a constructive dialogue since the Cold War
era. he roots of this dialogue go back to the 1920s. Following the Bolshevik Revolution,
throughout the Turkish War for Independence and the establishment of the Turkish Republic,
and up until 1936 the two countries had cooperated in several areas. During the Cold War,
Turkey and the USSR were in opposite blocs, but being located in the same geography, both
countries found various ways to keep dialogue channels open.

The period of 1960-1970 is characterized by the active activities of the USSR on the world
stage. In 1971, the 24th CPSU Congress adopted the Peace Program.There were ​two main
trends of the Soviet plan. The first is disarmament, and the second the establishment of
international relations of a new type.

The Soviet proposal, made at the party congress, on convening a conference of the five
nuclear powers— the Soviet Union, the United States, the People's Republic of China, France
and Britain—to, discuss the full range of questions linked with nuclear disarmament, evoked
great response. An equally vital initiative on the part of the Soviet Union was the, draft
convention it submitted in Geneva on the prohibition of the development, manufacture and
stockpiling of bacteriological (biological) weapons and toxic agents, and on their destruction
at time while conditions mature for a ban on the elaboration and production of chemical
weapons.

A new type of international relations meant that, along with a firm rebuff to acts of
aggression, for which the United Nations should be used in full measure, repudiation of the
use and threat of force in settling outstanding issues must become a law of international life.
The Soviet Union invites the countries which accept this approach to conclude appropriate
bilateral or regional treaties. It is not difficult to see in this a universal key to systems of
collective security in Europe and other parts of the globe.​The foreign policy of the USSR in
those years was aimed at the implementation of this program. The main questions of the
USSR’s foreign policy in the 1960s were the provision of favorable conditions for solving the
problems of communist construction. The efforts of the USSR were aimed at strengthening
the unity of the socialist countries, expanding cooperation with developing countries, and
developing peaceful coexistence of countries with a different social system.

During the twenty years relations between Turkey and the USSR were influenced by
developments in the world as well as the region.

The first development was the Cuban missile crisis.The American decision following the
crisis to dismantle the Jupiter missiles deployed in Turkey without consulting Ankara led
Turkey to review its relations with the U.S.,while removing an impediment to developing
relations with the USSR.

A second factor was the changes taking place within NATO. These changes in NATO’s
military strategy during the 1960s were placing strains on relations among the allies.
Compared to the massive retaliation strategy, the new strategy of flexible response allowed
the allies more room for maneuver.

The third factor was the question of chromium. In 1963 the USSR lowered its price for the
mineral, which led the U.S, to shift its purchases from Turkey to the USSR. As a leading
exporter of chromium, Turkey was badly affected by this decision. This led Ankara to review
its policies based on bloc solidarity.

The fourth factor was Cyprus. The Cyprus events of 1964 and 1974 and the Soviet response
to these developments influenced bilateral relations to an important degree. The U.S. military
embargo and Turkey’s response of closing U.S. bases also contributed to the development of
bilateral relations with Moscow.

The fifth development was détente, In the 1970s the intensity of the Cold War abated, with
events such as the disarmament negotiations and the Helsinki process, This allowed for
improved relations. The USSR’s relations with the capitalist states began improving with
détente, and the volume of trade expanded. Turkey shared in these developments. Soviet
leaders repeatedly declared that the post-war demands for territory and bases in the Turkish
Straits were misguided and blamed Stalin and Beria for this, This too helped improve
bilateral relations. As Turkey's relations with Moscow improved through détente, this did not
happen at the expense of the Western alliance but in step with it.

Socioeconomic developments in Turkish society also played a role, ‘There is a general

impression in Turkey that no improvements in Turkish-Soviet relations occurred in the
1970s. Turkey’s economic difficulties in the 19708 made it imperative to seek loans and aid
from the USSR, however, and economic cooperation was the driving force behind the
development of relations. Furthermore, it became evident that Moscow was not behind the
leftist groups and those who resorted to arms in an atmosphere of anarchy in Turkey during
the 1970s. As the suspicion that Moscow was responsible for Turkey's domestic troubles
abated, this too had a positive effect on bilateral relations.

Aslo, the USSR’s intervention in Afghanistan in December 1979 had a negative effect on
Turkish relations with the USSR, while helping to develop relations with the US.

After the 1960 Turkish coup d'état the USSR recognized the new government.​The USSR
also took initiatives at a high level to improve relations with the new administration. On 28
June 1960 Khrushchev wrote Cemal Gürsel a letter in which he established a link between
Turkey's situation and its alliances and expressed the wish to see Turkey pursuing a more
independent line in its foreign policy. Nevertheless, he went onto say that “we have no desire
to see Turkey’s relations with America and the other Western states deteriorate, We would
not harbor such feelings. We ourselves are seeking to establish good relations with all
Western states, including the United States”. He was emphasizing that Turkey’s alliance
commitments need not prevent the development of relations with the USSR. Developments
were to lead to a normalization of relations between two countries. Another development that
contributed to improved bilateral relations was the signing of various technical agreements.
On 27 April 1961 the two countries signed the agreement that allowed the establishment of
direct railway links between the USSR and Turkey. The Agreement on the Establishment of
the Cable Telephone Service was signed in 9 June 1962, This agreement extended Turkey's
telephone link with Bulgaria and Romania all the way to Moscow. A protocol to build a joint
irrigation dam on the Arpaçay River, which formed the border between the two countries,
was signed on 25 April 1963.For the first time since World War II, Turkey and the USSR
were able to share the same view on a regional issue like the question of Cyprus as it
presented itself in 1964. At Least the two countries’ positions were not opposed.

This official visit the minister of foreign affairs, Feridun Cemal Erkin paid to USSR from 30
October to 6 November 1964 proved very fruitful in a number of ways. Turkey had secured
the backing of the USSR on the question of Cyprus. A cultural agreement had been signed by
the two states. It also paved the way for other high-level visits that were to follow. The visit
was an important turning point and indicated that relations were becoming normal and that
cooperation could begin.

From 196s until the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979, Turkish-Soviet relations
included high-level visits in both directions, the conclusion of two important agreements,
economic aid to Turkey from the USSR, and the opening of an era of broad-ranging
cooperation.

As relations with the USSR improved in the 1960s, relations with the U.S. took a turn for the
worse. On the question of improved relations with the USSR, there was no difference
between the policies of the Justice Party and the CHP. Several factors were responsible for
the improved relations. One was détente, and the other was the diminished Soviet security
concerns over the Straits after the development of intercontinental ballistic missiles. Another
factor was the USSR’s aloofness during the suppression of national leftist movements in
countries like Iraq, Syria, Iran, and Turkey. The USSR did nothing while these groups were
being suppressed because it was aware that any move on its part would spoil relations with
these countries and possibly provoke a U.S, intervention. The most striking instance was the
Soviet reaction to the 12, March 1971 memorandum in Turkey. After the memorandum,
Nihat Erim formed two governments, one in March and the other in December, The minister
of foreign affairs in his first government was Osman Olçay, deputy secretary-general of
NATO. This was interpreted as a sign of the importance attached to relations with the U.S.
The foreign minister in the second government was Haluk Bayülken, who pursued the same
policies as his predecessor. As in 1960, Moscow followed a “wait and see” course. Although
the Soviet press was critical of the persecution of leftists, this did not affect relations
adversely. At a time when leftist movements were being hounded, Podgorny came to Turkey
and signed a document with his Turkish hosts, This was an indication that in bilateral
relations the : USSR was really sticking to the policy of not interfering in domestic affairs.

On 11-17 April 1972 2 Podgorny, the president of the Supreme Soviet Presidium, visited
Turkey. In the course of this visit, the Declaration on the Principles of Good Neighborliness
was signed. Consisting of eight paragraphs, this document was one of the indications of the
good relations between the two countries. Further economic and political developments
followed the declaration.

Although the Cyprus events of 1974 affected relations, they were not decisive. The USSR
supported the first intervention but opposed the second. Moscow held the view that the
question should be resolved within an international framework. ‘The USSR took into
consideration that Greece had left the military structure of NATO and the danger of Cyprus
being partitioned that emerged after Turkey took possession of 35% of the island. Still, the
USSR was very circumspect in its reaction to Turkey’s Cyprus operation and avoided
condemning it. Moscow stressed the independence, integrity, nonalignment, and the equal
rights of the two peoples of the island. Turkey's military presence on the island was creating
problems within NATO, so in a sense the USSR was benefiting by the question of Cyprus
remaining unresolved, ‘The question of Cyprus contained two important elements: Makarios
and his nonalignment and the AKEL, the oldest Communist party in the Middle East.
Nevertheless, Cyprus never had a decisive effect on relations with the USSR, because it was
a source of discord between Turkey and its allies.

In the second half of the 1970s a greater rapprochement with the USSR might have been
expected as a consequence of the U.S. arms embargo, but several factors prevented this from
happening. The second Cyprus intervention had caused apprehension in the USSR. Another
factor was the firmly anti-Soviet stance of the Nationalist Action Party, which was a coalition
partner in both the Nationalist Front-1 and Nationalist Front—2 governments, Finally, the
military bases in Turkey were reopened for American use following the rescinding of the
U.S, arms embargo, two months after the signing of the political document. This was
followed by the USSR’s military intervention in Afghanistan in December 1979. Turkey was
among the countries that strongly condemned the intervention and gave sanctuary to
thousands of Afghan refugees. The occupation of Afghanistan had an adverse effect on
U.S.-Soviet relations and also caused serious concern in Turkey, leading to warmer relations
with the U.S. after 1980.

The 1980s were of crucial importance to both Turkey and the USSR. Both countries went
through a period of change. Without going into whether it was for better or worse, Turkey
found itself transformed. The USSR expired as it was being transformed. The process was
propitious for the development of bilateral relations.The most important domestic event in the
USSR during the 1980s was the ending of the eighteen-year-long Brezhnev era, which began
in 1964 and came to an end on 10 November 1982.. Hence the post-Brezhnev era really
commenced when Mikhail Gorbachev became general secretary of the Communist Party of
the Soviet Union on 11 March 1985.

The USSR remained very circumspect toward the new administration in Ankara, which
accused Moscow of being behind the anarchy in Turkey. Moscow showed no reaction to the
mass arrests taking place in Turkey. At a time-when political relations were stagnant,
economic relations went on without interruption. The program of the Ulusu government that
took office on 20 September 1980 contained the following phrase: “special importance shall
be attached to relations with the Soviet Union”. In 1981 Turkey’s exports to the USSR
attained their highest level since 1924. Similarly, in 1983 its imports from the USSR also
attained record:levels, More importantly, the foundations of Turkey’s. developing economic
relations with first the USSR and then Russia were laid during this period.As indicated
earlier, Turkey’s relations with the USSR started developing in the mid-1960s, first in the
economic field and later spreading to the political sphere. The USSR began to overcome its
obsession with ideology in the 1980s, and both the USSR and Turkey went through a period
of economic restructuring. Cooperation in the economic field quickly spread to the political
field.

Turkey’s economic relations with the pre-perestroika USSR were already quite developed
and ready for the boom that would come in the 1990s after perestroika. On 10 March 1981,
shortly after the 12 September administration assumed power, an agreement was signed for
the extension of the Soviet-built Seydişehir Aluminum Plant. This was followed by a protocol
signed in January 1982 that raised the level of trade by 30%. It was significant that this
protocol was signed at a time when the U.S, was seeking to impose a trade boycott against
the USSR for the imposition of martial law in Poland. Turkey also provided Moscow with the
propaganda prize, as a NATO member ruled by a military regime.

The Natural Gas Agreement signed on 18 September 1984 constituted a turning point in
bilateral relations. The agreement, signed after two years of negotiations, opened up new
opportunities in the fields of contracting services and trade exchanges. Turkey undertook to
buy, for a period of twenty-five years starting in 1987, 120 billion cubic meters of natural gas
from the USSR, with payment to be made with convertible currencies. The USSR agreed to
spend 70% of the foreign exchange earned from these sales to buy ‘Turkish goods and
services. Of the funds to be spent in Turkey, 35% would be set aside to pay for Turkish
contracting services; and 30% of the sale proceeds would be used to repay commercial loans
extended to the USSR. For Turkey to agree as early as 1984 to procure one of its energy
requirements from the other bloc was an important political development. The agreement
would enable Turkey to diversify its energy sources. The decision to rely on Soviet gas was
taken because Turkish decision-makers were favorably disposed toward the project.
Furthermore, the Federal Republic of Germany had a similar agreement with the USSR,
which constituted a useful precedent.

In summary, at a time when Turkey was carrying out reforms to enter the market economy,
the USSR was engaged in a similar endeavor with its policies of perestroika and glasnost.
The USSR became progressively more detached from ideology in its foreign policy under the
influence of the “new way of thinking” in politics. This removed many obstacles to the
development of economic as well as political relations. Turkey contributed to this process by
remaining aldof from the separatist tendencies emerging in the USSR 4nd its scrupulous
respect for the USSR’s territorial integrity.