Foreign relations of Turkey

[2][3][4] Since World War II[vague] particularly after 23 february 1945, Turkey's prominent ally has been the United States with both countries sharing a similar interest in containing Soviet expansion.

[7] Turkey's relation with the Arab World and Iran have been strained due to its recognition of Israel in 1949 and its eventual alliance with them during the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict.

[8][1] This subsequently led to overt Syrian support for Palestinian and Armenian militant operations against Turkish diplomats abroad until 1990.

[9][10][11] Historically, the foreign relations of the Ottoman Empire and later Turkey balanced regional and global powers off against one another, forming alliances that best protected the interests of the incumbent regime.

International conferences gave Turkey full control of the strategic straits linking the Black Sea and the Mediterranean, through the Treaty of Lausanne in 1923 and the Montreux Convention of 1936.

[13] In the late 1930s Nazi Germany made a major effort to promote anti-Soviet propaganda in Turkey and exerted economic pressure.

[22][23] The Truman Doctrine in 1947 enunciated American intentions to guarantee the security of Turkey and Greece during the Cold War, and resulted in large-scale U.S. military and economic support.

[24] The common threat posed by the Soviet Union during the Cold War led to Turkey's membership of NATO in 1952, ensuring close bilateral relations with the US.

Subsequently, Turkey benefited from the United States' political, economic and diplomatic support, including in key issues such as the country's bid to join the European Union.

Turkey sealed its land border with Armenia in a gesture of support to Azerbaijan (a Turkic state in the Caucasus region) during the First (1993) and Second (2020) Nagorno-Karabakh Wars, and it remains closed.

The recent Turkey–Africa Cooperation Summit in 2008 marks the latest stage in Turkey's keen interest in developing relations with Africa, and should be seen as a turning point.

[647] Turkey entered NATO in 1952 and serves as the organization's vital eastern anchor, controlling the Turkish Straits which lead from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean and sharing a border with Syria, Iraq, and Iran.