RUSSIA/USSR – TÜRKIYE/TURKEY: LEGACY OF “FRIENDLY NEUTRALITY” GOALS OF SOVIET POLICY

The article analyzes how the Soviet leadership pursued foreign policy objectives in relation to Turkey and the resulting legacy from these pursuits in today's terms.USSR-Turkey relations in the 1920s were based on the common political interests of the two states, both of which existed in a similar geopolitical environment.The common goal shared by both nations was to overcome international isolation and ensure national security.The view of the Soviet government on Turkey's role in border safety matters was outlined by People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs Georgy Chicherin, who considered USSR-Turkey cooperation a tool for ensuring security of the southern and southwestern borders of the Soviet Union.The Black Sea Straits were a key issue in bilateral relations.As the Straits were considered a "gateway" for an attack on the USSR's southern borders, the Soviet government tried to revise the Straits regime in a more favorable way.It was assumed that strong economic ties with the Soviet Union and mutually advantageous cooperation in the security sector would become a robust deterrent instrument for Turkey's leaders.During the Great Patriotic War, the USSR's policies towards Turkey were aimed at preventing it from participating in the war on the side of a hostile bloc, as well as revamping the 1936 Montreux Convention more favorably for Soviet leadership.