THE CAUCASUS ISSUE IN THE FOREIGN POLICY OF THE OTTOMAN-SAFAVID-RUSSIAN STATES IN THE FIRST HALF OF THE 18TH CENTURY

The article examines issues related to the foreign policy of the Ottoman-Safavid-Russian states in the second half of the 18th century. In this study, the author argues that the implementation of the Caucasus policy in the 18th century occupied a special place in the geopolitical rivals, the Ottoman, Russian and Safavid states. The Caucasus region, located at the junction of Europe and Asia, where land and water routes to Central Asia, the Near and Middle East passed, played a very important role in the policies of the parties fighting each other. Great Britain, France and other Western states also actively intervened in the internal affairs of the Caucasus.