Serbia–Turkey relations

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Serbian–Turkish relations
Map indicating locations of Serbia and Turkey

Serbia

Turkey

Serbian–Turkish relations are foreign relations between Serbia and Turkey. Serbia has an embassy in Ankara and a consulate-general in Istanbul. Turkey has an embassy in Belgrade. Both countries are full members of the Council of Europe, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), the Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA) and the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC). Turkey is a member of NATO. Serbia instead is not a member of NATO.

History

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and King Alexander of Yugoslavia 1933.

Relations between the two countries date back to the Late Middle Ages. After a

series of wars that included the 1371 Battle of Maritsa and the Battle of Kosovo in 1389, the Serbian Despotate became part of the Ottoman Empire
in 1459.

.

In 1815, the

Priştine (Pristina) over the next few years. Following the 1894 Istanbul earthquake numerous civil society organisations organized benefit events for the collection of aid for the victims of the catastrophy.[1]

The 1910s was a tumultuous decade in Serbian-Turkish relations. The two countries broke off diplomatic relations with the outbreak of the Balkan Wars in 1912, during which Serbia captured large tracts of Ottoman territory including Kosovo and parts of modern-day North Macedonia. Serbia again declared war on the Ottoman Empire on 2 November 1914 during World War I, although this time the two countries never came into direct conflict with each other.

Diplomatic relations resumed in 1925 between the

Republic of Turkey
, both being successor states of Serbia and the Ottoman Empire in the aftermath of World War I.

During the Communist Yugoslav period, Serbia (as part of

Turkey-Yugoslavia relations
).

In 1982 two assassins of the Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia shot the ambassador of Turkey in Yugoslavia Galip Balkar as revenge for the Armenian genocide. Unarmed citizens of Belgrade who were near the event tried to stop the culprits and chased after them, which resulted in two Serbian civilians wounded and one dead.[2][3] Ambassador Balkar died two days later in the hospital. The event is commemorated every year by Turkey and Serbia.[4]

With the outbreak of the Yugoslav Wars, Turkey expressed its solidarity with the Muslim-majority regions of Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo, causing some friction with Serbia.

Modern relations

Turkish Defense Minister Vecdi Gönül and Serbian Defense Minister Dragan Šutanovac met in Ankara on 12 May 2009 to sign a defence cooperation agreement. Gönül stated that, “Although we do not have a common border, we see Serbia as a neighbour,” and, “Turkey desires to maintain and improve its relations with Serbia the most, among all the other Balkan states.” Šutanovac confirmed that, “There are a lot of things to do in this field,”[5] and, “We are thinking of taking some initiatives in the defense industry together, like co-production in Turkey or Serbia.”[6]

Turkish President Abdullah Gül paid a visit to Serbia on 26 October 2009, and became the first Turkish President to visit Serbia since 1986.[7]

Erdoğan's Kosovo speech

In October 2013, Serbia's foreign ministry condemned a statement by Turkish Prime Minister

Dušan the Mighty.[8]

Various Serbian politicians, including Prime Minister

Tomislav Nikolic announced Serbia's withdrawal from trilateral talks which included Turkey and Bosnia that same day,[10] demanding Turkey's apology for the "scandal".[11] The statements were also condemned by Heinz-Christian Strache, leader of the Freedom Party of Austria, who believed that Europe should rise against the Turkish PM. "His territorial pretensions in Europe are a step away from the restoration of the Ottoman Empire that Erdoğan wants," Strache said in his statement.[12]

However, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu said during an interview on the TRT channel that Erdoğan's words have been misunderstood. "Remarks which have been cut out from the whole speech were taken to grounds we don’t want. We also aim to have good relations with Serbia. Turkey maintains an equal distance to all Balkan countries," Davutoğlu stressed.[11]

Post 2013 relations

Relations between two countries recovered quickly after the 2013 speech with significant increase in number of flights travelers between

2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt when Belgrade explicitly at that same first night express opposition to any attempt of violent takeover and express support for the democratically elected government of Turkey.[16] He also invited Turkish President and Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu to visit Belgrade.[16] In December 2016 National Assembly of Serbia Deputy Speaker Vladimir Marinković attended the opening of the renovated building of the Embassy of Turkey in Belgrade and on that occasion he stated that political relations between the two countries are very good.[17] He expressed full support of all state institutions of Serbia to Turkey in the process of overcoming post 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt situation, and that Serbia want to see stable Turkey which is of great importance for the whole region.[17]

In 2022, neither Serbia nor Turkey backed the European Union's and United States' sanctions on Russia for the

Agreements

In June 2009, the two countries signed a free trade agreement.[20]

Resident diplomatic missions

  • Embassy of Serbia in Ankara
    Embassy of Serbia in Ankara
  • Embassy of Turkey in Belgrade
    Embassy of Turkey in Belgrade

See also

References

  1. .
  2. ^ "UBISTVO TURSKOG AMBASADORA U BEOGRADU: Događaj koji je zaprepastio čitav svet (FOTO)". www.srbijadanas.com (in Serbo-Croatian). Retrieved 2020-11-20.
  3. ^ "Atentat na turskog ambasadora". NOVOSTI (in Serbian). Retrieved 2020-11-20.
  4. ^ "Obeleženo 36 godina od ubistva turskog ambasadora u Beogradu". Politika Online. Retrieved 2020-11-20.
  5. ^ "Turkey, Serbia sign deal on defense industry ties". Today’s Zaman. 2009-05-13.
  6. ^ "Serbian defense minister: War with Kosovo not possible". Today’s Zaman. 2009-05-14.
  7. ^ "Gül Becomes The First Turkish President to Visit Serbia in 23 Years". TurkishNY. 2009-10-26. Retrieved 2009-10-26.
  8. ^ a b "Serbia condemns Erdoğan's Kosovo remarks". Today's Zaman. 25 October 2013. Retrieved 18 December 2014.
  9. ^ "Turkish PM's statement "crude violation of intl. law"". B92. 25 October 2013. Retrieved 18 December 2014.
  10. ^ Baydar, Yavuz (28 October 2013). "Erdogan: 'Kosovo is Turkey'". Al-Monitor. Retrieved 18 December 2014.
  11. ^ a b "PM Erdoğan's words on Kosovo misunderstood by Serbia, says Turkish FM". Hürriyet Daily News. 27 October 2013. Retrieved 18 December 2014.
  12. ^ "Kosovo is not Turkey, Erdogan will fail with new Ottoman Empire – Heinz-Christian Strache". InSerbia. 25 October 2013. Retrieved 18 December 2014.
  13. ^ "Zlatno doba odnosa između Srbije i Turske". e-novine. 28 December 2015. Retrieved 5 January 2017.
  14. N1 (television)
    . 10 March 2016. Retrieved 5 January 2017.
  15. ^ a b "Antić: Bilateralni privredni i politički odnosi Srbije i Turske u uzlaznoj putanji". Večernje novosti. 28 December 2016. Retrieved 5 January 2017.
  16. ^ a b "Dačić: Odnosi Srbije i Turske ključni za region". B92. 5 October 2016. Retrieved 5 January 2017.
  17. ^ a b "Marinković: Odnosi Srbije i Turske veoma dobri". Blic. 15 December 2016. Retrieved 5 January 2017.
  18. ^ Gumrukcu, Tuvan; Toksabay, Ece (22 February 2022). "NATO member Turkey, opposed to sanctions, in bind over Ukraine". Reuters.
  19. ^ "Serbia will not impose sanctions against Moscow, president says". Reuters. 25 February 2022.
  20. ^ Turkey, Serbia Sign Free Trade Agreement

External links