Relations between Italy and Turkey date back centuries in the form of various predecessor states. Both countries are members of NATO and the Union for the Mediterranean and have active diplomatic relations.
The Ottoman Empire attempted to invade Italy in 1480. The Ottoman invasion of Otranto occurred between 1480 and 1481 at the Italian city of Otranto in Apulia, southern Italy. Forces of the Ottoman Empire invaded and laid siege to the city and its citadel. After the refusal to surrender, the city was taken and about 12,000 inhabitant (all the male population) were killed and the others were enslaved: moreover, more than 800 inhabitants were beheaded after the city had been captured.[1] The Martyrs of Otranto are still celebrated in Italy. A year later the Ottoman garrison surrendered the city following a siege by Christian forces and the intervention of Papal forces led by the Genoese Paolo Fregoso.
The Ottomans also briefly held Otranto once more after conquering it in 1537.[2][3] Ottoman troops operated in Italy and surrounding islands as part of France's war to subdue the region.
Ottoman Empire – Kingdom of Italy relations
The Ottoman Empire begun its first diplomatic mission to Italy in 1856, shortly before the establishment of the Kingdom of Italy, by sending Ambassador Rüstem Pasha.[4] Since then, Turkey has had a constant presence in Italy throughout both their embassy in Rome and their consulates in Milan and Naples.[5]
Starting from the late 19th century, Italy had a territorial claim over Ottoman Libya. This claim dated back to the Ottoman Empire's defeat by Russia during the war of 1877–1878 and subsequent discussions after the Congress of Berlin in 1878, in which France and the United Kingdom had agreed to the French occupation of Tunisia and British control over Cyprus respectively, which were both parts of the declining Ottoman Empire. When Italian diplomats hinted about possible opposition by their government, the French replied that Tripoli would have been a counterpart for Italy, which made a secret agreement with the British government in February 1887 via a diplomatic exchange of notes.[6] The agreement stipulated that Italy would support British control in Egypt, and that Britain would likewise support Italian influence in Libya.[7]
In 1902, a diplomatic crisis between Italy and the Ottoman Empire took place. The crisis began due to the Ottomans failing to prevent attacks by Turkish Arabs on Italian sambuks. When the Ottoman Empire refused to take precautions to prevent these attacks after repeated Italian threats, Italian warships bombarded Port Midi from 31 October onwards. On 10 November, the Ottoman Empire capitulated and agreed to take measures to curb piracy as well as pay an indemnity, ending the crisis.[8] Also in 1902, Italy and France had signed a secret treaty which accorded freedom of intervention in Tripolitania and Morocco.[9]
16 May 1912: surrender of the Turkish garrison in Rhodes to the Italian general Giovanni Ameglio near Psithos.
From 1911 to 1912, Italy and the Ottoman Empire fought a war over the Turkish provinces of Tripolitana and Cyrenaica, with the former emerging as the victor.[10] During the conflict, Italian forces also occupied the Dodecanese islands in the Aegean Sea. Italy agreed to return the Dodecanese to the Ottoman Empire in the Treaty of Ouchy[11] in 1912. However, the vagueness of the text, combined with subsequent adverse events unfavourable to the Ottoman Empire (the outbreak of the Balkan Wars and World War I), allowed a provisional Italian administration of the islands, and Turkey eventually renounced all claims on these islands in Article 15 of the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne.[12]
Turkish War of Independence and after
During the Turkish War of Independence (1919–1923), Italy occupied Constantinople and a part of southwestern Anatolia but never fought the Turkish Army directly. During its occupation Italian troops protected Turkish civilians, who were living in the areas occupied by the Italian army, from Greek troops and accepted Turkish refugees who had to flee from the regions invaded by the Greek army.[13] In July 1921 Italy began to withdraw its troops from southwestern Anatolia.
The Convention between Italy and Turkey, signed in Ankara on January 4, 1932, by the Italian Plenipotentiary, Ambassador Pompeo Aloisi, and the Turkish foreign minister Tevfik Rüştü Aras, settled a dispute that had arisen in the aftermath of the Treaty of Lausanne of 1923, about the sovereignty over a number of small islets and the delimitation of the territorial waters between the coast of Anatolia and the island of Kastellórizo, which was an Italian possession since 1921. Through the convention, the islets situated inside the bay of the harbour of Kastellorizo, along with the islands of Rho and Strongili further off, were assigned to Italy, while all other islets in the surrounding area were assigned to Turkey.[14]
The Refah tragedy was a maritime disaster that took place during World War II, in June 1941, when the cargo steamer Refah of neutral Turkey, carrying Turkish military personnel from Mersin in Turkey to Port Said, Egypt, was sunk in eastern Mediterranean waters by a torpedo fired from an unidentified submarine. Of the 200 passengers and crew aboard, only 32 survived. A report published by the Italian Navy gives coordinates where the Italian submarine Ondina attacked vessels. The site of Refah's sinking matches that information.[15] No country claimed responsibility for the attack on the Turkish ship. On 18 June 1941, Nazi Germany and Turkey signed the German–Turkish Treaty of Friendship.
In the 1990s, the diplomatic relations were very tense as Italy refused to extradite Abdullah Öcalan to Turkey, alleging that it was contrary to Italian Law that someone would be extradited into a country in which he would expect the death penalty.[16] Turkey, who has displayed a lot of diplomatic pressure for the extradition, opposed such verdict. The Defense minister of Turkey Ismet Sezgin mentioned that Turkey would review the candidates for an order for attack helicopters worth of 3.5 Billion dollars, for which before the rejection of the extradition the main candidate was the Italian Finmeccanica.[16]Mesut Yilmaz, the Turkish prime minister at the time also threatened that Italy is on track to earn Turkey's "eternal hostility".[16]
Relations worsened after Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio condemned the 2019 Turkish offensive into north-eastern Syria, declaring that the offensive against Kurdish forces in Syria is "unacceptable" and calling for an immediate end to the fighting.[18] Italy joined an arms embargo against Turkey, despite previously being Turkey's primary EU weapons supplier.[19][20]
Following a diplomatic incident dubbed as Sofagate in April 2021, Mario Draghi's remarks describing Recep Tayyip Erdoğan as a "dictator" were heavily criticized by the Turkish Foreign Ministry.[21] Erdogan condemned Draghi remark. As a result, relations deteriorated.[citation needed]
These two countries will co-host the UEFA Euro 2032 matches.
İzmir and Ankara are hosts to, respectively, the Italian Culture Center "Carlo Goldoni"[24] and the Italian Friendship Association "Casa Italia".[23] Both of these associations engage in the organisation of events promoting Italian culture and of courses teaching the Italian language.
A number of Italian schools are present in Turkey, with the great majority of them being located in Istanbul. Italian schools in Turkey include kindergartens, elementary, middle, and high schools.[23]
The Embassy of Turkey in Rome (Turkish: Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Roma Büyükelçiliği) is Turkey's diplomatic mission to Italy. It is located at Via Palestro, 28, Rome. The current ambassador is Ömer Gücük.[25]
The Turkish Embassy in Italy is a diplomatic mission representing the interests of the Turkish government in Italy.[26]
Physically bridging Europe and Asia and being above Africa, Turkey is a secular country that has historically pursued a Western-oriented foreign policy. To this end, Turkey uses its global diplomatic network—the third most extensive—of 252 diplomatic and consular missions.
Greece and Turkey established diplomatic relations in the 1830s following Greece's formation after its declaration of independence from the Ottoman Empire. Modern relations began when Turkey declared its formation in 1923 following the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in World War I. Rivalry has characterised their relations for most of their history with periods of positive relations but no underlying resolution of the main issues.
Denmark–Turkey relations are the current and historical relations between Denmark and Turkey. Denmark has an embassy in Ankara, and Turkey has an embassy in Copenhagen. Both countries are members of NATO and OSCE and COE. Diplomatic relations between Denmark and Turkey were put under pressure in 2014 because of the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy and the Roj TV affair (Roj TV's broadcasting license was suspended by the Supreme Court in Denmark on February 27, 2014). Denmark is a member of the EU, Turkey is EU candidate.
Bulgarian–Turkish relations or the Turko-Bulgarian relations are the bilateral relations between the Republic of Bulgaria and the Republic of Turkey. Bulgaria has an embassy in Ankara, two general consulates in Istanbul and Edirne and a chancellery in Bursa. Turkey has an embassy in Sofia and two general consulates in Plovdiv and Burgas.
The Kingdom of Spain and the Republic of Turkey maintain diplomatic relations. Spain has an embassy in Ankara and a consulate general in Istanbul. Turkey has an embassy in Madrid and a consulate general in Barcelona.
Croatia and Turkey established diplomatic relations in 1992. Turkey recognized independent Croatia in 1991. Croatia has an embassy in Ankara and a consulate-general in Istanbul and 2 honorary consulates in Antalya and İzmir. Turkey has an embassy in Zagreb. Both countries are full members of Council of Europe and of NATO. Croatia is an EU member and Turkey is an EU candidate. Croatia supports Turkey's accession negotiations to the EU, although negotiations have now been suspended.
Ethiopian–Turkish relations are foreign relations between Ethiopia and Turkey. Ethiopia has an embassy in Ankara and Turkey has an embassy in Addis Ababa. Turkey and Ethiopia have great relations, but Turkey has been more supportive of Somalia in the conflict.
Malta–Turkey relations are foreign relations between Malta and Turkey. Malta is represented in Turkey through its embassy in Ankara. Malta and its consulate–general in Istanbul. Turkey is represented in Malta through its embassy in Valletta. Both countries are full members of the Council of Europe, the World Trade Organization and the Union for the Mediterranean. Turkey is a member of NATO. Malta instead is not a member of NATO.
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, while Serbia is not. Their relationship is strong, but there has been issues with recognition of Kosovo.
Belgian–Turkish relations are foreign relations between Belgium and Turkey. Belgium has an embassy in Ankara, a consulate–general in Istanbul and two consulates in Antalya and İzmir. Turkey has an embassy in Brussels and a consulate–general in Antwerp.
Canada and Turkey have maintained diplomatic relations since 1943. Both countries are members of the G20, NATO, Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, United Nations and the World Trade Organization.
Brazil–Turkey relations are foreign relations between Brazil and Turkey.
India–Turkey relations, also known as the Indo-Turkish relations, are the bilateral relations between the Republic of India and the Republic of Turkey. Since the establishment of diplomatic relations between India and Turkey in 1948, political and bilateral relations have been usually characterised by warmth and cordiality, although some sporadic tensions remain due to Turkey's support for Pakistan and India's continued support for Armenia, Greece and Cyprus against Turkey. India has an embassy in Ankara and a consulate–general in Istanbul. Turkey has an embassy in New Delhi and also a consulate-general in Mumbai. As of 2019, the bilateral trade between India and Turkey stood at US$7.8 billion.
French–Turkish relations cover a long period from the 16th century to the present, starting with the alliance established between Francis I and Suleiman the Magnificent. Relations remained essentially friendly during a period of nearly three centuries, with the resumption of intense contacts from the reign of Louis XIV. Relations became more complex with the French campaign in Egypt and Syria by Napoleon I in 1798, and the dawn of the modern era. Both countries are members of the Council of Europe and NATO. France is an EU member and Turkey is an EU candidate. France opposes Turkey's accession negotiations to the EU, although negotiations have now been suspended.
Sudan-Turkey relations refers to the relations between Turkey and Sudan. They have a really strong relationship.
The relations between the Ottoman Empire and the United States have a long history, with roots before American independence due to long-standing trade between the two regions. After the American independence in 1776, the first relations between these two countries started through the contact between the American merchants, statesmen and lastly the Navy and North African countries and with the Ottoman Empire after 1780.
Sıtkı Uğur Ziyal is a Turkish diplomat.
Niger–Turkey relations are the foreign relations between Niger and Turkey. Turkey has an embassy in Niamey since January 2012 while Niger has an embassy in Ankara since October 2012 and consulates in Istanbul, Bursa and Antalya. 29 international treaties and agreements were signed between the 2 countries since 2012.
References
↑ Franz Babinger (1957). Maometto il Conquistatore e il suo tempo (in Italian). Torino: Einaudi. p.581-582.
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