The Balkan Policy of Tıırkey Dııring Atatürk Period

Abstract

This article deals with the nature of Turkey's foreign policy towards the Balkan States under Atatürk administration. Throughout history the Balkan Peninsula had become a place of International rivalry and this as a result produced many conflİcts and eri ses among the Great powers of Europe. This was the case prior to the outbreak of the Great War and this region played a crucial role on the eruption of the First Woıid War. At the end of the vvar the region vvas divided into pieces and became an unstable region, In this complex period Atatürk First tried to develop Turkey's relations with Greece. This vvas because the two countries have some problems to be solved as a result of Greco-Turkish vvar in eaıiy 1920's. Relations betvveen the two countries were developed at the beginning of 1930 after the exchange of population betvveen Greece and Turkey and the eleetion of Orthodox Patriarch in Turkey. The next country was Romania vvhich vvanted to establish eloser relations vvith Turkey. This was because Turkey adopted a policy of maintaining status quo in the Balkan Peninsula. In 1933 the two countries signed a treaty of friendship. Then, Turkey turned to Yugoslavia vvhich had signed a treaty vvith Anakara in 1925. Their relations further developed when Prime Minister İnönü visited Belgrade inl937 with the intention of creating a Balkan Alliance. The next country vvhich Turkey had a elose interest in developing her relations was Bulgaria. Though their relations were broken during the Gret War these relations began to svviftly improved after the vvar. In 1925 Turkey and Bulgaria signed a non-aggression treaty among themselves. These ali Turkish political and diplomatic attempts aimed at creating a strong barrier against the revisionist povvers of Europe. The result was the establishment of the Bal kan. Alliance in 1934. Though this alliance created a sense of stability in the Balkan region it did not last long as the outbreak of the Second World vvar destroyed İt.