User:Nsg2024/Turkey–Ukraine relations

History
From the 8th to 10th century, what is now the geographic region of Southern and Eastern Ukraine was under the control of Turkic Khazars. Many Khazars converted to Judaism in order to form an identity different than that of their Islamic and Christian neighbors. The region fell under the control of the Mongol Empire in the 13th century following an invasion. In 1478, the Turkic Crimean Tatar Khanate fell under Ottoman control, which ruled the region until 1774. In 1883, Russia annexed the region, where Turkic Tatars constituted the majority of the population at 80%. Their presence has now dropped to 13% following expulsions with many fleeing to what is now modern-day Turkey. Records show that 1.8 million Crimean Tatars entered the Ottoman Empire in 1923. Five million descendants of Crimean Tatars live in Turkey today.

Turkey recognized Ukraine's independence from the Soviet Union nine days before it was officialized on December 25th of 1991. Diplomatic relations between Turkey and Ukraine were formalized in February 1992. In May 1992, President Leonid Kravchuk made his first official trip to Ankara, during which he treaty of friendship and cooperation. He also signed a protocol on trade and economic development and fishing, agriculture, and air links agreements. President and interim Prime Minister Suleyman Demirel of Turkey visited Ukraine in May of 1994, marking Ankara's first official trip to Kiev. Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz and Demirel visited Ukraine again in February and May of 1998 where they signed multiple agreements involving healthcare, military, finance, education, and environment. Additionally, they visited Simferopol in Crimea, where Turks used to constitute the majority.

In 2013, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan officially deemed Ukraine a "strategic partner" in 2011.

Trade
In 1994, the two countries signed an oil pipeline agreement. The pipeline would carry Middle Eastern oil to Ukraine through Turkey, but fell through due to environmental concerns. Luggage trade, where Ukrainian visitors brought back goods from Turkey to sell, increased.

Turkish business group TÜID advocated for increased trade and business in Ukraine through a bilateral trade agreement. In 2013, Ukraine and Turkey did $6.7 billion in trade. Turkey was Ukraine's second largest export partner with 6.6% of exports and 9th largest import partner with 2.4% of imports in 2014. Trade between them that year amounted to $4.859 billion. 600 Turkish businesses operate in Ukraine.

On February 3, 2020, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan visited Ukraine and met with President Zelensky. They signed an agreement on military-financial cooperation. It provided for the Turkish side to allocate about $ 36 million for the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine for the purchase of Turkish military and dual-use goods.