The Meeting between President Celal Bayar and Soviet Ambassador Nikita S. Ryzhov in the Context of Turkish Foreign Policy

Year 2024, Volume: 29 Issue: 1, 72 - 89, 29.07.2024

Orhan Karaoğlu , Hilal Zorba Bayraktar

Abstract

During the Cold War, the international system was shaped by the rivalry between the U.S. and the USSR. Since the USSR constituted the primary threat to the security of Türkiye and the Western alliance it became a part of during this period, it is generally accepted that Türkiye as a member of NATO pursued a foreign policy entirely in line with Western interests. This study, however, argues otherwise by analyzing the official records that reveal the content of the high-level meetings held between Turkish President Celal Bayar and Nikita S. Ryzhov, who served as the Soviet ambassador to Ankara between 1957 and 1966. Based on these records, it is understood that a multilateral approach prevailed in Turkish foreign policy and Ankara sought to implement this approach during the most difficult years of the Cold War. In fact, during the Cold War period, Turkish-Soviet relations continued to improve in certain areas. To support this argument, the study extensively analyzes the documents obtained from the archives of the Presidency of the Republic of Türkiye, which have never been published before and which were obtained with special permission for the purpose of this study.

Keywords

Celal Bayar, Nikita S. Ryzhov, Turkish foreign policy, Soviet Union (USSR), Cold War

References

• References are indicated in the article.