Lebanon–Turkey are the

bilateral relations Bilateralism is the conduct of political, economic, or cultural relations between two sovereign states. It is in contrast to unilateralism or multilateralism, which is activity by a single state or jointly by multiple states, respectively. When ...

between

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

and

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

. Lebanon has an embassy in

Ankara Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, maki ...

and a consulate general in

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

. Turkey has an embassy in

Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...

. The two nations are connected through history as Lebanon gained independence from the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

. Both countries are members of the

Union for the Mediterranean The Union for the Mediterranean (UfM; french: Union pour la Méditerranée, ar, الإتحاد من أجل المتوسط ''Al-Ittiḥād min ajl al-Mutawasseṭ'') is an intergovernmental organization of 43 member states from Europe and the M ...

and

Organisation of Islamic Cooperation An organization or organisation (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), is an entity—such as a company, an institution, or an association—comprising one or more people and having a particular purpose. The word is derived from ...

Historical relations

The

, which controlled Lebanon from 1516 to 1918, had Lebanon as the most diverse region in the Ottoman Empire. There were several ethnic and religious tensions, notably the infamous 1840 Lebanon conflict and

1860 Mount Lebanon civil war The 1860 civil conflict in Mount Lebanon and Damascus (also called the 1860 Syrian Civil War) was a civil conflict in Mount Lebanon during Ottoman rule in 1860–1861 fought mainly between the local Druze and Christians. Following decisive Druze ...

which devastated Lebanon and the Ottomans further imposed strict rule in Lebanon. During the

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, the Ottomans imposed a forcible blockade to prevent supplies from being taken by the French and the British. However, this resulted in the

Great Famine of Mount Lebanon The Great Famine of Mount Lebanon (1915–1918) ( syc, ܟܦܢܐ, lit=Starvation, translit=Kafno; ar, مجاعة لبنان, translit=Majā'at Lubnān; tr, Lübnan Dağı'nın Büyük Kıtlığı) was a period of mass starvation during World War ...

, which claimed the lives of a half of the Lebanese population at the time. This formed the basic disdain and hostility against Turkey among Lebanese population.

Modern relations

Humanitarian aid

During the

2006 Lebanon War The 2006 Lebanon War, also called the 2006 Israel–Hezbollah War and known in Lebanon as the July War ( ar, حرب تموز, ''Ḥarb Tammūz'') and in Israel as the Second Lebanon War ( he, מלחמת לבנון השנייה, ''Milhemet Leva ...

, in tandem with shipments of aid the Palestinians sent on 19 July and 27 July, the Red Crescent announced on 31 July that two Arctic trucks carrying medical aid, foodstuffs and kitchen utensils were being sent from Turkey to Lebanon. In 2013, following the increasing shortages of electricity in Lebanon, Turkey supplied the country with

MV Karadeniz Powership Fatmagül Sultan The MV ''Karadeniz Powership Fatmagül Sultan'' is a Liberia-flagged Powership, a floating power plant, owned and operated by Karpowership. Built as a barge, she was converted into a Powership in 2013 at Sedef Shipyard in Tuzla, Istanbul, Turkey. S ...

and

MV Karadeniz Powership Orhan Bey The MV ''MV Karadeniz Powership Orhan Bey'' is a power barge, a floating power plant, owned and operated by Karpowership. She was commissioned in 2013, and initially contracted to supply electricity to the power grid in Lebanon. Powership Built i ...

to ensure electric development for the country. During the

Lebanese liquidity crisis The Lebanese liquidity crisis is an ongoing financial crisis affecting Lebanon, that became fully apparent in August 2019, and was further exacerbated by both the COVID-19 pandemic in Lebanon (which began in 2020) and the 2020 Beirut port explosi ...

, Turkey provided humanitarian assistance to Lebanon in April 2022. They delivered shipments of food,

baby formula Infant formula, baby formula, or simply formula (American English); or baby milk, infant milk or first milk (British English), is a manufactured food designed and marketed for feeding to babies and infants under 12 months of age, usually prepar ...

, and basic needs.

Competing with Iran

The Turkish Government under

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (born 26 February 1954) is a Turkish politician serving as the List of presidents of Turkey, 12th and current president of Turkey since 2014. He previously served as prime minister of Turkey from 2003 to 2014 and as Lis ...

has perceived

Hezbollah Hezbollah (; ar, حزب الله ', , also transliterated Hizbullah or Hizballah, among others) is a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and militant group, led by its Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah since 1992. Hezbollah's parami ...

, a Shi’a paramilitary and political group backed by

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

, with a negative perception, based on historical trauma in Lebanon and the threat to Turkish legacies in Lebanon. Thus Turkey has sought to maintain closer tie with Lebanon, to dismantle Iranian influence inside Lebanon. The influx of Hezbollah fighters coming to Syria fighting against the

Syrian National Army The Syrian National Army (SNA) ( ar, الجيش الوطني السوري, al-Jayš al-Waṭanī as-Sūrī), previously the Free Syrian Army (FSA) and also known as the Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army (TFSA), is a coalition of armed Syrian oppo ...

is also the reason why Turkey tries to establish stronger ties with Lebanon in order to weaken Iran's role in Lebanon.

Turkish influence

While Lebanon has been relatively out of the knowledge of the Turkish population, the recent political brawl had led to some several fallouts of relationship. In September 2019, Lebanese President

Michel Aoun Michel Naim Aoun ( ar, ميشال نعيم عون ; born 30 September 1933) is a Lebanese politician and former military general who served as the President of Lebanon from 31 October 2016 until 30 October 2022. Born in Haret Hreik to a Mar ...

tweeted his criticism on the Ottoman rule and expressed concerns about the return of Turkey to Lebanon, and summoned the Turkish ambassador as well. This had drawn criticism in Turkey as a denial campaign against the Ottoman heritages. Lebanon recognizes the Armenian Genocide.International Affirmation of the Armenian Genocide
armeniaforeignministry.com After the

2020 Beirut explosions On 4 August 2020, a large amount of ammonium nitrate stored at the Port of Beirut in the capital city of Lebanon exploded, causing at least 218 deaths, 7,000 injuries, and US$15 billion in property damage, as well as leaving an estimated 30 ...

, Vice President of Turkey,

Fuat Oktay Fuat Oktay (born 1964) is a Turkish politician, civil servant and academic serving as the first and current vice president of Turkey since 10 July 2018. An independent, he previously served as undersecretary to the prime minister of Turkey from ...

, and Foreign Minister,

Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu (; born 5 February 1968) is a Turkish diplomat and politician who has served as Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey since 24 November 2015. He previously served in the same position from August 2014 to August 2015. He is ...

, visited Lebanon and met Lebanese President Michel Aoun and Parliament Speaker

Nabih Berri Nabih Berri ( ar, نبيه مصطفى بري, translit=Nabīh Muṣṭafā Barriyy, links=hh; born 28 January 1938) is a Lebanese Shia politician who has been serving as Speaker of the Parliament of Lebanon since 1992. He heads the Amal Moveme ...

. During the visit, Çavuşoğlu said:

Resident diplomatic missions

* Lebanon has an embassy in

and a consulate-general in

. * Turkey has an embassy in

References

External links

Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs about the relations with Lebanon
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lebanon-Turkey relations Bilateral relations of Turkey

Relations of colonizer and former colony