Polish–Turkish relations are the foreign relations between

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

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 ...

. Both countries are full members of

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

OECD The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; french: Organisation de coopération et de développement économiques, ''OCDE'') is an intergovernmental organisation with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate e ...

, OSCE, 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 ...

, the

Council of Europe The Council of Europe (CoE; french: Conseil de l'Europe, ) is an international organisation founded in the wake of World War II to uphold European Convention on Human Rights, human rights, democracy and the Law in Europe, rule of law in Europe. ...

and the

World Trade Organisation The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization that regulates and facilitates international trade. With effective cooperation in the United Nations System, governments use the organization to establish, revise, and e ...

. Poland is a member of the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

, Turkey is not a member. History of the diplomatic relations between the two nations dates back to the 15th century when 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) ...

and the

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and, after 1791, as the Commonwealth of Poland, was a bi-confederal state, sometimes called a federation, of Crown of the Kingdom of ...

officially established them. Poland and Turkey share many similarities in their cultural history and cuisine and generally relations between the two nations are good.

History

Polish-Turkish relations have been historically close yet complex. Historically, the

had a direct border with the

, both states had a tumultuous history being in open and consistent warfare between one another for centuries, particularly in the southeastern borderlands of the

around

Moldavia Moldavia ( ro, Moldova, or , literally "The Country of Moldavia"; in Romanian Cyrillic: or ; chu, Землѧ Молдавскаѧ; el, Ἡγεμονία τῆς Μολδαβίας) is a historical region and former principality in Centr ...

, modern-day

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

and

Crimea Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a pop ...

. Troops from the Kingdom of Poland were part of a large European coalition that tried to repel the Ottoman invasion of Europe at the

Battle of Nicopolis The Battle of Nicopolis took place on 25 September 1396 and resulted in the rout of an allied crusader army of Hungarian, Croatian, Bulgarian, Wallachian, French, Burgundian, German, and assorted troops (assisted by the Venetian navy) at ...

in 1396. Warfare between both states began in 1443 with the Crusade of Varna. Further wars were fought in 1485–1503, 1620-1621, 1633–1634, 1672–1676, and 1683–1699, and the Poles and Turks also clashed in the

Moldavian Magnate Wars The Moldavian Magnate Wars, or Moldavian Ventures, refer to the period at the end of the 16th century and the beginning of the 17th century when the magnates of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth intervened in the affairs of Moldavia, clashing ...

. During the wars, sections of the

fell under the direct administration of the Ottoman Empire under the Podolia Eyalet or Silistra Eyalet for some time. The victory of Polish-led forces at the

Battle of Vienna The Battle of Vienna; pl, odsiecz wiedeńska, lit=Relief of Vienna or ''bitwa pod Wiedniem''; ota, Beç Ḳalʿası Muḥāṣarası, lit=siege of Beç; tr, İkinci Viyana Kuşatması, lit=second siege of Vienna took place at Kahlenberg Mou ...

in 1683 marked the end of Ottoman advances into Europe. Diplomatic relations between the

and the

were established in the 15th century. In 1414, Ottoman Sultan Mehmed I Çelebi received the first Polish diplomatic delegation at his court in

Bursa ( grc-gre, Προῦσα, Proûsa, Latin: Prusa, ota, بورسه, Arabic:بورصة) is a city in northwestern Turkey and the administrative center of Bursa Province. The fourth-most populous city in Turkey and second-most populous in the ...

, at the time the capital of the Ottoman Empire. Turkish support for the Polish

Bar Confederation The Bar Confederation ( pl, Konfederacja barska; 1768–1772) was an association of Polish nobles (szlachta) formed at the fortress of Bar in Podolia (now part of Ukraine) in 1768 to defend the internal and external independence of the Polish� ...

against

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

sparked the Russo-Turkish War of 1768–1774. Following the

Partitions of Poland The Partitions of Poland were three partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that took place toward the end of the 18th century and ended the existence of the state, resulting in the elimination of sovereign Poland and Lithuania for 12 ...

, the

and

Qajar Iran Qajar Iran (), also referred to as Qajar Persia, the Qajar Empire, '. Sublime State of Persia, officially the Sublime State of Iran ( fa, دولت علیّه ایران ') and also known then as the Guarded Domains of Iran ( fa, ممالک م ...

were the only major countries in the world that did not recognise the final partition of the

. An anecdote exists recounting the exchange between the ''chef de protocol'' and his aide of the

which is widely recounted today in Poland. According to the tale, whenever the diplomatic corps was received by the Ottoman sultan, on the sight of the empty chair of the Polish deputy, the Ottoman ''chef de protocol'' would ostentatiously ask: '' “Where is the deputy from Lehistan?”''. On each occasion he would receive the same reply from his aide: ‘''Your Excellency, the deputy of Lehistan could not make it because of vital impediments''’ to the annoyance of the diplomats from the partitioning states. The first written record of this story comes from the Polish ambassador to Turkey in the years 1936 – 45, Michał Sokolnicki (1880 – 1967). He heard it from a Turkish officer and statesman, Ali Fuat Cebesoy (1880 – 1968), who was acquainted with the Istanbul Polish community. Cebesoy claimed that this symbolic exchange continued until the end of the sultanate and he witnessed it in person as a young officer during the reign of Sultan Abdülhamid II (r. 1876 – 1909) In the 19th century, many Polish veterans of the

November Uprising The November Uprising (1830–31), also known as the Polish–Russian War 1830–31 or the Cadet Revolution, was an armed rebellion in the heartland of partitioned Poland against the Russian Empire. The uprising began on 29 November 1830 in W ...

January Uprising The January Uprising ( pl, powstanie styczniowe; lt, 1863 metų sukilimas; ua, Січневе повстання; russian: Польское восстание; ) was an insurrection principally in Russia's Kingdom of Poland that was aimed at ...

, and

Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the de ...

arrived in Turkey. Polish officers, such as

Michał Czajkowski Michał Czajkowski ( uk, Mykhailo Chaikovsky; 29 September 180418 January 1886), also known in Turkey as Mehmet Sadyk Pasha ( tr, Mehmet Sadık Paşa), was a Polish writer and political émigré of distant Cossack heritage who worked both for the ...

, served in the Ottoman Army. Polish General

Marian Langiewicz Marian Langiewicz, full name Marian Antoni Melchior Langiewicz (; 5 August 1827, Krotoszyn – 11 May 1887, Istanbul), was a Polish patriot notable as a military leader of the January Uprising in 1863. Biography He was born in the province of ...

spent the last years of his life in Turkey, fought in the Ottoman Army, and died 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, ...

, where he is buried at the

Haydarpaşa Cemetery Haydarpaşa Cemetery, also known as Haidar Pasha Cemetery, Istanbul, ( tr, Haydarpaşa İngiliz Mezarlığı), located in the Haydarpaşa neighborhood of Üsküdar district in the Asian part of Istanbul, Turkey, is a burial ground established init ...

. Polish national poet Adam Mickiewicz spent the last months of his life in Istanbul and died there. The house where he lived was later transformed into the Adam Mickiewicz Museum. In 1877, the

Polish Legion in Turkey The Polish Legion in Turkey ( pl, Legion Polski w Turcji) was a military force formed in Istanbul by emigrants from Partitioned Poland to fight with the Ottoman Army in the Russo-Turkish War that lasted from 1877 to 1878. At the beginning of the ...

was formed and it fought alongside Turks in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878. The village of

Polonezköy Polonezköy or Adampol is a village, administratively a neighborhood, on the Asian side of Istanbul, about from the historic city centre, within the boundaries of the Beykoz district. It was inspired and funded by Prince Adam Jerzy Czarto ...

(Adampol), which lies on the Anatolian side of Istanbul, was first settled in 1842 by Polish veterans of the November Uprising. Further Polish settlers arrived in the 19th and 20th centuries. As of 2009, there is still a Polish minority in the village. The alliance between Poland and Turkey remained strong into the 20th century. Poland was the first country in Europe to recognize the

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

declared by

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, or Mustafa Kemal Pasha until 1921, and Ghazi Mustafa Kemal from 1921 Surname Law (Turkey), until 1934 ( 1881 – 10 November 1938) was a Turkish Mareşal (Turkey), field marshal, Turkish National Movement, re ...

in 1923. During the German-Soviet

invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week aft ...

, which started

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

in 1939, Turkish authorities agreed to transport evacuated Polish gold through Turkish territory to Polish-allied

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and the Polish embassy in Ankara remained operational throughout the war. In the times of the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

, Poland and Turkey were part of two enemy military alliances — the

Warsaw Pact The Warsaw Pact (WP) or Treaty of Warsaw, formally the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance, was a collective defense treaty signed in Warsaw, Poland, between the Soviet Union and seven other Eastern Bloc socialist republic ...

and

respectively. However, after the collapse of Communism in Eastern Europe, the relations between the two countries were restored in the early 1990s. Poland's accession to NATO in 1999 further bolstered the close relationship. Poland's bid to become a NATO member state was supported by Turkey.

Recent relations

Although Turkey and Poland enjoy good relations, the relationship between the two countries has occassionally been tense in recent times. Poland was one of the main countries that condemned the

Turkish invasion of Cyprus The Turkish invasion of Cyprus began on 20 July 1974 and progressed in two phases over the following month. Taking place upon a background of Cypriot intercommunal violence, intercommunal violence between Greek Cypriots, Greek and Turkish ...

and affirmed its stance for a united

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...

. Moreover, in 2005, Poland officially recognized the Armenian genocide, which resulted in strong protests from Turkey and a cancellation of a meeting between a Turkish parliamentary delegation with Polish MPs. In 2007, the Polish-Turkish Chamber of Commerce (

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

: ''Polsko-Turecka Izba Gospodarcza'',

Turkish Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...

: ''Polonya-Türkiye Ticaret Odasi'') was established. Its aim is to support the companies from both countries in mutual collaboration and trade and to strenghten the economic relations between Poland and Turkey. The main headquarters are located in

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

while in Turkey the organizations has offices 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

. Poland has expressed views that Russia is a threat to its national sovereignty and has accused Russia of meddling in foreign affairs in the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

and the former states of the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

. Thus, Poland has condemned Turkey's attempt of trying to get closer to Russia, such as buying the

S-400 missile system The S-400 Triumf (russian: link=no, C-400 Триумф – Triumf; translation: Triumph; NATO reporting name: SA-21 Growler), previously known as the S-300 PMU-3, is a mobile, surface-to-air missile (SAM) system developed in the 1990s by Russ ...

as well as Turkey's deteriorating democracy. Nevertheless, Poland has supported Turkey's attempts to join the

. In 2009, the Mutual Declaration On Economic Collaboration was signed by Poland and Turkey. Since the signing of the agreement regualar meetings between Turkish and Polish entrepreneus have been taking place in an effort to support the economic ties between the two nations. April 18, 2010, the day of the state funeral of Lech and Maria Kaczyński, was declared a day of national mourning in Turkey to commemorate the 96 victims of the

Smolensk air disaster On 10 April 2010, a Tupolev Tu-154 aircraft operating Polish Air Force Flight 101 crashed near the Russian city of Smolensk, killing all 96 people on board. Among the victims were the president of Poland, Lech Kaczyński, and his wife, Maria, ...

, including Polish President Lech Kaczyński and his wife

Maria Kaczyńska Maria Helena Kaczyńska (; ; 21 August 1942 – 10 April 2010) was the First Lady of Poland from 2005 to 2010 as the wife of President Lech Kaczyński. She and her husband died in the plane crash in the Russian city of Smolensk. Early and per ...

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Bogdan Borusewicz

Since 2012, Poland, Turkey, and

have maintained regular contact within the Trilog format for close cooperation as the three largest countries on the eastern flank of

. Since 2021, a Polish military contingent has been stationed in Turkey as part of a NATO operation to help secure Turkey's borders. Notable Turks with partial

ancestry include the poet and playwright Nâzım Hikmet, Ahmet Rüstem Bey,

Fatoş Sezer Fatoş Sezer (31 January 1958 – 1 June 2011) was a Turkish actress. Life and career Fatoş Sezer was born in 1958 in Gölcük as the youngest of three children in her family. Her parents were Polish immigrants who had escaped to Turkey durin ...

, Hurrem Sultan, and the soprano opera singer Leyla Gencer. In 2013, Poland and Turkey celebrated 600 years of diplomatic relations. Poland and Turkey co-hosted the

2019 Women's European Volleyball Championship The 2019 Women's European Volleyball Championship was the 31st edition of the Women's European Volleyball Championship, organised by Europe's governing volleyball body, the CEV from 23 August to 8 September 2019. For the first time the Women's Eu ...

. In April 2021, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu described his country's relations with Poland as a "strategic partnership", noting warm historic ties and military cooperation. In August 2021, Poland sent firefighters to help extinguish the

2021 Turkey wildfires In July and August 2021, a series of more than two hundred wildfires burnt 1,700 square kilometres of forest in Turkey's Mediterranean Region in the worst-ever wildfire season in the country's history. The wildfires started in Manavgat, Antalya ...

. In October 2021, the head of the Ministry of National Defence

Mariusz Błaszczak Mariusz Błaszczak (born 19 September 1969, in Legionowo) is a Polish politician, historian, and local government representative. Since 9 January 2018, Blaszczak has been the Minister of National Defence of Poland. On 22 June 2022 Presiden ...

hosted

Hulusi Akar Hulusi Akar (born 12 March 1952) is the current Turkish minister of defense and a former four-star Turkish Armed Forces general who served as the 29th chief of the Turkish General Staff. Akar also served as a brigade commander in various NATO e ...

, Turkey's Minister of Defence, in Warsaw. Topics discussed during the talks included bilateral military relations and cooperation within NATO as well as technical modernization and military cooperation including the purchase of drones from Turkey. In November 2021, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki accused Turkey of assisting

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by R ...

and Russia during the

2021–2022 Belarus–European Union border crisis The 2021–2022 Belarus–European Union border crisis is a migrant crisis consisting of an influx of several tens of thousands of immigrants, primarily from Iraqi Kurdistan, with smaller groups hailing from elsewhere in Asia and from parts of ...

. Turkey subsequently temporarily blocked flights to Belarus to ease the crisis and expressed support for the Polish authorities. In April 2022, Turkey granted visa-free travel to Polish nationals. In February 2023, Poland sent 178 rescuers and medics to Turkey to help the relief operation after the 2023 earthquake, as well as material aid, including medical equipment, medicines, power generators, field beds, etc. Various Polish charitable organizations, including the

Polish Red Cross Polish Red Cross ( pl, Polski Czerwony Krzyż, abbr. PCK) is the Polish member of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. Its 19th-century roots may be found in the Russian and Austrian Partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwea ...

, Caritas Polska and

Polish Humanitarian Action The Polish Humanitarian Action (PAH, pl. ''Polska Akcja Humanitarna'') is a Polish non-governmental organisation A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see American and British English spelling differences#-i ...

, organized fundraising and material aid for the earthquake victims.

Comparison

Resident diplomatic missions

* Poland has an embassy in

and a consulate-general in

. * Turkey has an embassy in

References

External links

Polish embassy in Ankara

Turkish embassy in Warsaw

Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs about relations with PolandPolish–Turkish Relations: A Social–Political Analysis (MA thesis, Vienna University, written by Antonina Tausch)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Poland-Turkey relations

History

Recent relations

Comparison

Resident diplomatic missions

See also

References

Further reading

External links