From Lausanne to Montreux: Türkiye's Diplomatic Struggle for the Reconsideration of the Straits Regime

Year 2024, Volume: 34 Issue: 2, 951 - 971, 13.01.2025

Coşkun Topal , Yücel Bulut

https://doi.org/10.26650/iuturkiyat.1518538

Abstract

The Turkish Straits, whose regime was determined by the Montreux Convention in 1936, have held significant importance in global geopolitics during the periods of the First and Second World Wars, the Cold War, and the subsequent eras. Today, the security of the Straits is brought to the forefront by both Türkiye and the countries bordering the Black Sea due to military, commercial, and humanitarian reasons whenever East-West oriented crises and conflicts arise. The management regime of the Straits was decided by the Lausanne Treaty in 1923; however, within less than a decade, significant changes in European politics, increased armament, and the threats posed by German Nazism and Italian Fascism forced Türkiye to reconsider the control of the Straits, which were managed by an international commission. This issue became one of the main topics of Turkish diplomacy from the early 1930s, particularly in various international forums, including the League of Nations. During this period, the Turkish Foreign Ministry conducted a patient diplomacy, aiming for Türkiye to independently manage the Straits, while considering the sensitive international balances. As a result, Türkiye convinced the countries that signed the Lausanne Treaty and the major powers of the time to reevaluate the regime of the Straits. Diplomatic correspondence showing how this process progressed is concentrated between the years 1933 and 1936. This study aims to explain how Türkiye’s efforts to convince the relevant parties to reevaluate the regime of the Straits took place within the historical flow. The study evaluates the correspondence of the embassies of the United States, Türkiye the United Kingdom, Switzerland, France, Italy, and Russia, which closely followed the Straits issue, and the correspondence of Turkish diplomatic missions in Europe as primary sources within the framework of the historicism methodology.

Keywords

Turkish Straits, Straits, Montreux Convention, Diplomacy, Diplomatic Correspondence

Lozan'dan Montrö'ye: Türkiye'nin Boğazlar Rejiminin Yeniden Gözden Geçirilmesi Konusundaki Diplomatik Mücadelesi

Abstract

Montrö Boğazlar Sözleşmesi ile 1936 yılında rejimi belirlenen Türk Boğazları; I. ve II. Dünya Savaşları, Soğuk Savaş ve sonrasındaki dönemlerde küresel jeopolitika açısından önemli yer tutmuştur. Günümüzde de Doğu-Batı eksenli kriz ve çatışmalar söz konusu olduğunda, Boğazların güvenliği; askeri, ticari ve insani sebeplerle hem ülkemiz hem de Karadeniz'e kıyısı olan ülkeler tarafından gündeme getirilmektedir. Boğazların yönetim rejimi 1923'te Lozan Antlaşması ile kararlaştırılmıştı; ancak, aradan geçen 10 yıldan kısa sürede Avrupa siyasetinde meydana gelen önemli değişimler, silahlanmanın artışı, Alman Nazizmi ile İtalyan Faşizminin oluşturduğu tehditler Türkiye'yi uluslararası bir komisyon tarafından yönetilmekte olan Boğazlar'ın kontrolü konusunu yeniden değerlendirmeye zorlamıştır. Bu konu, Milletler Cemiyeti başta olmak üzere çeşitli uluslararası forumlarda 1930'ların başından itibaren Türk diplomasisinin ana meselelerinden biri olmuştur. Bu dönemde Türk Dışişleri, uluslararası hassas dengeleri gözeterek Türkiye’nin Boğazların yönetimini tek başına yürütme hedefine doğru sabırlı bir diplomasi yürütmüştür. Bunun sonucunda, Lozan Antlaşması'nı imzalayan ülkeler ve dönemin büyük güçlerini Boğazların rejimini yeniden değerlendirmeye ikna etmiştir. Bu sürecin nasıl ilerlediğini gösteren diplomatik yazışmalar 1933-1936 yılları arasında yoğunlaşmaktadır. Bu çalışma; Türkiye'nin ilgili tarafları, Boğazların rejiminin yeniden değerlendirilmesi için ikna çabalarını tarihsel akış içerisinde nasıl gerçekleştirdiğini açıklamayı hedeflemektedir. Çalışmada, Amerika Birleşik Devletleri'nin Boğazlar meselesini yakından takip eden Türkiye, Birleşik Krallık, İsviçre, Fransa, İtalya ve Rusya'daki büyükelçiliklerinin yazışmaları ve Avrupa'daki Türk diplomatik misyonlarının yazışmaları ana kaynakların büyük kısmını oluşturup tarihselcilik metodolojisi çerçevesinde değerlendirilmiştir.

Keywords

Türk Boğazları, Boğazlar, Montrö Sözleşmesi, Diplomasi, Diplomatik Yazışma

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