Öz
Turkey has been a country that respects the territorial integrity and sovereignty of its close neighbor Georgia, both during the Ottoman Empire and the Republican period. This approach of Turkey towards Georgia has always given Tbilisi confidence. In the past century, although there have been difficulties between the two countries from time to time, Turkey has never made a claim against the territorial integrity of Georgia. Due to its geographical and geostrategic location, Georgia is one of the regional actors that plays an important role in Turkey's policy in the South Caucasus. After the collapse of the USSR, Georgia prioritized developing relations with Turkey, which was a "strategic ally" in foreign policy and a "gateway" to Western integration. In Turkey, generally after the JDP came to power, the understanding of “zero problems with neighbors” has been the main strategy of Ankara's foreign policy.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the formation of the "New World Order" and the independence of the regional states led to the formation of new actors. In such an environment, Georgia, which gained its new independence, became the key to maintaining peace and stability in the region. Stability and prosperity in Georgia has become the condition for Turkey to pursue an active policy in the region. However, Russia, Turkey's biggest rival in regional politics, has made every effort to prevent this.
The article focuses on Turkey's South Caucasus policy after the Russia-Georgia war and the competition with Russia, which has great geopolitical and geostrategic interest in the region, was examined. In addition,the policies of the big states struggling for power in the region, the political relations between Turkey and Russia during and after the conflict between Azerbaijan-Armenia, and Turkey's policies to create lasting peace and patience in the region were also discussed in the study. In the conclusion part, some suggestions were made for the development of Turkey's relations with the countries of the region.