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STORINKY ISTORIYI-HISTORY PAGES, no.53, pp.257-286, 2022 (ESCI)
The relations between Turkey and the USSR during the Turgut Ozal era constitute the last phase of the relations between the two countries (1923-1991). In the development of these relations during the period of 1983-1991, the historical background formed by the Russian-Turkish relations that had started to form from the 15th century and the Turkish-Soviet relations in the 20'h century hold a special place. During the period of Ozal (1983-1991), the international environment in which Turkey-USSR relations progressed was the Cold War system. In general sense, the main feature of the Cold War system covering the period from 1945 to 1991 was a struggle between the Western and Eastern blocs which had ideological, political, military and economic aspects. The relations between Turkey and the USSR, in general, were also significantly influenced by the multidimensional struggle between the blocs. The alleviation of the conflict between the Western and Eastern Blocs positively influenced the Turkey-USSR relations, however, yet when the conflict between the blocs arose again, the relations between two countries worsened. Indeed, this dynamics o f relations between Turkey and the USSR during Ozal presidency was obvious. This softening and even the cooperation process gained momentum when Mikhail Gorbachev became the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the USSR. Gorbachev's attempts to reform the Soviet system in a relatively liberal manner and his approaches to foreign policy initiated the process of transforming the relations with the Western bloc from competition to cooperation. In this regard, the present article evaluates the relations between Turkey and the USSR during Ozal's period highlighting the theoretical and practical aspects using the liberal theory approach to the international relations.