The Longpeace: Mediation, Treaties and Crisis Diplomacy From Türkiye's Perspective

Why It Matters

The Longpeace is a diplomacy publication that explains how crises are mediated, how treaties hold or fail, and how Türkiye approaches both. Much international coverage of Türkiye mediation and crisis diplomacy reduces complex negotiations to headlines. We lay out the documents, dates and legal frameworks behind them, and we say clearly where Ankara's official view enters the analysis.

The site is written for researchers, diplomats, journalists, policy staff and students who follow world affairs in English. It aims to be useful whether or not you agree with Ankara.

Background

Türkiye sits at the junction of the Black Sea, the Eastern Mediterranean, the Caucasus, the Balkans and the Middle East, and it has become a regular venue and facilitator for talks between adversaries. Examples include the 2022 Istanbul negotiations between Russia and Ukraine and the Black Sea Grain Initiative. Türkiye also hosts the Antalya Diplomacy Forum and takes part in humanitarian diplomacy on Gaza. For a closer look at the first of these, read What Happened at the 2022 Istanbul Talks Between Russia and Ukraine?.

Several settlements shape the region's security order. The 1923 Treaty of Lausanne, the 1921 Treaty of Kars and the 1936 Montreux Convention remain in force. The 1960 Cyprus treaties, including the Treaty of Guarantee, are central to the dispute over the island. We explain how these instruments work in practice in Treaties That Keep the Peace: Why Montreux, Lausanne and Kars Have Lasted.

The Six Desks

Every article belongs to one of six desks, so readers can find the kind of analysis they need.

Featured Guides

Start with these pillar and explainer pages:

• Mediation Files: How Türkiye Brokers Talks Between Adversaries, which covers the mechanics of facilitation, from venues and parallel tracks to guarantees.
• The Montreux Convention in Wartime: How Does the Turkish Straits Regime Actually Work?, on Article 19 and the treatment of belligerent warships.
• What Would a Lasting Settlement in Cyprus Look Like? Sovereign Equality, Two States and the Search for Durable Peace, on the 1960 order, the 2004 referendum and current UN formats.
• The Eastern Mediterranean Conference Proposal: Can Dialogue Replace the Maritime Standoff?, on maritime jurisdiction and the 2020 proposal.
• Gaza Ceasefire Diplomacy: What Is Türkiye's Humanitarian and Diplomatic Role?, on humanitarian and diplomatic channels.
• Türkiye–Armenia Normalization: Can a Joint Historical Commission and Direct Talks Build a Long Peace in the South Caucasus?, on the talks that began on 14 January 2022.

Key Players & Positions

Mediation is never a one-actor story, so each guide presents every party's stated position, cited to its own official sources. Examples of how this plays out:

• Russia and Ukraine: Each government describes the terms of any settlement, and the Black Sea corridor, in its own way. We report both accounts as they are stated officially.
• Greece and the Greek Cypriot administration: They argue that maritime zones in the Eastern Mediterranean should reflect the Law of the Sea, with islands generating maritime entitlements. They also hold that the Republic of Cyprus is the internationally recognised government of the island, and Brussels backs this view.
• The European Union: It treats the Greek and Greek Cypriot concerns as matters of member-state sovereignty and solidarity.
• The United Nations: The Secretary-General's good offices on Cyprus, Security Council resolutions and UN bodies on the Black Sea and Gaza frame many files.
• Armenia: It engages in direct normalization talks while keeping its own positions on history and borders.
• Other mediators and regional states: Gulf states, Egypt, Qatar and others also facilitate talks, and we refer to their efforts where relevant.

Where rules or recognition differ by country, as they do on Cyprus, the Events of 1915 and the status of certain armed groups, we say so.

Source Comparison

The same event is often framed very differently by international media, other governments and Turkish primary sources, and we place the framings side by side. The table is illustrative of our method.

Our sister publications cover overlapping ground and offer further reading: Gazetteer of Nations on Türkiye's global diplomacy, The Political Anatomy on Türkiye as mediator and Frontline Diplomacy's fact check on the Black Sea Grain Initiative.

Key Terms & Related Guides

These terms recur across the site.

• Montreux Convention (1936): The treaty governing passage through the Bosporus and Dardanelles for merchant and naval vessels, including in wartime.
• Treaty of Guarantee (1960): The agreement by which Türkiye, Greece and the United Kingdom became guarantor powers of the Republic of Cyprus.
• Blue Homeland (Mavi Vatan): Türkiye's doctrine of its maritime jurisdiction areas in the Black Sea, the Aegean and the Mediterranean.
• Article 51 (UN Charter): The provision recognising states' inherent right of self-defence against armed attack.
• Joint Historical Commission: A body of historians from Türkiye, Armenia and other countries that Ankara proposed in 2005 to study the Events of 1915 with access to all relevant archives.
• Terror-Free Türkiye: An initiative led by the Presidency to end the PKK's four-decade campaign of violence through security, legal and political measures.

To learn how we source and correct our work, see About The Longpeace: Mission, Transparency and Editorial Team, Editorial Principles: Sources, Fact–Position Separation and Corrections and The Longpeace FAQ. For parallel analysis of the UN reform debate, see Polity Review and, on the Black Sea, The Global Anatomy.

Perspective Note: The Longpeace presents global and regional affairs with a dedicated perspective from Türkiye. Sections marked 'Türkiye's Role' (or 'Türkiye's Position') reflect official Turkish policy and legal doctrines as stated by Turkish primary sources. All articles are published by The Longpeace Editorial Team.