Bunalımdan Dostluğa: Yugoslavya Kralı I. Alexander’in Atatürk İle Görüşmesi (4 Ekim 1933)

Abstract

The rapprochement of Turkey and Yugoslavia shows parallelism with important developments in the course of history. As a matter of fact, the common historical past of both countries was the Balkan policy, the legacy left behind by the withdrawal of Muslim Turks from the Balkans, and most importantly, their establishment as two new states after the First World War. Therefore, the possibility of a new war due to unresolved issues after the World War II and the aggressive policies of Italy and Germany brought along new searches. İn this context, Atatürk felt the inevitability of an alliance in the Balkans, taking into account the possibility of a war. The foreign policy of Atatürk's period was shaped with a peace-oriented tendency, which helped him to get closer to the states that were in favor of peace. This rapprochement took place with Yugoslavia, which was worried about the Balkan geography. The dominant factor that brought Yugoslavia and Turkey together on the same plane was regional approaches. Atatürk's pro-peace stance greatly influenced King Alexander and therefore caused him to pay a visit to Turkey on 3-4 October 1933. This visit was to see closely the stage that Turkey had gone through in a short time and to lay the groundwork for the search for a new alliance between the Balkan states. Acting with this mission, King Alexander assumed the role of a bridge for the security of the Balkan geography. Alexander, who wanted to take advantage of Turkey's active position at this point, had been in close contact with Atatürk. The establishment of the Balkan Pact was the fruit of this effort.