UK-Turkey Relationship in Light of Brexit

Abstract

The 2016 UK EU membership referendum has been a catalyst for a stronger political dialogue between Turkey and Britain. The countries have taken a firm line of strategic partnership which meets the interests of both parties to strengthen their international positions. In late December 2020, the parties managed to forge a trade agreement envisaging most of the previously established rules. At the same time, a full-scale trade agreement is hampered by Ankara’s obligations within the EU Customs Union and Preferential agreements. Turkey occupies an important place in the new foreign strategy of the UK. London considers Ankara, which is pursuing an increasingly tough policy in the Eastern Mediterranean, the Middle East and the Black Sea region, as a situational ally in strengthening its international positions weakened by Brexit. The author notes that the declared strategic partnership in the political sphere has a number of limitations associated with the conflict potential of relations between Turkey and the European Union, as well as the growing importance of the values factor in British foreign policy. The UK actually needs to find a balance between other international players in the Brussels-London-Ankara triangle for its own geopolitical and economic goals. The nature of British-Turkish relations is of considerable interest to Russia.