Albania–Turkey relations are the bilateral relations between the Republic of Albania and the Republic of Turkey. Albania has an embassy in Ankara and a general consulate in Istanbul. Turkey has an embassy in Tirana. Both countries are part of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC),OIC - Member States . Organisation of Islamic Cooperation . Retrieved 20 November 2015. the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and Union for the Mediterranean (UfM).UfM - Member States. Union for the Mediterranean. Retrieved 12 April 2017.NATO - Member States. NATO. Retrieved 12 April 2017. Turkey and Albania are candidates for accession in the European Union (EU).European Neighbourhood Policy And Enlargement Negotiations: Albania. European Commission. Retrieved 22 March 2017.European Neighbourhood Policy And Enlargement Negotiations: Turkey. European Commission. Retrieved 22 March 2017.
Albanian–Turkish relations have been characterized by geographical, historical and religious factors and the existence of numerous Albanians in Turkey. During the interwar and Cold War periods, bilateral relations at times experienced tensions and disagreements due to ideological and geopolitical circumstances of either country. In a post Cold War environment, both nations are bound by an alliance treaty of military cooperation and other agreements relating to economic, political and cultural fields. Disagreements at times have encompassed bilateral relations in relation to international affairs or the Islamist Turkish Gülen movement and its presence in Albania.
History
Background
Relations between Albania and Turks date from the arrival of the Ottomans in the region in the 15th century.. Many Albanians during the Ottoman period converted to the official religion Islam and contributed massively through administrative, political and military positions to the Ottoman Empire and culturally to the wider Muslim world... Albania was also culturally influenced by Ottoman Empire and Islamic World, and to a lesser extent other Ottoman territories during the period, and much of this influence remains visible today in some culinary traditions, Islamic architecture of mosques, some elements in the old cities of Gjirokastër, Berat, Shkodër, Prizren and other forms of cultural expression..
Towards the end of the Ottoman era in the 19th century, relations between the Albanian territories and the Ottoman centre rapidly deteriorated due to a number of factors, such as the swelling of Albanian nationalism, perceived betrayal by the Ottomans in defending Albanian-inhabited lands from encroachment, the weakening of the empire causing increased stridency among Christian populations, Ottoman actions against Muslim Albanian nobles, and the refusal to allow the opening of Albanian-language education... Although many Albanians backed the Young Turk reformer movement, they revolted against the new Young Turk government when it tried to impose centralization and a Turkish identity upon Albania, with the last of these revolts in 1912 ultimately leading to the independence of Albania and the First Balkan War....
The Albanian diaspora in Turkey was formed during the Ottoman era and early years of the Turkish republic through migration for economic reasons and later sociopolitical circumstances of discrimination and violence experienced by Albanians in Balkan countries during the Eastern crisis, Balkan Wars, World Wars One and Two and communism.. Turkey has an estimated 1.3 to 5 or 6 million citizens of full or partial Albanian descent,.. and some still feel a connection to Albania.
Balkan Wars, WWI, Interwar period, WWII (1912–1944)
Albania's modern relations with Turkey commenced after the declaration of independence (28 November 1912) from the Ottoman Empire. International recognition of Albanian independence entailed the imposition of a Christian monarch, which, alongside internal political power struggles, generated a failed Muslim uprising (1914) in central Albania that sought to restore Ottoman rule... During the First World War contacts between Albania and the Ottoman Empire were limited.. In 1921, the Ottoman Empire officially recognised the Republic of Albania, while the Turkish National Movement under Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, fighting for a Turkish republic, cultivated contacts with Albanian representatives through former Ottoman Albanian officials for establishing future bilateral relations.. During the 1920s Albania adopted an approach to strengthen, develop and further interstate relations with neighboring states and other international powers such as Turkey to attain support for maintaining Albanian independence and its territorial integrity.. For Albania, dealings with Ankara concerned safeguarding the interests of the large Albanian population in Turkey, who were experiencing economic and political problems. Albania also wanted to develop political and economic relations with Turkey.. The aftermath of war, the Lausanne Treaty and tenuous international recognition by international powers motivated Turkey to pursue bilateral relations with Albania and other countries, to secure support for the new status quo.
Agreements were signed from 1923 onward, such as the Friendship Treaty, setting the guidelines for political and state relations between both countries, which were conducted at a consulate level... The Albanian government maintained a consulate in Istanbul.. The Citizenship Agreement (1923) contained provisions for safeguarding property and citizenship rights of Turkish citizens in Albania and of Albanian nationals in Turkey, while due to the Lausanne Treaty Ankara did not uphold those protocols in relation to Christian Albanians.. Albania tried and failed to convince Ankara to omit Orthodox Albanians who were regarded as Greeks from the population exchange with Greece, and to safeguard their property and assets in Turkey.. Turkey claimed that conventions in the Lausanne treaty defined automatically all Orthodox people as Greeks and could not be undone for individual groups or cases.. A Muslim Albanian minority resided in Chameria, north-western Greece and Tirana was concerned about their forced removal during the population exchange as some had arrived in Turkey and were living in difficult economic circumstances. Tirana insisted that incoming Cham Albanians from Greece be allowed to migrate to Albania from Turkey if they so wished.. Granted that right for Albanians from Chameria, the arrangement also covered Albanians arriving in Turkey from Yugoslavia to migrate to Albania.. From 1925 onward Yugoslavia sought an agreement with Turkey to allow for the migration of Muslims while Albania was concerned that it entailed the removal of Albanians from the Balkans to be resettled in depopulated parts of Turkey. Turkey reiterated its disinterest in Albanians from Yugoslavia coming to Anatolia and that the matter mainly related to ethnic Turks of Vardar Macedonia.. With large numbers of Albanian refugees present in Turkey by the mid 1920s an understanding had arisen with Albania to cooperate and stem Albanian migration from Yugoslavia which decreased substantially during the remainder of the 1920s..
Between 1925 and 1928 Turkey and Albania agreed to and signed a Trade Agreement, Extradition Treaty and Consular Convention.. Other issues involved failed attempts by Albania to attain Ottoman cadastre records from Turkey to update property information and Turkish failure to get Albania to take on part of its share of Ottoman financial debt.. In 1925 a Turkish consulate was opened in Vlorë, southern Albania and in 1926 a Turkish embassy was opened in Tirana, Albania and an Albanian ambassador was sent to Ankara.. In 1929, prime minister Ahmet Zog declared and installed himself as king due to his concerns that republican governments were unstable to counter possible geopolitical threats of larger neighbours to Albanian sovereignty.. The new regime was recognised by most countries while Turkey's republican leader Atatürk refused recognition due to hard won Turkish republicanism and condemned the Albanian move on grounds that it violated republican principles and went against the interests of the Albanian people....
A crisis in bilateral relations between Tirana and Ankara occurred with most diplomatic staff recalled from Albanian consulates in Turkey and the Turkish embassy in Albania... Italy, friendly with Zog and increasingly influential in Albanian affairs under fascist leader Benito Mussolini along with Albania pressured Turkey to recognise the new monarchist regime... Attempted overtures by Albania were made to restore interstate relations with Turkey at various regional and other gatherings involving exchanges of letters and pleasantries invoking friendship and common interests of both countries by high ranking diplomatic staff... After previous agreements entered into were reinstated and others ratified by parliaments of both countries during 1933, state relations had been restored and conducted at an ambassadorial level.. In 1936, a sister of Ahmet Zog married a son of former Ottoman Sultan Abdul Hamid II and bilateral relations once again went into crisis after Turkey expressed its displeasure at the event by recalling its ambassador and Albania closed its embassy in Ankara claiming budgetary issues... With the Italian and later German occupation of Albania during the Second World War, the Turkish embassy remained closed while the consulate in Vlorë remained open until 1944 when Enver Hoxha, the Albanian communist leader (1944–1985) closed it down.
Cold War (1945–1989) During the 1950s Albanian officials representing the communist regime expressed a desire restore bilateral ties with Turkey. The Turkish embassy in Albania was reopened in 1958 and state relations between both countries were limited, due to sociopolitical effects in the aftermath of the 1960 coup in Turkey.. Due to the Albanian-Soviet split Turkish intelligence took interest in Albanian affairs in 1961 expressing support for Albanian territorial integrity and Turkey lobbied some of its Western allies, in particular the US to do the same.. The Albanian communist government distanced its dealings with Ankara as it was distrustful of NATO member and Western allied Turkey due to concerns that it might overthrow the regime or undermine it by spreading Western economic and cultural influences in Albania.. Albania's position of isolation within Europe and Balkans during the Cold War alongside territorial issues with Greece motivated it to cast a negative UN vote on the Cyprus question regarding the island's future geopolitical status in the hope of being recognised by Turkey.. As such a UN resolution (1965) on the Cyprus question received Albania's support backing Turkey that generated an atmosphere of closeness between the two countries.. Albania felt threatened by its larger neighbours Yugoslavia and Greece and looked to Ankara for support with Hoxha himself preferring Turkey over Greece. In 1966 high level visits occurred and bilateral relations remained marginal.. In the field of economics Albanian-Turkish relations developed during the 1970s in addition to bilateral talks on the establishment of air traffic services between both nations.. These and other agreements on bilateral cooperation and exchange were signed into by Albania and Turkey that earned disapproval from Greece. In 1988 high level contacts were resumed through a Turkish foreign ministerial visit to Albania..
Military cooperation and geopolitical issues (1990s)