Özet:

Today, there are eight countries that Turkey shares a land border with and one of them is Syria. However relations between people live in both sides date back to ancient times, relation history of both countries as an independent states is much more closer. Syria which was ruled under mandate government by France together with the Ottoman Empire had falled down, gained it’s independence in real terms afterwards World War 2. In addition to this, relations and problems between both countries have started in the periods when Syria was under the mandate. One of the primary problem titles has been Issue of Hatay and this problem has continued to date even putting on the back burner depending on the conjuncture on occasion. Hatay, beyond being a problem source between both countries, is a significant region in terms of geopolitics with it’s prevailing geographical location on the East Mediterranean. This situation has come to the front together with the civil war occured in Syria after 2011. In addition to these, getting positive outcomes from researching operations of oil and natural gas in Mediterranean recently is considered as an another factor rising Hatay’s importance. In this paper, first of all, effects of the Hatay Question, which is an important problem title in Turkey-Syria relations, on both country’s relations in the historical context will be handled. Then, Hatay’s geopolitical location and rising importance of this location together with the war has been going on in Syria will be marked.

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