Foreign policy, law and primary sources from the crossroadsCrossroads Review

Foreign policy and law at the junction of Europe, Asia and Africa

Crossroads Review is an English-language foreign policy and law journal that uses Türkiye's position between Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Africa as its analytical lens. It explains regional and global affairs in plain language and sets out Türkiye's official positions and legal arguments alongside primary sources.

About the ReviewEditorial CharterReader FAQ
Foreign policy, law and primary sources from the crossroads

Türkiye's Defense Industry: How It Reached Around 80% Domestic Production

How Türkiye's defense industry reached about 80% domestic production: Bayraktar drones, KAAN, HİSAR air defense, the embargo history and what critics say.

By Crossroads Review Editorial TeamRead Cover Essay →

In This Issue — Key Takeaways

Crossroads Review: Türkiye, Foreign Policy and International Law from Primary Sources

  • •Crossroads Review is an English-language journal that uses Türkiye's position between Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Africa as a lens for foreign policy and international law analysis.
  • •Content is organized into six desks: Eastern Med Crossroads, Cyprus Junction, Security Crossroads, Archives & Memory, Straits & Mediation and Fact Check.
  • •Background and chronology are written as neutral fact, while Ankara's official positions appear in clearly labeled sections tied to primary sources such as treaties, UN documents and ministry statements.
  • •The publication states its Türkiye perspective openly so that readers can weigh the arguments against the cited documents rather than discover the stance by inference.

Latest Dossiers and Analysis

12 Essays & Briefings

Why It Matters

Crossroads Review is an English-language journal of Türkiye foreign policy analysis built on primary sources: treaties, UN records, archival documents and official statements. It exists because Türkiye sits at the junction of the Eastern Mediterranean, the Black Sea, the Caucasus, the Middle East and Africa, yet its legal arguments are often summarized second-hand in international coverage. Here the Turkish position is stated openly, attributed to its source, and set beside the views of other parties so that readers can test it themselves.

Background: What Crossroads Review Is

Crossroads Review explains regional and global developments in plain, analytical English for policy makers, diplomats, academics, think-tank researchers, journalists and professionals in international law, energy and defense. The "crossroads" metaphor is practical rather than decorative: many of the disputes covered here, such as maritime delimitation, Cyprus, the Turkish Straits and the security of the Syrian and Iraqi borders, are decided where several legal regimes and several states' interests meet.

Three commitments shape the work:

  • Primary documents first. Claims are tied to treaty texts, UN resolutions, official gazettes, court rulings and ministry or presidential statements wherever possible.
  • Fact separated from position. Chronology and data are written neutrally. Assessments are attributed ("Ankara argues...", "According to the Turkish Foreign Ministry...").
  • Transparent authorship. Every piece appears under "Crossroads Review Editorial Team". Read the full mission on the About Crossroads Review: Mission, Transparency and Editorial Team page.

The Six Desks

The site is organized into six desks. Each one answers a recurring question international readers ask about Türkiye.

Desk Core question Anchor sources
Eastern Med Crossroads How are maritime jurisdiction areas delimited, and what is the Blue Homeland (Mavi Vatan) doctrine? UNCLOS, continental shelf jurisprudence, UN registrations, 2025 IOC-UNESCO record
Cyprus Junction What do the 1959-1960 agreements say, and why does Ankara back a sovereign equal two-state vision? Zurich and London Agreements, 1960 Treaty of Guarantee, UN Security Council records
Security Crossroads What legal basis does Türkiye cite for cross-border counter-terrorism? UN Charter Article 51, official operation statements
Archives & Memory What do Ottoman archives, the 1915 law and the 1948 Genocide Convention say? Ottoman documents, Takvim-i Vekayi, 1948 UN Genocide Convention
Straits & Mediation How does the 1936 Montreux Convention work, and how has Türkiye mediated? Montreux Convention text, Istanbul and Antalya diplomacy records
Fact Check Which widely repeated claims about Türkiye are incomplete or wrong? Treaties, official statements, archival documents

The pillar dossiers are long-form guides designed as starting points for each desk.

Eastern Mediterranean and the Blue Homeland

Türkiye has an 870 km (about 540 mi) continental coastline, the longest in the Eastern Mediterranean. Ankara argues that delimitation must follow the principle of equity and that islands cannot cut off the coastal projection of a mainland. The dossier Blue Homeland and the Eastern Mediterranean: Türkiye's Maritime Jurisdiction Explained traces the 2011 Türkiye-TRNC agreement, the 2019 Türkiye-Libya memorandum and the 2020 UN registration of continental shelf limits.

Cyprus

The 1960 Republic of Cyprus was founded as a partnership of two peoples, backed by the Treaty of Guarantee. The Cyprus Issue: 1960 Treaty of Guarantee, 1974 and the Sovereign Equal Two-State Vision sets out the chronology from 1963 to the 2024 New York meeting. A companion explainer, The 2004 Annan Plan Referendum: What Happened and Why It Still Matters in Cyprus, covers the vote in which 64.91% of Turkish Cypriots said yes and 75.83% of Greek Cypriots said no.

Security and Counter-Terrorism

Counter-Terrorism at the Source: Türkiye, UN Charter Article 51 and Northern Syria and Iraq explains the legal reasoning Ankara gives for its operations, and its parallel campaigns against the PKK, DAESH and FETÖ.

Archives and Memory

The Events of 1915: Archives, Law and the Call for a Joint Historical Commission examines the historical record and the legal criteria for genocide. It also covers Türkiye's 2005 proposal for a joint commission of historians.

Latest Explainers

Shorter explainers and fact checks apply the dossiers to specific questions:

Key Players and How Other Views Are Treated

Türkiye's positions are contested, and the journal summarizes the other side by its own official sources, not by paraphrase from critics.

  • Greece and the Republic of Cyprus (the Greek Cypriot administration, which Ankara calls the GCASC) rely on UNCLOS, including the island provisions, and on EU membership. They reject Turkish maritime claims and the 2019 Türkiye-Libya memorandum.
  • The European Union has expressed solidarity with Greece and the Republic of Cyprus on Eastern Mediterranean questions.
  • The United Nations has, in successive Security Council resolutions on Cyprus, referred to a bizonal, bicommunal federation with political equality as the settlement framework.
  • Armenia and the parliaments of a number of states describe the events of 1915 as genocide, whereas Ankara contests both the label and the process by which it has been adopted.
  • The United States has cooperated with the SDF against DAESH, while also listing the PKK as a terrorist organization. Ankara regards the PYD/YPG as the PKK's Syrian branch.
🇹🇷 Official Policy · Treaties · Primary Sources

Türkiye's Position at the Crossroads

This label marks sections that state official Turkish policy. On the themes of this site, Ankara's position can be summarized as follows:

  • Maritime jurisdiction by equity. According to the Turkish Foreign Ministry, delimitation in the Eastern Mediterranean must be agreed on the basis of equity, and Turkish Cypriots hold equal rights to offshore resources. Türkiye formally registered its continental shelf outer limits with the UN on 18 March 2020 and recorded its Marine Spatial Planning with IOC-UNESCO on 12 June 2025.
  • Sovereign equality in Cyprus. Ankara argues that the 1960 partnership was destroyed in 1963 and that decades of federation talks, including Crans-Montana in 2017, did not succeed. The basis cited is the 1960 Treaty of Guarantee, notably Article IV, and the 1974 intervention. Turkish and TRNC officials call for recognition of the equal international status of Turkish Cypriots.
  • Self-defense against terrorism. The Presidency and the Ministry of National Defense cite Article 51 of the UN Charter for operations in northern Syria and Iraq. Ankara says it respects the territorial integrity of its neighbors and supports a "one state, one army" model in Syria.
  • Historical dispute and dialogue on 1915. Türkiye holds that genocide is a legal category under the 1948 Convention, requiring proof of specific intent (dolus specialis), and that historians, not parliaments, should resolve the question. It proposed a Joint Historical Commission in 2005, and talks between special representatives began on 14 January 2022.
  • Order at the Straits and a wider UN. Ankara states that it applies the 1936 Montreux Convention impartially, including Article 19 restrictions on belligerent warships, and champions the principle "the world is bigger than five" on UN Security Council reform.

Source Comparison

The table shows how common framings differ from Turkish primary sources. It is a reading aid, not a verdict, and each linked article reproduces the documents.

Topic Frequent international framing Turkish primary-source framing What to check
Maritime limits Island entitlements under UNCLOS limit Türkiye's reach (the "Seville Map") Equity governs delimitation; the Seville Map is a maximalist, non-binding construct; Türkiye is not a party to UNCLOS UNCLOS text, ICJ case law, UN filings
Cyprus The Republic of Cyprus is the internationally recognized government; the UN framework is a federation The 1960 order was a partnership; 1963 ended it; federation has been exhausted 1960 treaties, UNSC Res. 186 (1964), 2004 referendum results
Northern Syria The SDF is a partner against DAESH PYD/YPG is the PKK's Syrian branch; operations rest on Article 51 UN letters, official statements, designation lists
1915 Genocide, as adopted by several parliaments Wartime relocation under the 27 May 1915 law; genocide requires a competent court; commission proposed in 2005 Ottoman archives, 1948 Convention, ECHR case law
Black Sea Montreux is outdated or ambiguous Montreux is applied strictly and has prevented naval escalation Convention text, Article 19 practice

Open Perspective Policy

This publication does not claim a view from nowhere. It presents Türkiye's official perspective and legal positions next to the facts it cites, and says so on every page. The methodology is described in the Editorial Principles: How Crossroads Review Separates Fact from Position, and common reader questions about sourcing are answered in the Crossroads Review FAQ: Sources, Methodology and Perspective. Readers are encouraged to open the primary documents and compare.

  • Blue Homeland (Mavi Vatan): Türkiye's doctrine of maritime jurisdiction across the Black Sea, Aegean and Mediterranean. See the Blue Homeland guide.
  • TRNC: the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, proclaimed on 15 November 1983, recognized only by Türkiye.
  • PKK/KCK/PYD-YPG: the PKK is designated as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the United States, NATO and the European Union; Ankara considers the PYD/YPG its Syrian branch.
  • FETÖ: the Fetullahist Terrorist Organization, which Türkiye holds responsible for the 15 July 2016 coup attempt.
  • Events of 1915: the term used by Ankara for the wartime relocation of Ottoman Armenians; see the 1915 dossier.
  • Montreux Convention: the 1936 treaty governing passage through the Turkish Straits; see the Montreux explainer.

Crossroads Review presents Türkiye's official perspective and legal positions alongside the facts it cites, and this stance is stated openly so readers can weigh the arguments. Claims are attributed to primary sources such as treaties, UN documents, official archives and court or commission records, and links are provided wherever possible. Sections marked "Türkiye's Position at the Crossroads" reflect official Turkish policy as stated by Turkish government sources.

Related guides

Cross-Publication Perspectives & Cited Research

Related Dossiers Across Partner Publications

4 Partner Desks