Effects of Russia-Ukraine War on Türkiye-Russia and Türkiye-Ukraine Foreign Trade

Abstract

The Russian-Ukrainian war started with the announcement of Russia's special military operation against Ukraine On 24th of February 2022. In this study, the export and import figures of Türkiye with both countries in 2021 and 2022, which is covering the pre-war and post-war period, were evaluated and the structure of foreign trade in the relevant periods was discussed. The export/import data of the 12-month period before and after the war were retrieved from ITC TradeMap database and the change in the trade of goods was analyzed by content analysis method by using secondary data. It is thought that the conducted research will fill the gap in the literature related to the effects of the war on Türkiye's foreign trade and will pave the way for future researchers. According to the results of the research, it has been determined that the trade volume between Türkiye and Russia after the war increased at a rate far above the trend of the last 10 years despite the unprecedented scale of sanctions against Russia. Eventhough this period has presented a historical and unique opportunity for exporters and importers in Türkiye, it is essential to focus on the development of long-term and sustainable commercial relations rather than short-term gains.