The history of Ukrainian-Turkish relations has long been taught under the influence of Soviet-Russian narratives. This opinion was expressed in a comment to Ukrinform by the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to Turkey, Vasyl Bodnar.
The diplomat assured that from now on, one of the areas of cultural diplomacy in Turkey will be working with the archives, studying original documents, opening new pages of historical interaction, and refuting the existing manipulation of history.
“Recently, the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine and Turkey, Dmytro Kuleba and Mevlut Cavusoglu, agreed to establish a bilateral commission of historians and scholars who will deal with common history, including based on the archives that are available in our countries. We need to look into the original documents and open the unknown pages of our common history, refute stereotypes or distortions,” Vasyl Bodnar said.
As an example of the success of such cooperation, the diplomat recalled the original version of the Brest-Lithuania Peace Treaty found earlier in the Turkish archives.
“The southern direction of foreign policy and interaction with the south in general has traditionally been important for Ukraine, but the history of this dimension has not yet been fully revealed and described, so we have a lot to learn. Turkey is ready to cooperate in this regard,” the envoy said.
The ambassador added noted that the next important area of work in cultural diplomacy will be the language issue.
“The language track has become national, so we are interested in cooperation with the Turkish Language Association, in particular in the use of toponyms and their correct transliteration, the use of modern Ukrainian in translation, and interaction in linguistic issues,” said Vasyl Bodnar.
