Turkey recognized[1]Lithuania on July 28, 1922, and diplomatic relations were established[1] on the same day. The Turkish ambassador to Estonia in Tallinn was also accredited to Lithuania. Following USSR occupation and annexation of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, the Turkish embassy in Tallinn closed[2] on September 5, 1940. Turkey, however, never recognized[3] the Soviet annexation of Lithuania.
Following the revelation[1] that Gorbachev had authorized Vilnius Massacre, Turkey renewed recognition of Lithuania’s independence and restored[3] diplomatic relations on September 3, 1991.
Military cooperation
Turkey cooperates closely with Lithuania in military affairs and provides personnel[3] to the NATO Center of Excellence in Vilnius. In the past, Turkey trained Lithuanian military units who served[4] as UN peacekeepers in the former Yugoslavia.
Economic relations
Trade volume between the two countries was US$687 million in 2018 (Turkish exports/imports: 277/410 million USD).[3]
^ abcKrickus, Richard. "Lithuania: Nationalism in the Modern Era." pp. 157-81 in Ian Bremmer and Ray Taras, eds., Nations and Politics in the Soviet Successor States. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1993.
^Bremmer, Ian, and Ray Taras, eds. Nations and Politics in the Soviet Successor States. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1993.
