Relationship dossier
Turkey
Vatican City
Relationship assessment
High-level engagement alongside a significant dispute over Pope Francis’s 2015 Armenian genocide statement
Turkey toward Vatican City
+15Turkey has engaged the Holy See through high-level visits, including President Erdoğan’s 2018 visit to the Vatican. The Turkish government also objected to Pope Francis’s 2015 use of the term “genocide” for the Armenian killings.
Vatican City toward Turkey
+20The Holy See has engaged Turkey through papal visits, including Pope Benedict XVI’s 2006 visit and Pope Francis’s 2014 visit. Pope Francis’s 2015 statement describing the Armenian killings as genocide prompted a Turkish government protest.
Overall relationship
+15The relationship combines sustained diplomatic engagement and high-level visits with a significant political disagreement over the Holy See’s characterization of the Armenian killings. These features support a generally engaged but not especially close bilateral relationship.
How to read these scores
Scores are rough judgments, not objective measurements or current verification. Directional scores describe government policy and conduct, not public opinion. The overall score is an independent estimate, never an average.
- −100
- Extreme sustained hostility
- −50
- Substantially adversarial
- 0
- Mixed or neutral, supported by knowledge
- +50
- Substantially cooperative
- +100
- Exceptionally close sustained partnership
“Not assessed” means there is no recorded score. Pair existence makes no claim about diplomatic recognition or established relations.
Relationship context
Overview
Turkey and the Holy See maintain diplomatic relations and have engaged through high-level visits, including Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to Turkey in 2006, President Erdoğan’s visit to the Vatican in 2018, and Pope Francis’s visit to Turkey in 2014. Relations have also faced a notable dispute: Turkey objected to Pope Francis’s 2015 use of the term “genocide” for the Armenian killings. Vatican City’s international relations are conducted by the Holy See.
Areas of tension
- Turkey’s objection to Pope Francis’s 2015 use of “genocide” for the Armenian killings
Key developments
Pope Benedict XVI visited Turkey.
Pope Francis described the Armenian killings as genocide, prompting a Turkish government protest.
Pope Francis visited Turkey.
President Erdoğan visited the Vatican and met Pope Francis.
Major uncertainties
- The scope and implementation of continuing bilateral cooperation are unclear.
- The extent to which Vatican City’s state institutions act separately from the Holy See in bilateral matters is unclear.