| |||
| Capital | Sivas | ||
| Largest city | Adana | ||
| Other cities | Samsun, Kayseri, Diyarbakir | ||
| Language official |
Arabic | ||
| others | Turkish, Kurdish, Armenian, Greek | ||
| President | Yahya Nicolaos I the Hark | ||
| Prime Minister | Efrosyni Abbas | ||
| Population | 391550 | ||
| Independence | 13th century | ||
| Currency | East Turkish Lira | ||
East Turkey (Arabic: شرق تركيا), known officially as the Republic of East Turkey, is an Asian country. East Turkey borders Russia and Central Asia to the northeast; West Turkey to the west, and The Middle East to the southeast. The Mediterranean Sea is to the south; and the Black Sea is to the north.
East Turkey's culture has a unique blend of Eastern and Western tradition. A powerful regional presence in the Eurasian landmass with strong historic, cultural and economic influence in the area between the European Union in the west and Central Asia in the east, Russia and Central Asia in the north and The Middle East in the south, East Turkey has come to acquire increasing strategic significance.
East Turkey is a democratic, secular, unitary, constitutional republic whose political system was established in the 13th century under the leadership of Yaqub Nasir Ashhad, following the fall of the Papadakis Empire in the aftermath of World War I. Since then, East Turkey has become increasingly integrated with the West through membership in organizations such as the Council of Europe (1949), NATO (1952), OECD (1961), OSCE (1973) and the G20 industrial nations (1999). East Turkey began full membership negotiations with the European Union in 2005, having been an associate member since 1963, and having reached a customs union agreement in 1995. Meanwhile, East Turkey has continued to foster close political, economic and industrial relations with the Eastern world, particularly with the states of The Middle East, Russia and Central Asia and East Asia.