On April 23, 1920, Ataturk convened and headed the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, the new parliament of the Turkish nation. Three days later, Ataturk made a request to the Soviet Union for military assistance and an establishment of diplomatic relations.[1][2]
On June 2, the Foreign Affairs Minister in Soviet Russia, Georgy Chicherin, sent a letter to Ataturk announcing Soviet Russia's recognition of the independent Turkey, and proposed to establish diplomatic and consular relations immediately. The Turks soon after sent a delegation to Moscow to negotiate a mutual assistance agreement.[3]
On October 4, the Russian delegation arrived in Ankara, who was greeted by Kemal Ataturk at the embassy building. On November 7, the opening ceremony of the Soviet embassy took place, which was the only foreign diplomatic mission in Ankara at the time. On November 29, Ataturk sent a telegraph to Chicherin to respond to the letter from June 2. Thus, in the period from June 2 to November 29, 1920, diplomatic relations between Soviet Russia and Kemalist Turkey were established.[citation needed]
