The article examines the diplomatic struggle between Germany and Britain over Turkey and neighbouring countries of the Balkan Peninsula in the early period of World War II. Special attention is given to the goals of the German and British policy towards these countries in terms of spread of hostilities to the territory of South-Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean Sea. The article discusses the position of the Turkish Republic and its response to the attempts of London and Berlin to include Turkey into the orbit of their policy. As a result of studying a number of original documentary sources, it is concluded that in the military-political situation that had taken shape by mid-1940, the German diplomacy made serious efforts to attract these countries to its side, while a series of circumstances made the diplomatic failures and military defeat of Great Britain almost unavoidable at this time.
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