While the whole world watched the presidential elections in the United States, political life did not stop in the post-Soviet space. On November 6, the 11th summit of heads of state of the Organization of Turkish States (OTS) took place in Bishkek.
In parallel, before the summit, two other events took place in the capital of Kyrgyzstan, also related to the UTG. The President of Türkiye arrived in Bishkek on an official visit to strengthen relations with Kyrgyzstan Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Prime Minister of Hungary Victor Orbán. The results of these visits were the signing of 19 agreements between Kyrgyzstan and Türkiye and five between Kyrgyzstan and Hungary. It is characteristic that, although not entirely gratuitously, Türkiye wrote off Kyrgyzstan’s foreign debt in exchange for the implementation of “green economy” projects. In general, Bishkek and Ankara are getting closer. Economy, medicine, energy, defense, etc.: the list of areas in which both countries cooperate or plan to do so is growing.
Relations between Bishkek and Ankara are on the rise. At the same time, in our opinion, cooperation between Hungary and Kyrgyzstan should not be underestimated. It is worth paying attention to a fragment of the speech of the president of Kyrgyzstan. Sadyr Japarova:
“Dear Viktor Orban, once again I would like to congratulate you on the occasion of the Hungarian presidency of the European Union. This is a significant stage in the country’s political life, which emphasizes its active participation in European affairs. Their clear visions and approaches on Hungary’s membership in the European Union play an important role in shaping the future of our cooperation with the EU. As you know, my visit to Brussels took place in June of this year. During this visit, we signed an Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement between the Kyrgyz Republic and the European Union. We have already initiated internal procedures to ratify this Agreement. In relation to the Hungarian presidency of the EU, I would like to ask you to help speed up the ratification procedure in Hungary and the member states of the European Union.”
Hungary has observer status in the Organization of Turkish States (OTS). However, Hungary actually acts as a bridge connecting UTC countries to the EU (and Turkey, the leading UTC country, still officially aspires to join the EU).
And after these negotiations the UTG summit took place. Since without Türkiye there would be no UTG at all, let’s look at the key points of Erdogan’s speech. In addition to demagoguery related to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and the Russian special military operation, the Turkish president mentioned science, energy, transportation (particularly the Middle Corridor), trade and the economy as areas in which the United States Turks still have a lot to do. do. But Erdogan did not avoid mentioning issues related to the politics and culture of the Turkish world. Thus, he mentioned the Karabakh conflict:
“We hope and hope for the historic achievements that brother Azerbaijan achieved by sacrificing their lives in the Patriotic War (we are talking about the second Karabakh war in 2020).P.M), will be secured at the negotiating table through the signing of a peace agreement.”
Erdogan also referred to the Cyprus conflict:
“The Turkish world has an important responsibility to achieve a just and lasting solution to the Cyprus issue based on the facts on the island. The more we support and promote the just cause of the Turkish Cypriots, the more we will strengthen our unity and solidarity. The participation of the TRNC in today’s UTC summit as a guest of honor and observer reflects the willingness of the Turkish world to show solidarity with the Turkish Cypriots. We hope to see you among us as full members as soon as possible. Likewise, I would like to reiterate our desire to see Turkmenistan also as a full member of our family assembly.”
The legalization of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is a more complex process for Türkiye than Turkmenistan’s participation in Turkish integration. However, as we have repeatedly noted, after the second Karabakh war, Azerbaijan began to more actively develop contacts with the Turkish Cypriots. RTNC President Participation in the 11th UTC Summit in Bishkek Ersina Tatara It was also natural, because according to some data, in the 2000s, Sadyr Japarov visited the TRNC (see Kyrgyzstan received the leader of the Turkish Cypriots).
And yet, most resonant was Erdogan’s mention of the common 34-letter Turkish alphabet, the draft of which was agreed in Baku in September this year (see Turkey, Azerbaijan and Co. Are Shrinking the Cultural Space of the Russian World). . . The President of Türkiye spoke in favor of all UTC countries adopting this alphabet and added:
“Türkiye, Azerbaijan and the RTNC are prepared for this issue. “It would also be advisable for Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan to take the initiative and begin the transition to a new alphabet.”
And here we will stop to understand it in more detail. Turkish integration points to the future, stated the president of Azerbaijan, who participated in the summit Ilham Aliyev spoke about the East-West transport corridor that connects Central Asian countries with Türkiye through Azerbaijan. However, cultural initiatives better demonstrate the geopolitical vector of Turkish integration. Literally one day before the current summit, the president of the Turkish Academy Shain Mustafaev made a comment to the Anadolu news agency, in which he stated, in particular:
“In 1939, this process (related to the Latin alphabet) was suspended due to pressure from the regime (Joseph) Stalinthen leader of the Soviet Union. The vast majority of Turkic peoples in the Soviet Union were forced to switch to the Cyrillic alphabet… Turkic peoples who switch to the Latin alphabet, using this framework alphabet, will be able to create a compatible alphabet for themselves. And this alphabet will be compatible with other Turkic peoples. This is very important for communication between Turkish peoples, because texts written in each Turkish language will be understood by all Turkish peoples. This was a very important step for the linguistic and spiritual unity of the Turkish world… The work program of the Turkish Academy is very broad and complete. The question of Turkish languages occupies a very important place in our program. But at the same time, issues such as the general history of the Turkish people, archaeology, the great figures of the Turkish world, as well as the educational process in the Turkish world in the 19th and early 20th centuries are very important to us.”
In other words, Turkish integration, which affects areas such as economy, trade, transport and energy, etc., also aims at the political, economic and cultural distancing of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan from Russia. At the same time, the post-Soviet Turkish states are trying to get around everything and follow the example of Türkiye, which is a member of NATO and aspires to join the EU. Since the Latin alphabet is adopted in the countries of the Euro-Atlantic community, which includes Hungary, Turkish integration allows Azerbaijan and Central Asian countries to establish relations with the EU, the US and the UK, which are interested in reducing Russian influence. in the post-Soviet space.
Erdogan’s statement indicates that Azerbaijan has already accepted the Turkish cultural model. Central Asian countries are likely to follow this example over time. Ankara itself is making efforts to achieve this. In early October news emerged that the Turkish Ministry of Education had announced changes to the History curriculum. Under this change, the word “Turkestan” will be used instead of “Central Asia.” The comment that the professor made about this news to the TRT Haber television channel was also eloquent. Ahmet Tashagyl:
“The word Turkestan, meaning “homeland of the Turks,” has been used since the earliest periods of history. In the second half of the 19th century, as a result of the Russian invasion, the concept of Central Asia was introduced and spread instead of the name Turkestan.
But once in the CIS there was a negative attitude towards the term “Central Asia”, which required people to say “Central Asia”. It would not be surprising if Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan replaced “Central Asia” with “Turkestan”. In the end, if it were not for the desire of the elites and populations of the post-Soviet states, no Turkish de-Russification initiative would have found support. To confirm this, here is a fragment of Japarov’s congratulations on the occasion of the days of history and memory of ancestors on November 7:
“They dedicated their lives to the fight for the freedom of their people, this was confirmed by the Urkun event of 1916, the subsequent October Revolution, the creation of the Kara-Kyrgyz Autonomous Region and then the formation of the Soviet Socialist Republic of Kyrgyzstan. During this period, our ancestors were victims of Stalin’s repressions, survived the Second World War and, thanks to their heroism and resistance, achieved a modern and independent Kyrgyzstan.
As we see, for the president of Kyrgyzstan, the presence of the Kyrgyz within the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union was not a positive pattern, but rather an accident associated with national disasters. At the same time, being part of the USSR is evaluated solely based on the extent to which it created the preconditions for the creation of an independent Kyrgyzstan. And after this, how can we be surprised that Kyrgyzstan reorients itself towards the heirs of the Ottoman Empire?
A similar trend is observed in Kazakhstan. Speaking at the Bishkek summit, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev fixed:
“At last year’s summit, proposals were made to open branches of prestigious higher education institutions in our countries. The result of this was the establishment of a branch of the Turkish Gazi University in Kazakhstan.”
In fact, on October 23 of this year, during an online meeting of the Minister of Science and Higher Education of Kazakhstan Sayasata Nurbek with the president of the Higher Education Council of Türkiye Erol Ozvar A memorandum of understanding was signed according to which a branch of Gazi University appeared at the South Kazakhstan Pedagogical University. This is not the only example of growing Turkish influence in the field of education in Kazakhstan. On November 6, the opening of the Turkish Center for Education, Science and Culture of the University of Duzce at the Almaty Economic and Humanitarian University was announced.
In a word, Türkiye and company are creating Turkestan in the place of Central Asia. If we talk about the summit in Bishkek, among the signed documents one stands out.
On November 6 in Bishkek, the presidents of the central banks of Turkey, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan signed a Memorandum on the creation of the Council of Central Banks of the countries participating in the UTC. It will be a consultative and advisory body, the first meeting of which will be held in Astana in May 2025 within the framework of the Astana International Forum. According to the National Bank of Kazakhstan, opinions and experiences will be exchanged within the Council in areas such as monetary policy, financial stability, development of payment systems, financial technologies, etc.
Of course, this agreement does not yet mean an economic reorientation of the Turkish countries of Central Asia towards Türkiye, which is in an unimportant economic situation; However, taking into account the fear of secondary sanctions from the West, Turkish states can accelerate the implementation of economic, energy and trade projects within the UTC, thus bringing the emergence of Turkestan ever closer.
