The Organization of Turkic States currently includes Turkey, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan as full members and Hungary, the (unrecognized) Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and Turkmenistan as observers, with nations as far afield as Finland, Ukraine (particularly with its claims on Crimea) and Mongolia mentioned as future affiliates. All the above are NATO members or partners except for Northern Cyprus, which is only recognized by Turkey – for the moment.

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Trend News Agency
March 17, 2023

President Ilham Aliyev’s initiatives, new co-op prospects in Organization of Turkic States

Aliyev’s full speech is at this link.

The Turkic world with a 250-million population has witnessed complex historical processes over the past 200 years….

The Turkic peoples, who were occupied at various times, entered their heyday after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Since the beginning of the 2000s, the process of rapprochement of independent Turkic states began.

As a result of the signing of the Nakhchivan Agreement on October 3, 2009, the Organization of Turkic States was established in Azerbaijan’s Nakhchivan city. Since the organization’s establishment, it has taken important steps to expand both political and economic ties between the Turkic states.

The most active period of the Organization of Turkic States fell in 2022. In particular, the strengthening of Azerbaijan’s influence in the region in the post-war period had a positive impact on the Organization’s image. [Azerbaijan’s and Turkey’s war against Nagorno-Karabakh – RR.]

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On March 16, an Extraordinary Summit of the Heads of State of the Organization of Turkic States was held in Ankara.

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The unity demonstrated by the members of the Organization of Turkic States for the restoration of the liberated territories of Azerbaijan should also be emphasized.

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“We have started implementing the “Great Return” program to return former internally displaced persons to their homelands.

“Turkish companies are actively involved in many infrastructure projects as contractors in the reconstruction process. To date, contracts worth more than 3 billion USD have been signed with Turkish companies. My dear brother Recep Tayyip Erdogan has visited the liberated lands three times. He has been to Shusha, Fuzuli, Zangilan, and Jabrayil.

“Taking this opportunity, I express my gratitude to the President of Uzbekistan, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, and the President of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, for the school being built by Uzbekistan and the creative center under construction by Kazakhstan in the liberated Fuzuli city,” President Ilham Aliyev said.

In his speech, the head of state also touched upon the transformation of Türkiye into a center of power against the background of the unity of the Organization of Turkic States members, and the union of Baku with Ankara.

“In June 2021, the Shusha Declaration between Türkiye and Azerbaijan was signed in the city of Shusha, the crown jewel of Karabakh, and our relations were officially raised to the level of an alliance.

“In the last 20 years, under the leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Türkiye has covered a tremendous and glorious path, Türkiye has gained a say in the whole world, and has become a powerhouse. Today, Türkiye is reckoned with and respected all over the globe,” President Ilham Aliyev noted.

“Naturally, it’s important for the entire Turkic world that the member countries of the Organization of Turkic States strengthen their regional and global influence.

“As it’s known, peoples with the Turkic gene inhabit territories from Europe to India, from the Middle East to Siberia, that is, the borders of the Turkic world are not limited to the territories of the organization’s member countries.

In his speech, drawing attention to this topic, the President said that the Turkic world covers a wider geography.

“The Turkic world is not limited to the borders of Turkic states. The Turkic world covers a more extensive geography. The number of Azerbaijanis living in the world exceeds 50 million, and only 10 million live in the independent Republic of Azerbaijan.

“The decision of the Soviet government in November 1920 to separate West Zangezur, our historical land, from Azerbaijan and hand it over to Armenia led to the geographical separation of the Turkic world,” the President noted.

This speech should be considered as an important message about the future of the Turkic peoples. Because the attention of the Turkic states to the construction of Karabakh, as well as assistance to the victims of the earthquake in Türkiye, have formed traditions of mutual assistance within the Organization of Turkic States.

“This tradition of unity and mutual assistance will continue to manifest itself in terms of protecting the rights of the Turkic peoples, who share the same language and culture but are not independent. All this shows that the Turkic world is rapidly moving towards becoming a global power.

“Other Turkic states, led by Türkiye and Azerbaijan, also play an important role in this process. Bringing relations between Baku and Ankara to a high level in all areas serves as a roadmap for other Turkic states and forms a new system of values.

“For this reason, it can be assumed that in the near future, the military-political cooperation of the Turkic states will reach a high allied level, based on the principles reflected in the documents of the Shusha Declaration. Meantime, Azerbaijan will act as the main initiator of important ideas in the process of the rise of the Turkic world.”

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Anadolu Agency
March 17, 2023

Russia ‘highly appreciates’ Turkish president’s efforts for peace

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday that Russia highly appreciates Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s efforts for peace.

“We highly appreciate Mr. Erdogan’s efforts, his peacekeeping activities, his attempts to provide mediation services, and his attitude to the development of bilateral Russian-Turkish relations,” Peskov said a press briefing in Moscow, commenting on an idea to nominate the Turkish leader for the Nobel Peace Prize.