The prestige of the Turkic states, especially Azerbaijan and Turkey, has begun to grow around the world. As a result, these countries have already become regional as well as global players.
Today, the Turkish Council includes Azerbaijan, Turkey, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. Turkmenistan and Hungary participate in the work of the council as observers. Ukraine is a possible observer.
Interestingly, Russia, the world's largest country, is also considering joining the organisation. In his speeches, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has repeatedly stated that Russia will join the Turkish Council. He stressed that Russia is one of the largest places for Turkic-speaking nations in the world: “We have Turkic-speaking peoples and Turkish culture. These peoples and cultures will not disappear, they will develop. Russia is not a member of the Turkic Council - because most of the population must be Turkic-speaking. But I do not see a problem in our membership in this organisation. We are ready to consider this proposal with pleasure. "
It should be noted that at the last meeting of the Turkic Council, all Turkic-speaking countries, while touching upon the Karabakh issue, said they recognised the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. The question is that is the Karabakh problem over for Russia, who aims to become a member of the Turkish Council?
In a brief comment to the Eurasia Diary, political scientist Ilgar Velizadeh first analysed the Russian Foreign Minister's opinion on the Turkish Council. According to him, Lavrov has been using this expression for a long time.
"In fact, Lavrov has made this statement in 2007 at an event of the club "Seliger". Since then, such ideas have come up several times. So far, I do not consider it realistic for Russia to join the Turkish Council. In general, there is no effective means to do this," he said.
The political expert also clarified the question of how the political process will continue if Russia joins the council.
“The Turkic states that are part of Russia are cooperating quite closely and are active within this organisation. The close cooperation of Turkic-speaking countries in the humanitarian, social and political spheres and the prospects of this cooperation have a positive impact on the growth of the prestige of these countries in Russia, and will continue to do so."
Another issue is the recognition of the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan by the countries of the Turkish Council. It is also to what extent this statement of the Russian diplomat is in line with the Karabakh issue.
"Yes, I think the Karabakh issue is closed for Russia. First of all, Russia does not want and is not interested in the resumption of hostilities in the region. Russia's reluctance to escalate tensions in the region is also linked to certain geopolitical risks. To be more clear, if tensions escalate again, non-regional actors or parties that Russia does not want may be brought to the region. As a result, of course, it is not in Russia's favour. Therefore, I believe that Russia will move away from the conflict as much as possible, and as a result, Turkic-speaking countries will strengthen their influence in such areas by becoming more active," he said.
In addition, the expert noted that post-conflict issues played a leading role in the strengthening of Turkic-speaking countries as well as promoting of formation of a new political system.
"A unified system has already been established in the region.The post-conflict period is one of the important and leading elements in the establishment of this political system," he concluded.
Elnur Enveroglu
