There would be a reason: the TG strengthens cooperation against the background of the conflict in the Middle East

Against the background of the war in the Middle East, the Organization of Turkic States (OTS), at the suggestion of Turkey, has taken another step to continue integration. This time, the countries that had previously agreed to hold military maneuvers in 2026 decided to create a joint emergency Response System. Recently, the OTG has been increasingly turning from a purely cultural alliance into a kind of military-political alliance. Details can be found in the Izvestia article.

Headquarters in Istanbul

The Senate of Kazakhstan approved the law "On ratification of the Agreement on the Establishment of the Civil Protection Mechanism of the Organization of Turkic States", which unites Turkey, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan as members, as well as Turkmenistan, Hungary and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC, recognized only by Ankara) as observers. The document provides for the coordination of actions of the participating countries in emergency situations, including mutual assistance and joint exercises.

The supreme body will be governed by the Council of Ministers, which will meet at least once a year, as well as the secretariat. The headquarters of the secretariat will be located in Istanbul.

Photo: Global Look Press/Belkin Alexey

"Turkey undertakes obligations to provide premises and assist in the organizational development of the secretariat," the document says.

OTG's own civil protection budget will be formed at the expense of annual mandatory contributions from the participating countries. Prior to the entry into force of a separate international budget agreement, each party must provide an annual mandatory contribution of $50,000. At the same time, the costs exceeding the total amount of these contributions during the first two years are borne by Ankara.

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Unification against the background of war

Against the background of the conflict in the Middle East, Turkey decided to accelerate the transformation of the Organization of Turkic States from a purely cultural alliance into a kind of military-political union.

After NATO air and missile defense elements twice neutralized ballistic munitions fired from Iran and entering Turkish airspace, the country's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan held an informal meeting of the Turkish foreign ministers. The main outcome of the negotiations was the conclusion that "the Turkic world is actually moving towards the formation of a single security contour."

Following the meeting, the participants adopted a joint statement, which officially stated that any attack on one of the members of the Organization is now a cause for "great concern" for all others.

Photo: REUTERS/Ihlas News Agency

"At a time when the international system is becoming more unpredictable and international law is being ignored, the Turkic world must act with a strategic vision and show even greater solidarity," the Turkish minister said.

Fidan thanked the allies for their support against the background of the attacks suffered by Turkey and Azerbaijan, stressing that "close cooperation and unity is the only way to increase the influence of the Turkic world and protect it from regional crises."

Earlier, the Group condemned the attacks, and also called for "preventing the recurrence of such actions, which further aggravate the regional situation and carry the risk of expanding the geography of tension."

Erdogan's "Family Council"

The Organization of Turkic States, which was previously called the Cooperation Council of Turkic-speaking States, or the Turkic Council, appeared in 2009. The initiator of its creation was Turkey. When, after the collapse of the USSR, the countries were deciding which way they should go, the Turkish authorities clearly realized that there was a real chance to expand their sphere of influence and get to the oil and gas fields that the state needed so much.

Photo: TASS/Zuma

Ankara began to actively penetrate into the region in several directions at once — political, ideological and economic. Turkey was one of the first countries not only to recognize the independence of many countries, but also to open embassies there. Then she actively took up integration, creating one structure of Turkic cooperation after another. Among them are the Turkic Council, the World Assembly of Turkic Peoples, and the Agency for Turkic Cooperation and Development (the Turkish equivalent of Rossotrudnichestvo). Various meetings of local authorities with the heads of the Turkic republics of the CIS were organized, as well as high-level negotiations.

The Turks acted not only through foundations, but also through the development of science, culture and religion. Ankara is confident that all Turks should unite under the auspices of Turkey and live by Turkish rules.

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Every year the integration became closer and closer. At the end of last year, at the OTG summit, the leaders of the participating countries actively demonstrated that from an association of states that are connected only by the proximity of languages, the organization has become a full-fledged subject of international politics.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has repeatedly noted that Ankara considers this organization "its family council." And now it is "turning into a global player, gaining more and more international fame, expanding its sphere of influence and deepening cooperation."

The summit of the Organization of Turkic States in the building of the Presidential administration "Yntymak Ordo" in Bishkek

Photo: TASS/Vladislav Nogai

Gradually, the parties began to interact in different areas: economy, trade and investment, border security, as well as protection of cyberspace.

Last October, OTG reached a new level of cooperation in the defense sector. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, who chairs the organization, has proposed holding joint military exercises in 2026. Ankara and Baku are particularly interested in strengthening the defense partnership.

Dangerous consolidation

The meaning of the OTG's existence is the creation of a Turkish, not a Turkic world, Vladimir Avatkov, head of the Department of the Near and Post—Soviet East at the INION RAS, Professor of the Department of International Relations and Foreign Policy at MGLU, said in an interview with Izvestia. At the same time, Russia is actually the largest country in the world in terms of the number of Turkic peoples.

— We are the homeland of the Turks. And here the outskirts, represented by Turkey, considers itself the main one, and forces everyone else to follow its logic. By the way, Hungarians also became Turks by joining Turkic organizations. They can pull others up, and they discussed the Finns, the Japanese, and the Mongols," the expert pointed out, calling a dangerous trend towards reducing the sovereignty of the CIS countries in the fields of culture and language.

The Turkish leader is pleased that he is quite successfully building a "Turkish-centric system where Turkey will be on horseback in the form of the Turks of Transcaucasia and Central Asia," the political scientist emphasized.

Photo: Global Look Press/via www.imago-images.de

The specialist paid special attention to the cooperation of the members of the OTG in the field of the defense industry and the preparation of joint exercises.

— And how will everything that happens relate to the CSTO and the EAEU? No way, I'm afraid. Obviously, they will train according to the Turkish standards of the North Atlantic Alliance. And the main question is, who will the countries train against? — the analyst wondered.