OTS Plus and TURKSOY: Potential Paths for Russia to Engage with the Turkic World
World
Zorlu Türkiyä prezidenti Rejep Tayyip Erdöğan raisligida ö‘tkazilgan Anqara sammitining ahamiyatini ham qayd etdi. Anqara deklaratsiyasi 163 banddan iborat bö‘lib, iqtisodiyot, siyosat, tashqi aloqalar, madaniyat va ijtimoiy masalalarni qamrab oladi. Uning aytishicha, TDTga raislikning Türkiyäga ö‘tishi qabul qilingan qarorlarni amalda bajarish bosqichini boshlab beradi. Zorlu 2027-yilda türk dunyosi mavzusi davlat idoralari faoliyatida yanada kö‘proq muhokama qilinishini kutayotganini bildirdi.
Shunday qilib, Rösiyänı TDT bilan yaqinlashtirish masalasi bir necha formatda ko‘rib chiqilmoqda. «TDT Plyus», sohaviy loyihalar va TÜRKSOY orqali madaniy aloqalarni tiklash hamkorlik kanallariga aylanishi mumkin. Tashkilot esa umumiy til, tarix va madaniyatga asoslangan ayniyatini saqlagan holda boshqa davlatlar bilan ö‘zaro manfaatli aloqalarni rivojlantirishni kö‘zlamoqda.
The discussion gained momentum after Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev proposed considering observer status for Russia at the 13th OTS Summit of Heads of State and Government in Ankara. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov responded positively, describing Russia’s possible accession as appropriate and natural. Zorlu commented on the proposal in an interview with Anadolu Agency, while sources close to the OTS outlined the conditions governing possible forms of engagement in comments to Türkinform.
Zorlu said that interest in the OTS was growing not only in Russia but also in other countries. He cited the increasing strategic importance of Turkic states along the East–West axis, reinforced in part by the development of the Middle Corridor. The route is drawing international partners’ attention to the region and encouraging them to engage with the organization.
On Russia, Zorlu pointed to the historical and ethnic roots connecting the Turkic world with millions of people living in the country. He specifically mentioned Tatarstan, Bashkortostan, Yakutia and other regions, where, he said, cultural ties run deep. In his view, cultural dialogue with Russia is a natural avenue for engagement. At the same time, he stressed that the OTS is a cooperation mechanism for independent Turkic states, founded on shared language, history and culture, as well as the principle of voluntariness. The main membership criteria are set out in the Nakhchivan Agreement.
Separate conditions apply to observer status. Under the document adopted at the 2021 Istanbul summit, an applicant state must recognize a Turkic language, or a language related to Turkic, as a state or official language. That language must be used for official administration throughout the country, not merely in individual regions.
Sources close to the OTS noted that Tatar, Bashkir, Yakut and other Turkic languages are spoken in the Russian Federation, but none has official status at the federal level. The official status of Tatar and Bashkir in their respective republics is not considered sufficient to meet the organization’s criterion. In theory, granting one of the Turkic languages official status across the federation could provide a legal basis for an application. However, Türkinform’s sources consider the likelihood of such constitutional or legal changes extremely low.
One alternative is the OTS Plus mechanism, adopted last year to enable flexible cooperation with third countries. It is not limited to Turkic states and allows engagement with Russia, the United States, China and European Union countries. According to Zorlu, high-level meetings with third countries can take place only with the collective agreement of all member states. Partner countries may be invited to meetings of foreign ministers to discuss a common agenda and areas of mutual interest. This format would allow institutional contacts without granting observer status.
Another option is partnership in specific sectors or projects. Sources identify livestock farming, information technology and artificial intelligence as potential areas. Unlike observer status, this type of cooperation is not subject to the language requirement. It would allow the OTS to maintain its institutional identity while broadening its international engagement.
Zorlu also proposed restoring cultural cooperation through the International Organization of Turkic Culture (TURKSOY), established in 1993. According to him, Altai, Tuva, Chuvashia, Bashkortostan, Yakutia and Tatarstan had participated in its work as observers. In 2015, however, cooperation between these republics and TURKSOY was effectively frozen by a decision of the Russian Federation. No meetings or joint events have taken place since, he said.
Türkinform’s sources linked the restrictions on TURKSOY to the crisis in Russian-Turkish relations following the 2015 aircraft incident. They said lifting the restrictions could serve as a concrete signal that Moscow is prepared to develop institutional ties with the Turkic world. Such engagement could extend beyond diplomatic contacts to cultural and public initiatives involving Turkic peoples living in Russia.
Zorlu also highlighted the significance of the Ankara summit, chaired by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The Ankara Declaration contains 163 articles and covers economic and political issues, external relations, culture and social affairs. The transfer of the OTS chairmanship to Türkiye, he said, marks the beginning of the practical implementation of the decisions adopted. Zorlu expects the Turkic agenda to receive greater attention from government institutions in 2027.
Russia’s possible engagement with the OTS is therefore being considered through several formats. OTS Plus, sectoral projects and the restoration of cultural ties through TURKSOY could provide channels for cooperation. The organization, meanwhile, intends to preserve its identity based on shared language, history and culture while developing relations with other countries on the basis of mutual interests.
The discussion gained momentum after Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev proposed considering observer status for Russia at the 13th OTS Summit of Heads of State and Government in Ankara. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov responded positively, describing Russia’s possible accession as appropriate and natural. Zorlu commented on the proposal in an interview with Anadolu Agency, while sources close to the OTS outlined the conditions governing possible forms of engagement in comments to Türkinform.
Zorlu said that interest in the OTS was growing not only in Russia but also in other countries. He cited the increasing strategic importance of Turkic states along the East–West axis, reinforced in part by the development of the Middle Corridor. The route is drawing international partners’ attention to the region and encouraging them to engage with the organization.
On Russia, Zorlu pointed to the historical and ethnic roots connecting the Turkic world with millions of people living in the country. He specifically mentioned Tatarstan, Bashkortostan, Yakutia and other regions, where, he said, cultural ties run deep. In his view, cultural dialogue with Russia is a natural avenue for engagement. At the same time, he stressed that the OTS is a cooperation mechanism for independent Turkic states, founded on shared language, history and culture, as well as the principle of voluntariness. The main membership criteria are set out in the Nakhchivan Agreement.
Separate conditions apply to observer status. Under the document adopted at the 2021 Istanbul summit, an applicant state must recognize a Turkic language, or a language related to Turkic, as a state or official language. That language must be used for official administration throughout the country, not merely in individual regions.
Sources close to the OTS noted that Tatar, Bashkir, Yakut and other Turkic languages are spoken in the Russian Federation, but none has official status at the federal level. The official status of Tatar and Bashkir in their respective republics is not considered sufficient to meet the organization’s criterion. In theory, granting one of the Turkic languages official status across the federation could provide a legal basis for an application. However, Türkinform’s sources consider the likelihood of such constitutional or legal changes extremely low.
One alternative is the OTS Plus mechanism, adopted last year to enable flexible cooperation with third countries. It is not limited to Turkic states and allows engagement with Russia, the United States, China and European Union countries. According to Zorlu, high-level meetings with third countries can take place only with the collective agreement of all member states. Partner countries may be invited to meetings of foreign ministers to discuss a common agenda and areas of mutual interest. This format would allow institutional contacts without granting observer status.
Another option is partnership in specific sectors or projects. Sources identify livestock farming, information technology and artificial intelligence as potential areas. Unlike observer status, this type of cooperation is not subject to the language requirement. It would allow the OTS to maintain its institutional identity while broadening its international engagement.
Zorlu also proposed restoring cultural cooperation through the International Organization of Turkic Culture (TURKSOY), established in 1993. According to him, Altai, Tuva, Chuvashia, Bashkortostan, Yakutia and Tatarstan had participated in its work as observers. In 2015, however, cooperation between these republics and TURKSOY was effectively frozen by a decision of the Russian Federation. No meetings or joint events have taken place since, he said.
Türkinform’s sources linked the restrictions on TURKSOY to the crisis in Russian-Turkish relations following the 2015 aircraft incident. They said lifting the restrictions could serve as a concrete signal that Moscow is prepared to develop institutional ties with the Turkic world. Such engagement could extend beyond diplomatic contacts to cultural and public initiatives involving Turkic peoples living in Russia.
Zorlu also highlighted the significance of the Ankara summit, chaired by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The Ankara Declaration contains 163 articles and covers economic and political issues, external relations, culture and social affairs. The transfer of the OTS chairmanship to Türkiye, he said, marks the beginning of the practical implementation of the decisions adopted. Zorlu expects the Turkic agenda to receive greater attention from government institutions in 2027.
Russia’s possible engagement with the OTS is therefore being considered through several formats. OTS Plus, sectoral projects and the restoration of cultural ties through TURKSOY could provide channels for cooperation. The organization, meanwhile, intends to preserve its identity based on shared language, history and culture while developing relations with other countries on the basis of mutual interests.
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