AK Party Deputy Chairman and Head of Relations with Turkish States Kürşad Zorlu, at the 13th Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Organization of Turkic States (TDT), made evaluations about Kazakhstan President Kasım Cömert Tokayev's proposal for Russia to join TDT as an observer member and Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitriy Peskov's positive statements on the subject.
Stating that the summit held in Ankara, hosted by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, was a turning point in history, Zorlu stated that they implemented a very valuable program with its theme, symbols and the Ankara Declaration consisting of 163 articles.
Emphasizing that decisions were made in many fields from economy, politics, foreign policy, culture and social relations with the Ankara Declaration, Zorlu said, "The passing of the term presidency to Türkiye is also a very important stage. We will follow up on these decisions taken during our presidency this term. 2027 will be a year in which the Turkish world will be talked about much more and examined much more by our state institutions." he said.
Kürşad Zorlu stated that the Civilization Park created in the Beştepe National Forest in the Presidential Complex is one of the states' strongest messages to future generations.
Reminding that there are Ahlat Tombstones at the entrance of the park, and exact examples of Bilge Kağan, Tonyukuk and Kül Tigin inscriptions under the flags of 16 Turkish States at the exit, Zorlu stated that the leaders of the Turkish world gave a historical photo here and that this carries an important message to future generations in terms of ancient history and future horizons.
"ONLY THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION, BUT OTHER COUNTRIES ARE ALSO INTERESTED IN CSA"
Regarding Kazakhstan President Tokayev's proposal for Russia to join the TDT as an observer member and the positive statements of Kremlin Spokesperson Peskov, Zorlu emphasized that this is a very sensitive and important issue and made a new proposal for cultural cooperation.
Pointing out that the interest in the Organization of Turkic States has increased rapidly recently, Zorlu continued his words as follows: "The concrete reality that has emerged, especially on the basis of the Middle Corridor, and the rising strategic value of the Turkish states in the East-West axis, attracts the attention of many countries and increases the desire for dialogue with the Organization. The official dinner held with the participation of the leaders of the member countries one day before the summit is one of the examples of this. Meanwhile, US President Mr. Trump made a congratulatory phone call regarding the Summit." The Organization's demonstration of its importance, now Russia's approach, and the previous attempts of many different countries to cooperate with our Organization are clear evidence of this situation.
As for the Russian Federation, of course, millions of people live in this country with whom we share historical and ethnic roots. Our cultural ties are very deep in many regions, especially in Tatarstan, Bashkortostan and Yakutia. In this respect, it is extremely natural to have cultural dialogue with Russia."
LANGUAGE REQUIREMENT OF TDT
Pointing out that TDT is a cooperation mechanism formed by independent Turkish States based on common language, history, culture and volunteerism, Zorlu said that the founding philosophy of the Organization and the official membership criteria in the Nakhchivan Treaty are also clear.
Reminding that a clear language requirement was introduced in the regulation adopted at the 8th Summit of the Heads of State of the Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking Countries held in Istanbul in 2021, Zorlu said, "Accordingly, for observer membership, only states that have accepted one of the Turkic languages or related languages as the state language or official language, that is, the official language of correspondence throughout the country, not in any region, can apply for observer status in TDT. Third countries outside this category can apply for observer status in the Organization. "It is also aimed to establish a flexible cooperation between the two companies on the basis of mutual interests. TDT Plus cooperation model was adopted last year." shared his knowledge.
Zorlu stated that, according to this model expressed by Kazakhstan President Tokayev at the Ankara Summit, it would be possible to hold a high-level meeting at the level of Ministers of Foreign Affairs or Heads of State with a third country approved by the member countries, with the common decision of all members.
Stating that the TDT Plus cooperation model mentioned by Tokayev aims for a flexible cooperation basis with third countries, Zorlu said, "If such a request comes to the agenda, the issue will be evaluated appropriately, with the approval of all member states, taking into account the strategic goals of the organization and the common interests of the Turkish world." he said.
ZORLU SUGGESTIONS TO REVISIT RELATIONS WITH TURKSOY
Stating that he wanted to make a new suggestion in this context, Zorlu said: "Under the umbrella of TDT, we have related international organizations such as the International Organization of Turkic Culture (TURKSOY) and the Turk Academy. In particular, TURKSOY, which was established in 1993, is the organization with which we have the widest and most dynamic cooperation in the cultural field. Altai, Tuva, Chuvash, Bashkir, Yakut and Tatarstan within the Russian Federation are observer members of this organization. However, "With a decision taken by the Russian Federation in 2015, the cooperation of the republics in question with TURKSOY was effectively frozen. Since then, no mutual meetings or activities have been held. Now, I say, let's re-evaluate this frozen situation in TURKSOY and revive the cultural cooperation, which is one of the strongest partnerships of the two parties."
