The Organization of Turkic States supported Erdogan on the eve of the elections in Turkey

The extraordinary summit of the heads of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) was held on March 16  in Ankara in truly extraordinary conditions. The earthquake in Turkey, the war in Ukraine that has stirred up global confrontation, and the most important not only for Turkey, but for the Turkic states is the fate of Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is going to the May presidential elections in difficult times for Turkey.

The leaders who took part in the Ankara summit stressed the outstanding role of Erdogan in consolidating the Turkic world and ensuring stability and the growth of Turkey's international prestige. Turkmen Arkadag (national leader) Gurbanguly Berdimuhammedov even offered to nominate Erdogan for the Nobel Peace Prize.

It is impossible not to agree that under Erdogan, who has ruled Turkey for 20 years, the consolidation of the Turkic states has significantly advanced, which of course is due to the special policy of the Turkish leader, which was expressed in the assistance of the former Soviet Turkic republics in their formation in the status of independent states. It was under him that the Turkic Council, as a kind of advisory club, transformed into an Organization with claims to an active role in international politics.

Formally, the convening of the extraordinary summit took place on the initiative of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, who of all the leaders of the Turkic-speaking countries has the closest relations with Erdogan not only at the personal level, but also at the country level. It is the slogan "One people - two states" that is used to emphasize the unity of Turkey and Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijan, like other Turkic states, is of course interested in Erdogan's victory in the upcoming elections. They also need to continue, and to some extent, complete the structuring of the OTS interaction system. They, like no one who survived the cataclysms of the Soviet years, appreciate the importance of the role of the individual in history. It is not clear what the future fate of the Organization may be if another leader, such as Kilicdaroglu, replaces Erdogan. This is a linear equation with two variables, in which few people would like to participate in solving the puzzle.

It is no coincidence that special attention was paid at the summit to the issue of coordinating efforts to prevent emergencies of a natural and non-natural nature. President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has put forward an initiative to create  such a structure based on the existing emergency prevention center in Kazakhstan. The same idea was initiated by the President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev.

The situation in Azerbaijan remains difficult, where, according to Aliyev, Armenia is delaying the process of withdrawing its troops located in the zone of responsibility of the Russian peacekeeping contingent in Karabakh, as well as the procedure for signing a peace treaty and recognizing the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan.

In the context of global challenges and election battles in Turkey, the Turkic states are preparing to hold their planned summit in the Kazakh city of Turkestan this autumn. Whether their PR support of OTS will help Erdogan to become a participant in the summit in Turkistan as the head of Turkey, time will tell, which is still characterized as uncertain.

*According to the Turkish Presidential Communications Department, the summit was attended by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Kyrgyz President Sadyr Zhaparov, Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, and representatives of observer countries: President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus Ersin Tatar, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Head of the Office for People's Affairs of the National Council of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov.