On June 12, in Astana, the 14th Plenary Session of the Parliamentary Assembly of Turkic States (TURKPA) was held under the theme: TURKTIME: The Role of Parliamentary Diplomacy.
TURKPA has existed since 2008, but it is only now that the multifaceted activities of Turkic states are drawing close attention from external observers, first and foremost, from Russia. This is unsurprising since the driving forces behind Turkic initiatives are often Ankara and Astana. While Turkey promotes its national interests, Kazakhstan appears to play both of its powerful neighbors, Russia and China, against each other. Moscow, at times, does not hide its ire, hinting that its influence over Astana is diminishing in favor of Beijing. Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev skillfully engages with China, securing benefits such as investments and a visa-free regime, which gives Kazakhstani carriers an advantage over their Russian and regional competitors.
TURKPA was officially founded a year before its ‘sister’ organization, the Organization of Turkic States, was established. The first proposal to create TURKPA was made by Kazakhstan’s President Nursultan Nazarbayev at the 8th Summit of Turkic Heads of States in November 2006.
Interestingly, TURKPA is also listed on the website of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), although it includes Turkey, a country outside the CIS and a geopolitical rival to Russia, which dominates the organization.
Equally interesting is the composition of TURKPA and its governance structure. Its full members comprise Turkey, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, and Kyrgyzstan, whilst Hungary and Turkmenistan are observers. The day-to-day operations of the organization are managed by a Secretariat headquartered in Baku, and the Secretary General of TURKPA is always an Azerbaijani citizen. Strategic direction is provided through annual plenary sessions, which are presided over by the Speaker of Parliament of the country currently holding the Chair.
“The chairmanship rotates annually in alphabetical order according to the Latin alphabet,” explained Kazakh MP Aigul Kuspan.
This brings us to a curious contradiction that nobody focuses much upon. It is believed that Azerbaijan is Turkey’s proxy state in the South Caucasus and Central Asia. At the same time, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, to a lesser or greater degree, pursue a Russian policy in the region. As explained, in recent years Kazakhstan has also gravitated toward promoting Chinese interests. Thus, in practice, Turkey leads TURKPA through its own presidency and via Azerbaijan for two out of every four years, while Russia/China exert influence through Kazakh and Kyrgyz speakers in the other two.
In theory, this tug-of-war could have rendered both TURKPA and the OTS, where geopolitical tensions are similar, meaningless forums for routine summits. That was true until recently; however, now we observe a growing geopolitical subjectivity in Central Asia and a reorientation toward its own interests. Therefore, OTS summits and TURKPA plenaries have become more purposeful.
This is demonstrated by the words of President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, who met with delegates of the 14th Plenary Session of the Parliamentary Assembly of Turkic States.
“Last year, Kazakhstan chaired the Organization of Turkic States. Under the motto ‘TURKTIME’, we implemented a number of important projects. About 100 events were organized that gave impetus to deepening Turkic integration. The 5th World Nomad Games were held in Astana, which introduced the world to the civilization of the Great Steppe. The approval of a single version of the Turkic alphabet can be called a historic event.”
Tokayev reminded everyone that, in addition to the official summits, OTS now also holds informal meetings, the first of which was held this year in Budapest, Hungary. Tokayev announced preparations for a second meeting and suggested Turkestan in Kazakhstan as its venue. Kazakhstan is clearly striving to maintain leadership in both the OTS and TURKPA and prevent Turkey from monopolizing Turkic diplomacy. Hungary, too, leans more toward Moscow than Ankara in its foreign policy.
So how are the OTS and TURKPA connected, apart from being ‘sister’ organizations? The structure is as follows: initiatives aimed at strengthening ties between Turkic countries are discussed and approved at OTS summits. There are six Turkic nations worldwide: Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. Four of them are members of both OTS and TURKPA. Once initiatives are approved by OTS, TURKPA converts them into legislation by harmonizing the legal norms of Turkic states or by endorsing projects that bring these states closer together.
These initiatives cover a wide range of issues, from transport and logistics to culture and education. In the field of logistics and transport, the Middle Corridor or Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, a key link in China’s Belt and Road, comes back into focus. In culture and education, there are numerous initiatives, including a joint television platform, the promotion of Turkic cinema, and the unification of alphabets.
To an external observer, it is clear that centripetal processes are underway within the Turkic space, and Moscow is most likely worried that Turkey will become its center. But a view from the inside shows that all these processes started when the region became interesting to Beijing as a space for its new Silk Road. Without Chinese investment, both OTS and TurkPA would have remained platforms for “just talking.”
The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the publication, its affiliates, or any other organizations mentioned.
