By Henry Srebrnik, [Summerside, PEI] Journal Pioneer
The dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 and
the formation of independent states in Central Asia and the
Caucasus has transformed Turkey’s role in the world.
The newly independent Turkic states constituted
85 per cent of the former Soviet Union’s Muslim population,
which is predominantly Sunni, as is Turkey.
The main Turkic groups in these states are
Uzbeks, Kazaks, Tatars, Azeris, Turkomans, Kyrgyz, Chivash,
Bashkirs, Kumyks, Balkars, and Nogais.
All of these peoples are linked to Turkey in many
ways, including by the ties of their various languages linked
to Turkish, enabling Turkey to project its “soft power” in the
region.
With the threat of antagonizing and provoking the
Soviet Union no longer an issue, feelings of kinship with
Turkic peoples living outside the boundaries of the Turkish
state became more widespread, especially under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Iran, too, has viewed these new countries as a
potential sphere of influence, though both linguistically and
religiously – the central Asians are mainly Sunni, not Shi’a –
Tehran is at a disadvantage in relation to Turkey.
Also, there are various issues in which Iran and
Turkey may find themselves at odds. Iranian Azerbaijan may
turn out to be such an area since Turkey is sympathetic to
those Azeris who would like to unite northwestern Azerbaijan,
located in Iran, to Azerbaijan.
The world’s largest number of ethnic
Azerbaijanis actually live in Iran, followed by the Republic of
Azerbaijan itself.
Turkey was the first country to recognize the
independence of Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan’s then Foreign
Minister, Tofik Gasymov, in Ankara in August 1992 stated that
“Turkey is our greatest helper. We want Turkey’s aid in
establishing links with the world.”
Politically, Turkey ardently defends the Azeri
position regarding the conflict with Armenia over the
Nagorno-Karabakh enclave within Azerbaijan. Economically, both
countries have linkages for energy transmission routes such as
the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline project.
Turkish-Kyrgyz relations followed a similar
track. Kyrgyz
President Askar Akaev called Turkey a “North Star” to be
looked to for guidance. Kyrgyz students came to Turkey to
further their education, and Ankara helped the new state
create two new universities in the 1990s.
Bilateral relations between Turkey and
Turkmenistan have been strong since the declaration of
independence by Turkmenistan. In fact, Turkey was the first
country to recognize its independence. Trade, investment by
Turkish firms, and cooperation in educational ventures have
cemented the relationship.
Uzbekistan is the most important of the central
Asian states, and Turkey’s close linguistic, historical, and
cultural linkages with Uzbekistan have served Ankara well. Islam
Karimov, the country’s first president, was also the first
Turkic leader to visit Turkey.
In October 2017, Uzbek President Shavkat
Mirziyoyev visited Ankara. Agreements between the two countries
committed them to 35 joint projects, worth over $3.5 billion, in
the construction of power facilities, road infrastructure,
manufacturing of textiles, electrical equipment, building
materials, food and agro-industry.
Of course, Russia is still an influential player
in the region and Russian politicians in the Putin era do
their best to retain ties with these former Soviet republics.
Hence, Ankara and Moscow will most probably compete, rather
than cooperate, in central Asia, each seeing it as part of
their respective “near abroads.”
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