The Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking States has convened in Istanbul on November 12 and decided upon historical changes, including a new name for the organization: The Organization of Turkic States.
United World International expert Mehmet Perinçek evaluated the summit in an interview given to the Azerbaijani news channel Minval.az.
UWI presents below a translation of the article as it was published by Minval.az. The original interview text can be read here.
Subheadings were set by UWI.
Mehmet Perincek: The United States wants to implement the plan of chaos in the Turkish world
The VIIIth Summit of the Cooperation Council of Turkic-Speaking States, held on November 12 in Istanbul, will go down in history thanks to a wide range of issues discussed, ranging from security to the pandemic. Highlights of the summit include the passing of the baton of the organization’s presidency from Azerbaijan to Turkey, the speech of the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, as well as the presentation of the Supreme Order of the Turkic World to him. The renaming of the Cooperation Council of Turkic-Speaking States into the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) also took place. Which of the topics discussed at the summit were most important and fundamental for the Turkic world?
“The United States wants to bring chaos to the Turkic world. Leaving Afghanistan, the United States intends to implement specific plans to kindle the fire of inter-ethnic conflicts in Afghanistan and Central Asia, where the Turkic states are located. There is a similar plan for the Transcaucasus. Washington does not want stability and peace in the South Caucasus, because the interests of the United States are better met with war and conflict.”
This point of view was expressed in an interview with Minval.az by Turkish political scientist and historian Mehmet Perincek, who added that the United States and the Middle East oppose the interests of the Turkic world, supporting separatists and terrorists. In this context, the United States acts against the territorial integrity of Turkey in the Middle East.
“Such a confrontation is still going on in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea. The interests of the Turkic peoples are under threat in Cyprus and the Aegean Sea. In the Black Sea region, the United States is also trying to foment conflict in spaces where Turkic people live. Therefore, the OTS opposes the plans of the United States, and the countries of the union must combine their efforts in order to obstruct them and ensure the security of the Turkic world,” Perinçek emphasized.
On the other hand, in his opinion, the OTS should ensure the safety of energy resources and transport corridors, because the Turkic world is located in a zone of energy, natural resources and transport routes. Here, as Perinçek notes, there are many such projects, such as the TANAP (Trans-Anatolian Gas Pipeline) and the Caspian Gas Pipeline. Therefore, according to him, ensuring the security of these communications is an important task for Eurasian space and the Turkic world.
Integration of Turkic World in parallel with Eurasian integration
“It should also be emphasized that the integration of the Turkic world is taking place in parallel with the integration of Eurasian space. In fact, they cannot be separated from each other. I think the Organization of Turkic States will be the lever of cooperation for uniting the Eurasian space, establishing ties with important players of this global area, such as Russia, China, Pakistan and others”, said Perinçek.
And this union, according to him, is not an alliance against some regional states. On the contrary, the union of Turkic countries maintains cooperation with all states, and actively cooperates with them. That is, it meets the interests of all Eurasian countries. Therefore, according to the political scientist, large countries of the region, such as Russia, China and others, should welcome the development of the union of Turkic countries, since it contributes to the integration of Eurasia as a whole.
Why the OTS countries should recognize the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus
“A very important point in the summit should be emphasized: President Erdoğan called on the Turkic world to recognize the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, and I think that this is necessary for the integration of our countries and for our security, because the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is fighting not only for its own interests, but for the interests of the entire Turkic world. First of all, because the sovereignty of Northern Cyprus prevents the attack of the ‘Atlantic World’ on the whole of Eurasia. And therefore, I think, Northern Cyprus should take its rightful place in the Turkic Council, and should be recognized by all Turkic states,” Perinçek emphasized.
At the summit, as the political scientist notes, issues of culture and society of Turkic countries were discussed.
“As you know, the Turkic culture and languages are one of the richest intangible heritage of mankind. Speaking in Turkish, you can travel from the Balkans to Central Asia and the speaker will not experience any difficulties,” Perinçek noted.
Therefore, in his opinion, cooperation in the field of culture, language, literature between the Turkic countries also plays an important role for the integration of Turkic peoples and Turkic states.
At the summit, decisions were also made on the fight against the pandemic and the economic integration of the Turkic world, and here it is important to emphasize the importance of these decisions.
“The Organization of Turkic States at the summit also appreciated the victory of Azerbaijan and expressed its support and solidarity in restoring the post-war peace in the liberated territories. And, of course, the Turkic states decided to support the normalization of relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia. I think this is very important, because the integration of the Turkic states is connected with the integration of the whole of Eurasia, and here Azerbaijan plays a big role – as the winner of the Karabakh war, as a powerful economy of the region, and as a country with bright and deep Turkic culture. And, of course, all the participants appreciated the speech of the President of Azerbaijan at the summit, where he mentioned Turkey’s support during the 44-day war. His statements about the importance of the Zangezur corridor were clear, in accordance with the humanism of Azerbaijan’s striving to normalize relations with Armenia,” our interlocutor concluded.