SPIRIT OF COOPERATION DOMINATES TURKIC SUMMIT
Mevlut Katik 11/20/06

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The results of the November 17 summit of the leaders of Turkic-speaking nations exceeded the expectations of many diplomats and political analysts. The presidents of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkey took the first steps toward the creation of a Turkic commonwealth, giving an enthusiastic endorsement to efforts aimed at strengthening energy and security ties.

The four leaders, along with Turkmenistan�s envoy to Turkey, gathered at the Turkish Mediterranean resort city of Antalya for the summit, the eighth such gathering of its kind, but the first held in five years. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive]. Officials from Uzbekistan, who had been slated to attend, ended up boycotting the event due to a breakdown in relations with Turkey.

The participants signed a declaration committing the Turkic states to strengthen economic and transport ties, while stressing "the importance of the joint fight against terrorism, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, drug smuggling, weapons smuggling, human smuggling and other organize crimes." The statement also endorsed the concepts of Turkey�s accession to the European Union, and a peace settlement to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict that leaves the territory under Azerbaijan�s control.

"We declare that we support peaceful solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in accordance with the principle of territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, and that we will further support fraternal Azerbaijan in this dispute," Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer said. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive].

The four leaders underlined both the "increasing importance of the Caspian Basin for the energy security of Europe" and the "strategic importance of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan [BTC] oil pipeline opening and the [expected] completion of the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum [BTE] natural gas pipeline." They also stressed the importance of the possible addition of trans-Caspian transportation routes to both the BTC and the BTE. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive]. Sezer stressed in his opening speech the importance of involving energy-rich Turkmenistan in the summit process, and vowed that Ankara would work to facilitate energy exports from the Caspian Basin to Europe via Turkey. Turkic leaders underlined in the Antalya declaration that "increasing energy cooperation would positively and directly contribute to economic and political stability" in Eurasia.

Kazakshtani President Nursultan Nazarbayev took observers, and even many participants, by surprise by proposing the creation of a Turkic parliamentary assembly. Nazarbayev went on to nominate former Turkish president and prime minister Suleyman Demirel to serve as the proposed assembly�s first chairman.

Nazarbayev�s proposal was indicative of his interest in exploring the feasibility of a full-blown Turkic commonwealth. "We have to discuss it," Kazakshtani Foreign Minister Foreign Minister Kasymzhomart Tokayev told EurasiaNet, referring to the commonwealth possibility.

It would appear that Nazarbayev, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Kyrgyzstani leader Kurmanbek Bakiyev now see closer cooperation as a way to leverage the collective influence of "200 million Turks," as Nazarbayev put it, in pursit of specific policy aims.

"The problem of one Turkic speaking nation must be the problem of other Turkic speaking nations," the Anatolia news agency quoted Aliyev as saying. Observers interpreted his comments as meaning Turkic states should collectively push for results in Turkey�s EU accession process and Azerbaijan�s Karabakh peace talks that are satisfactory to Ankara and Baku respectively.

If the Turkic states actually opted to coordinate diplomatic action, they might have the collective muscle to alter the existing equilibrium in many geopolitical matters. In the case of Turkey�s troubled drive to join the EU, for example, a Turkic commonwealth could influence Brussels� decision-making calculus by playing the energy card, letting it be known that a rebuff of Ankara could hinder the EU�s access to Central Asian energy supplies.

Kyrgyzstani diplomats also stressed that closer cooperation would enhance Bishkek�s international profile. Kanat Tursunkulov, a top Kyrgyz Foreign Ministry official, said President Bakiyev�s attendance at the summit, despite the "recent troubles" in Bishkek, underscored the Kyrgyz government�s position that closer cooperation among Turkic states is a top political priority. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive].

Commenting on the outcome of the summit, a top Turkish diplomat said, "The era of romantic embracing has ended; the era of concrete cooperation has started." Nazarbayev, Aliyev and Bakiyev all quietly expressed a desire for their respective countries to host to the next Turkic summit. At the same time, participants emphasized a need to proceed cautiously, seeking to dispel any impression that they are rushing toward institutionalizing the group.

Beyond the steps toward closer cooperation, the Turkic summit will be remembered for the public airing of a diplomatic feud between Turkey and Uzbekistan. Some news reports claimed that Uzbek officials stayed away from the gathering to protest the final declaration�s wording on the Karabakh settlement. However, a senior Turkish official said the reason for Tashkent�s displeasure was Turkey�s decision to join the United States in supporting a draft measure in UN General Assembly�s Human Rights Council that would condemn human rights violations in Uzbekistan.

The official was outspoken in his criticism of both Uzbekistan�s rights behavior and Tashkent�s reaction to Ankara�s vote. "It is time that some countries learned that democracy and human rights are essential to integrate into the global system," he said. "Turkey will persistently work to promote democracy and human rights for the region`s own benefit."

Turkey�s decision to vote for the draft Human Rights Council resolution was "a reflection of our ideals and understanding of the importance of democracy and respect for human rights," the official continued. "Turkey has been criticized for similar reasons [human rights violations] in the past, but we never turned it into a bilateral issue, and chose to make improvemenst in our [democracy and human right] records instead."

Such blunt talk would appear to mark a significant shift in Turkish policy, as Turkish officials had unitl now avoided open criticism of Uzbek government action. It may be that Turkey�s desire to meet EU accession criteria, especially the need to bolster its human rights credentials, is playing a role in the adoption of a toughter line toward Tashkent. The official also indicated that Ankara is growing tired of Uzbek President Islam Karimov�s demands. "They [Uzbek officials] also accuse us of supporting the Uzbek opposition, citing [the fact that] opposition leader Mohammad Solih freely travels to and lives in Turkey. Mr. Solih is free to travel anywhere he wants to go, and travels to Norway, Britain and the United States. Why is Turkey being singled out?" the official said.