Russia knocked Kazakhstan out of the chain of the Turkic world / CIS / Nezavisimaya gazeta
Moscow strengthens its position in Central Asia
It is not representatives of Big Turan that will restore order in Kazakhstan, but peacekeepers from the countries of the former USSR. Photo by Reuters
Turkey launched an online meeting of foreign affairs of the Organization of Turkic States (OTG), dedicated to the events in Kazakhstan. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, after a conversation with his Kazakh counterpart Mukhtar Tleuberdi, said that the event will take place on January 11. He also stated that Ankara is ready to provide Nur-Sultan with any special assistance. Turkey is concerned that Russia has knocked out of the chain of the “Turkic world” the main link – Kazakhstan.
The situation in all regions of Kazakhstan, where riots took place on January 2-7, has stabilized, according to a statement released on Sunday by the acting President. Minister of Internal Affairs of the Republic Yerlan Turgumbayev. According to him, the operation to restore law and order is underway. All previously seized buildings of local administrations have been liberated, and repair work has already begun in some of them. The damage caused by looters exceeded 87 billion tenge (about 200 million dollars). Turgumbayev said that during the riots, more than 100 large shopping facilities and banks were looted, more than 400 vehicles were damaged and destroyed, including 346 police cars.
The events in Kazakhstan were in the focus of attention of Ankara, the leader of the “Turkic world”. Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said on this occasion: “We believe that our means overcome all difficulties and means. We declare that we are ready for any help and support to our Kazakh brothers ”.
Hulusi Akar recalled Turkey’s successes in the fight against terrorist organizations in the region. According to him, since 2015, the Turkish Armed Forces have eliminated 33,275 terrorists in Syria, and thanks to the efforts of the Turkish army in Syria, about a million million dollars, 470 thousand rubles, have returned to this country of their own free will. of which are located in the Idlib de-escalation zone. At the same time, the general notes that “the Aerospace Forces of the Russian Federation periodically strike at the north-west of Syria, which irreparable damage and poor living conditions of the population of Idlib.” The minister explained that recently the Russian military bombed water supplies, which seriously complicated the lives of people. Thus, Hulusi Akar signaled to Kazakhstan that Turkey would be more useful than Russia. Probably, to enhance the effect, he recalled the role of the role that Turkey will play in the Karabakh war. “Our goal in the South Caucasus is long-term peace and stability. The presidents of Turkey and Azerbaijan extended peace to Armenia. We hope that this gesture will be duly appreciated in Yerevan. This is a question that concerns not only Azerbaijan or Armenia, but the region as a whole. The South Caucasus should turn into an island of stability, ”the minister said.
Office of the ruling Nur Otan party in Almaty defeated by riots. Photo by Reuters |
Hulusi Akar’s statements are understandable, especially given the fact that some Turkish argue: the introduction of the CSTO troops into Kazakhstan marked the collapse of the idea of building a “Turkic world” – the huge material, organizational, ideological resources that Turkey had been investing in Kazakhstan for many years were almost gone wasted. The Turkish officialdom openly lamented the “loss of Kazakhstan’s sovereignty” and its power to act in this direction more decisively.
The situation has developed in such a way that in a number of the “Turkic world” after Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, which is participating in the CSTO peacekeeping operation, actually broke away, in fact Turkey itself remains and Azerbaijan has not commented on the events so far. Turkmenistan always takes a special position and, as a neutral country, does not participate in any alliances. Imagine that Turkey will continue to strengthen its positions in Central Asia, it is very difficult.
However, according to Stanislav Pritchin, senior researcher at the Center for Post-Soviet Studies at the IMEMO RAS, Turkey had limited room for maneuver. “During the acute phase of the crisis in Kazakhstan, Turkey could not do anything. Don’t send your special forces. This would cause even greater bewilderment not only in Kazakhstan, but also in Russia and China. The charter of the OTG does not contain such a point as sending its troops in the event of a crisis in one of the OTG countries. The only one who could do this was Uzbekistan, which signed a corresponding package of agreements with Kazakhstan. Therefore, it makes no sense for Turkey to take any serious steps now, ”Pritchin told NG.
“The idea of creating the Great Turan is not going anywhere. The question is how effectively it will be implemented. The fact is that for Kazakhstan, as well as for all Central Asian republics, the very idea of a “Turkic world” is not entirely acceptable. Being a Turk does not mean being in the “Turkic world”. It’s like Serbs and Russians will never be in the same state, no matter how close they are to each other, ”Aleksandr Kobrinsky, director of the Agency for Ethno-National Strategies, told NG. In his opinion, the problem of Kazakhstan, like many other post-Soviet republics, is that it built its statehood and ideological imperatives in opposition to the Soviet past and in opposition to Russian history. And since there is an artificial combination of their historical moments and a free interpretation, an alien Salafi Islam began to penetrate into the Kazakh environment, which, among other things, became the driving force behind the latest processes.
According to Kobrinsky, Turkey was waiting for the right moment. As an expert is supposed to be, today it is necessary to understand exactly what lessons from what happened should be taken by both Kazakhs and Russians. “Taking into account the examples related to Georgia, Ukraine, Moldova, Moscow should try not to repeat the mistakes it made,” Kobrinsky said. – On the other hand, the problem may be that Central Asia is far from being as active as it could be. Today ideologists focus on the common victory in the Great Patriotic War. A new unifying idea is needed. But there are no ideological voids. This niche was occupied by the Turkish idea of the neo-Ottoman Empire, while Central Asia was not part of the Ottoman Empire. ” The expert believes that if Moscow does not miss Kazakhstan now, a new stage of the Russian Federation’s presence in the region will begin.
Meanwhile, the press secretary of the President of Kazakhstan, Berik Uali, suggested that the CSTO peacekeepers would stay in the country for a week. While the contingent is just completing its deployment, its commander, Colonel-General Andrei Serdyukov, promised that the peacekeepers will remain until the situation is completely stabilized.