Turkey in solidarity with Kazakhstan after violent protests put the country in turmoil
Jan 10, 2022
Ankara [Turkey], January 10 : Turkey showed its support to Kazakhstan in light of the violent riots that shook the country and initiated an online meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the Organization of Turkic States (OTG). 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 necessary assistance. Turkey is concerned that Russia has knocked out of the chain of the "Turkic world" the main link - Kazakhstan reported Victoria Panfilova.
Also, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar explained that the Russian military had recently bombed the water supply system, which seriously complicated the lives of people. Thus, Hulusi Akar signalled to Kazakhstan that Turkey would be more useful than Russia.
Probably, to enhance the effect, he recalled the role that Turkey played in the Karabakh war.
"Our goal in the South Caucasus is long-term peace and stability. The presidents of Turkey and Azerbaijan extended a hand of 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, reported Victoria Panfilova.
Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said on this occasion: "We believe that our brothers will overcome all difficulties with their own means and abilities. We declare that we are ready to provide all kinds of assistance and support to our Kazakh brothers ".
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.
The events in Kazakhstan were in the focus of attention of Ankara, the leader of the "Turkic world".
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 refugees have voluntarily returned to this country, 4,70,000 of whom have settled in the Idlib de-escalation zone, reported Victoria Panfilova.
At the same time, the general noted that "the Aerospace Forces of the Russian Federation periodically strike the north-west of Syria, which creates irreparable damage and worsens the living conditions of the population of Idlib."
Office of the ruling Nur Otan party in Almaty defeated by riots.
Hulusi Akar's statements are understandable, especially given the fact that some Turkish experts argue: the introduction of CSTO troops into Kazakhstan marked the collapse of the idea of building a "Turkic world" - the huge material, organizational, ideological resources that Turkey has been investing in Kazakhstan for many years have gone a little is it not in vain, reported Victoria Panfilova.
The Turkish officialdom openly laments the "loss of Kazakhstan's sovereignty" and calls on its authorities to act more decisively in this direction.
The situation has developed in such a way that in the ranks of the "Turkic world" after Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, which is participating in the CSTO peacekeeping operation, actually broke away, in fact only Turkey itself and Azerbaijan, which still does not comment on the events, remain in the ranks.
Turkmenistan always takes a special position and, as a neutral country, does not participate in any alliances. It is very difficult to imagine that Turkey will further strengthen its positions in Central Asia.
According to Aleksandr Kobrinsky, director of the Agency for Ethno-National Strategies, Turkey was waiting for the right moment so as not to interfere in the armed phase of the conflict and to come to the rescue when it comes to economic issues.
According to the expert, today it is necessary to understand exactly what lessons from what happened should be taken by both Kazakhs and Russians. "Taking into account the negative examples related to Georgia, Ukraine, Moldova, Moscow should try not to repeat the mistakes it made," Kobrinsky said, reported Victoria Panfilova.
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 had just completed the deployment, its commander, Colonel-General Andrei Serdyukov, promised that the peacekeepers would remain until the situation was completely stabilized.