The key facts
- Peskov called Russia's participation in the OTS 'understandable and expedient,' but there is no official invitation yet
- On October 30 at the summit in Ankara, Tokayev proposed an 'OTS+' format or observer status for Russia
- Peskov emphasized: participation must be by the whole Russian Federation, not by individual regions
The Kremlin has assessed Tokayev's initiative
Press secretary of the Russian president Dmitry Peskov called Russia's possible participation in the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) understandable and expedient, giving a positive assessment of the initiative of Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. At the same time, he clarified that the Russian side has not yet received an official invitation, but, in his words, the topic will certainly come up on the agenda of contacts between Moscow and Astana. This was reported by Life.ru.
Participation of the whole country, not of regions
Peskov recalled that Russia is historically connected with the Turkic world: many peoples of Turkic origin, with their own cultures, languages and traditions, live on its territory. In his view, this makes cooperation with the OTS a logical direction of international engagement. The press secretary's key clarification concerns the form of participation: 'It is precisely the participation not of individual regions of the Russian Federation, but the participation of the Russian Federation as a whole.' This remark separates possible membership of the country as a whole from a scenario in which only individual federal subjects would join the organization's work.
What Tokayev proposed
The reason for the discussion was Tokayev's initiative, voiced on October 30 at the OTS summit in Ankara: he proposed considering Russia's accession to the expanded 'OTS+' format or granting it observer status, citing Russia's centuries-old ties with the Turkic peoples and referring to the Russian project 'Altai — the cradle of Turkic civilization,' which Kazakhstan supports. The organization includes Turkey, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan; Turkmenistan, Hungary and Northern Cyprus are observers. The question of Russia's participation remains at the discussion stage, and no timeline for its consideration has been announced.
Altai and the map of Turkic states
Earlier, Life.ru reported that Peskov, who is a Turkologist by education, called the Russian Altai the historical center of the Turkic world. Commenting on the map of Turkic states presented as a gift to Turkish President Recep Erdogan, he drew attention to the absence of any marking of Altai — a territory considered one of the historical centers of the origin of the Turkic peoples.
