The key facts

  • Under the rules of the 2021 Istanbul summit, observer status requires recognizing a Turkic language as a state language across the country's entire territory — Russia does not have this
  • An alternative could be the OTS+ format created last year
  • Peskov: Russia's participation would be understandable and expedient, but Russia has not yet received an official proposal

The organization's rules rule out observer status for Russia

The proposal to grant Russia observer status in the Organization of Turkic States contradicts the union's internal rules. This was stated by Kürşad Zorlu, deputy chairman of Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), who oversees ties with Turkic states, reports Kun.uz citing his comment to the Anadolu agency.

The essence of Tokayev's proposal and the formal barrier

The issue arose after the OTS summit in Ankara on October 30, where President of Kazakhstan Tokayev proposed granting Russia observer status or including it in the OTS+ cooperation format. Zorlu called the matter a highly sensitive and important issue (according to the Turkish outlet Anadolu, which assessed his remarks). According to his explanation, under the rules fixed at the 2021 Istanbul summit, a state seeking observer status must recognize a Turkic or related language as a state or official language across its entire territory. In Russia, Tatar, Bashkir and other Turkic languages have official status only in individual republics, not nationwide.

A possible workaround — the OTS+ format

For Russia, according to Zorlu, an alternative could be the OTS+ format created last year. If Moscow submits an official application, it will be considered in light of the organization's strategic goals and common interests, and the consent of all members will be required. Zorlu also proposed raising the issue of resuming cultural cooperation with Russian republics within TÜRKSOY: according to him, the republics of Altai, Tyva, Chuvashia, Bashkortostan, Yakutia and Tatarstan held observer status in the organization founded in 1993, but a 2015 decision by Russia effectively froze this cooperation — since then, no mutual visits or joint events have taken place.

The Kremlin's position

Earlier, Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov responded to Tokayev's initiative, saying that Russia's participation in the OTS would be understandable and expedient, but clarified that Russia has not yet received an official proposal. Thus, at this point the matter concerns only a proposal made at the summit level and assessments of its prospects: there is neither an application from Russia nor a decision by the organization on the issue.