Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu stated at a media briefing following a meeting with his Turkmen colleague Rashid Meredov on Monday that Turkey is happy that Turkmenistan is an observer member of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS), but noted it would be great if the nation became a full member, Daily Sabah reported.
Turkmenistan is a member of the OTS as an observer. The OTS is an interstate bloc created with the goal of fostering greater collaboration between nations that speak the Turkic language in the areas of politics, economy, science, education, transportation, and tourism.
Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Türkiye, and Uzbekistan are the nations that make up the organization. In the group, Hungary and Turkmenistan are recognized as observers.
If Turkmenistan joins as a full member—an expansion that was reported by Türkiye’s foreign ministry but hasn’t been officially verified by Ashgabat—the organization may grow even more. If Turkmenistan does join, the union created in 2009 will include all of the Central Asian nations that speak Turkic languages.
The organization is made up of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Türkiye, and Uzbekistan. Observer status in the group is held by Turkmenistan and Hungary.
If Turkmenistan joins as a permanent member, which was proposed by Türkiye’s foreign ministry but has not yet been approved by Ashgabat, the group’s membership may grow even further. All of the Central Asian nations that speak Turkic languages will be a part of the union created in 2009 if Turkmenistan does decide to join.
“Türkiye always supports the important international proposals put forward by Turkmenistan. We thank our Turkish brothers again for their close support of Turkmenistan’s policy of neutrality and international offers. We agreed to continue our policy of mutual support in international organizations from now on,” said Meredov.
The senior Turkish ambassador highlighted that reciprocal visits between the two nations are also on the agenda. According to him, plans were discussed for the trilateral summit between Türkiye, Azerbaijan, and Turkmenistan that will take place in Avaza.
Additionally, he announced that Serdar Berdymukhamedov, the president of Turkmenistan, will travel to Türkiye at the start of 2023.
