On 12 November 2021, Turkey succeeded in reforming the “Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking States” into the “Organization of Turkic States”.

This changeover comes in the wake of the Turkish-Azerbaijani military victory in Nagorno-Karabakh (Armenia).

The members of this organization are Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkey and Uzbekistan. In addition, Hungary and Turkmenistan have observer status.

After having hesitated for a long time between becoming a member of the European Union or rebuilding the Ottoman Empire, Turkey has now opted for a third way: to take on the leadership of Turkic-speaking peoples.

Russia and China will not take kindly to Turkey’s initiative, considering that the two superpowers had created the Shanghai Cooperation Organization precisely to prevent separatism in Central Asia. In addition, China comprises the region of Xinjiang, where Turkish is spoken, but where its Uyghur population have no ethnic link with the Turks to whom they were subjected in the past.

The establishment of the “Organization of Turkic States” gave rise to renewed fighting between Azerbaijan and Armenia.