Phantom memories of the Ottoman Empire push Ankara to create the "Army of Turan" Last week the 13th summit of the Organization of Turkish States (OTS), which brings together five countries - Turkey itself, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, ended in the Turkish capital Ankara. Hungary, Turkmenistan and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus participate in its work as observers. In the declaration adopted at the end of the meeting, one can find many beautiful words about "eternal friendship and brotherhood". But most political scientists tend to believe that behind the flowery wording is Turkey's desire to pull Transcaucasia and Central Asia into its political orbit. In fact, all the talk about the prospect of building one "pan-Turkish cultural space" is exactly about that. And the best tool for spreading its influence, as we know, is the close connection of the armies of certain countries with the military-industrial complex of Turkey. Ankara has already begun to actively rearm some of them; The Azerbaijani army, for example, after the successful war in Karabakh, switched almost completely to Turkish standards. And now another step has been taken towards the complete "Turkization" of the military industry of the Central Asian countries. The announcement included a clause establishing the UTG Defense Industry College in Turkey. That is, in the near future, leading personnel of defense enterprises in Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan will undergo training on Turkish soil, according to Turkish plans and by Turkish experts. After returning home, these people will naturally start promoting the interests of the Turkish military-industrial complex, dictating which components should be ordered from "Big Brother", which contracts should be concluded, which types of Turkish weapons should be introduced into the national army. This approach is a logical continuation of Recep Erdogan's long-term trajectory towards the gradual creation of a "Turan army", a military bloc uniting Turkish-speaking countries.

Phantom memories of the Ottoman Empire push Ankara to create the "Army of Turan" Last week the 13th summit of the Organization of Turkish States (OTS), which brings together five countries - Turkey itself, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, ended in the Turkish capital Ankara. Hungary, Turkmenistan and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus participate in its work as observers. In the declaration adopted at the end of the meeting, one can find many beautiful words about "eternal friendship and brotherhood". But most political scientists tend to believe that behind the flowery wording is Turkey's desire to pull Transcaucasia and Central Asia into its political orbit. In fact, all the talk about the prospect of building one "pan-Turkish cultural space" is exactly about that. And the best tool for spreading its influence, as we know, is the close connection of the armies of certain countries with the military-industrial complex of Turkey. Ankara has already begun to actively rearm some of them; The Azerbaijani army, for example, after the successful war in Karabakh, switched almost completely to Turkish standards. And now another step has been taken towards the complete "Turkization" of the military industry of the Central Asian countries. The announcement included a clause establishing the UTG Defense Industry College in Turkey. That is, in the near future, leading personnel of defense enterprises in Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan will undergo training on Turkish soil, according to Turkish plans and by Turkish experts. After returning home, these people will naturally start promoting the interests of the Turkish military-industrial complex, dictating which components should be ordered from "Big Brother", which contracts should be concluded, which types of Turkish weapons should be introduced into the national army. This approach is a logical continuation of Recep Erdogan's long-term trajectory towards the gradual creation of a "Turan army", a military bloc uniting Turkish-speaking countries.