Turkey and Central Asia Eye Closer Security Ties
By REUTERS, ANKARA
Defensenews.com
Posted 11/17/06
Turkey called on Central Asian states on Nov. 17 to form a united
front with Ankara in fighting terrorism and cross-border crime.
Turkey, hosting a gathering of Turkic-speaking countries in its
Mediterranean resort of Antalya, also pledged continued strong support
for Muslim ally Azerbaijan in its long dispute with Armenia over the
territory of Nagorno-Karabakh.
"The development and stability of the Eurasian region are threatened
by international terrorism, religious fundamentalism, separatist and
extremist currents, illegal migration and other organized crimes
such as drug and weapons smuggling," President Ahmet Necdet Sezer
told his fellow leaders in televised remarks.
"We attach great importance to multi-level cooperation in the struggle
with terrorism and on issues which pose a threat to the region’s
development," he said, adding that Turkish business should step up
investment in energy-rich Central Asia.
Turkish firms are already active across the region, especially in
construction, though Ankara has abandoned the ambitious hopes of
building a pan-Turkic commonwealth that it nurtured in the early
1990s after the Soviet Union’s demise.
The presidents of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Azerbaijan were in
Antalya for the two-day summit.
But President Islam Karimov of Uzbekistan stayed away in protest at
Turkey’s support for a U.N. report critical of his autocratic rule,
Turkish media said. Turkmenistan’s reclusive leader also did not show
up, sending an envoy instead.
Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev called for more joint transport
and communications projects to help bind together a vast, mostly
under-developed and poor region that stretches from the Balkans to
China’s western border.
Azeri President Ilham Aliyev sought political support for his country’s
efforts to regain Nagorno-Karabakh, controlled by Armenian separatists
since armed conflict erupted in the early 1990s which killed an
estimated 35,000 people.
A major pipeline linking Caspian Sea oil fields to world markets
passes a few km from the conflict zone to Turkey.
Sezer made clear Ankara’s continued solidarity with Azerbaijan
despite concerns that Turkey’s poor relations with Armenia – their
shared border is closed due to the Karabakh dispute – could hurt its
efforts to join the European Union.
"I want to stress our continued resolve to support fraternal Azerbaijan
on the Nagorno-Karabakh issue," Sezer said.