A senior Turkish ruling party figure has explained why Russia cannot simply become an observer of the Organization of Turkic States. AK Party deputy...
A senior Turkish ruling party figure has explained why Russia cannot simply become an observer of the Organization of Turkic States. AK Party deputy chairman Kürşad Zorlu said the organisation's rules require an observer state to recognise a Turkic language as its state or official language nationwide.
A new OTS+ format, he added, is a different question: members could consider it on strategic grounds, but only with the agreement of all members.
Why it matters: this is the legal answer to last week's debate, after the Kremlin welcomed the idea of Russian participation. Observer status has a language test Moscow does not meet, so any Russian role would need a new format and unanimous consent.
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