Kremlin says Russia's participation in Organization of Turkic States would be appropriate

Akbar Novruz

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Russia has not received an official invitation to join the Organization of Turkic States (OTS), although Moscow considers participation in the organisation appropriate, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said.

Peskov made the remarks while commenting on Kazakhstan's proposal for Russia to become a member or observer of the organisation.

"Russia's participation in the Organization of Turkic States would be understandable and appropriate. As far as I understand, there has been no official invitation, but nevertheless, of course, this issue will certainly be on the agenda of our relations, including with Astana, with our friends in there. As for Russia's participation in the Organization of Turkic States, you know that Russia has a number of regions whose peoples are historically Turkic. Therefore, of course, this would be entirely understandable and appropriate. And naturally, Russia's participation in the work of such an organization would be appropriate. Specifically, the participation of the Russian Federation as a whole, rather than individual Russian regions..." Peskov said.

The Kremlin spokesperson emphasised that any potential participation should involve the Russian Federation as a whole rather than individual regions of the country.

He also indicated that the matter could be discussed as part of Russia's bilateral relations with Kazakhstan.

The remarks follow a proposal by Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev during the OTS summit in Ankara, where he suggested that Russia could join the organisation either as a full member or as an observer.

The OTS brings together Azerbaijan, Türkiye, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan as member states, with Hungary, Turkmenistan and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus holding observer status.