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Exclusive | China cooperation priority for Kazakhstan with Pan-Turkism fears unfounded: envoy
- In an exclusive interview, the Kazakh ambassador to Beijing discusses the Turkic Council’s recent upgrade and unrest in the country
- Gabit Koishibayev says the links between the two countries are a priority as the Central Asian nation addresses economic inequality
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Concerns that the upgraded Turkic Council could lead to a rise in pan-Turkism in Central Asia which could spill into neighbouring countries, including China, are “unfounded and not necessary”, according to Kazakhstan’s ambassador in Beijing.
Gabit Koishibayev dismissed claims the grouping – renamed the Organisation of Turkic States (OTS) at its November summit in Istanbul – was seeking to influence other countries.
Observers in Beijing have warned the OTS could lead to a revival of pan-Turkism in Central Asia and potentially undermine China’s policy in Xinjiang, its far western region where controversial security measures over Turkic minorities – mainly the Uygurs – have drawn sanctions from the US and Europe.
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In an exclusive interview with the South China Morning Post, Gabit said Turkey did not have a dominant role within the council, and Central Asian nations, including Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, had significant influence.
“Pan-Turkism disappeared maybe 100 years ago. Yes, this idea, the ideology, was very popular in the 1920s, but not now. We are not talking about any kind of pan-Turkism within this organisation and they cannot influence our neighbours,” he said.
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“I can say that the Organisation of Turkic States would not pose any threat to any country.”
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