NATO in Turkic: Baku, Ankara, Astana, Tashkent, Bishkek go beyond the "soft power"

The Organization of Turkic States (OTS) "has already gone beyond "soft power" and is taking concrete steps towards military cooperation, joint exercises, information exchange at the level of special services and other security issues." This was stated by Chairman of the Committee of the Azerbaijani Parliament on Defense, Security and Anti-corruption Arzu Nagiyev, commenting on the proposal of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev at the 12th summit of the TG in Gabala to hold joint military exercises.

According to Nagiyev, the president's proposal is "an extremely important step from a practical point of view."

"This is not just a military measure, but a strategically thought—out step towards the safe integration of the Turkic world," Minval quotes the deputy.

Nagiyev believes that in the future this initiative can strengthen "the legal and political foundations of the structure, which is a military-defensive bloc of Turkic states by analogy with NATO." But at the initial stage, its goal is "to form a culture of cooperation, coordination and mutual defense," he said.

"Cooperation in the field of security and defense will continue to deepen. Tactical and strategic compatibility between the armies of the member States will be created, strategic solidarity in the region will be demonstrated, and practical testing of various strategies, tactics and defense mechanisms will be possible. At the same time, the unification of countries such as Azerbaijan, Turkey, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan in this process will create the basis for the formation of the concept of a unified force of the Turkic world. Of course, the expression "Turkic NATO" is used rather in a political sense," Nagiyev said.

So far, this is an informal initiative, but, according to him, experience in this direction is accumulating."

"Turkey, as a NATO member, shares its military experience and standards with other Turkic states. The basis of this process is the existing allied relations between Azerbaijan and Turkey, documents such as the Shusha Declaration, as well as similar agreements signed by other Turkic-speaking states. The development of the defense industry, joint exercises and the exchange of personnel are of great importance in this regard," the expert said.

Nagiyev also said that such a structure cannot be formed overnight, "it must be improved and developed, despite the objections of individual states."

"This proposal of the president will make a serious contribution and will significantly increase the political weight of Turkic—speaking states in the face of major powers," Nagiyev is convinced.

At the same time, according to him, it would be "completely wrong to assess the initiative under consideration as an alternative to such blocs as NATO or the Collective Security Treaty Organization."