“The Organization of Turkic States (OTS) is quickly becoming a crucial mode of engagement in the Central Asian region,” said Luke Coffey, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, in an article he wrote titled “Why the US Must Include the Organization of Turkic States in Its Central Asia Policy,” published in The National Interest journal.
According to him, if the United States wants to be competitive in this era of great power competition, then groupings like the Organization of Turkic States need to be engaged with far more seriously.
“There is no better time for President Donald Trump to do so. In his first year back in office, he has demonstrated an interest in advancing US interests in this region. By brokering a peace deal between Armenia and Azerbaijan, President Trump helped bring an end to one of the deadliest conflicts in the South Caucasus. This breakthrough has the potential to unlock a new transport route, the so-called Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity, that will better connect Turkey to the Turkic countries of Central Asia. If realized, this would lead to new trade, transit, and economic opportunities that could benefit the entire region, including Armenia,” the expert said.
“The countries associated with the Organization of Turkic States are located in one of the most geopolitically important regions of the world. Collectively, OTS members and observers represent well over 160 million people across roughly 1.6 million square miles, with a combined gross domestic product approaching $2 trillion. These states also possess significant natural resources, including substantial oil and natural gas reserves and important deposits of rare earth minerals. Furthermore, they sit astride some of the world’s most important trade choke points and transit routes, including the Turkish Straits, the Middle Corridor, and the Ganja Gap in Azerbaijan,” Coffey mentioned.
“Following independence after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Turkic countries of Central Asia sought to re-establish the prominence of their language, culture, and way of life. This included renewed efforts to move away from Cyrillic toward Latin-based scripts, including a 34-letter Common Turkic alphabet proposal endorsed under the OTS framework in 2024, as well as prioritizing national languages in education over Russian. In parallel, the Organization of Turkic States has begun expanding its ambitions. In addition to the cultural issues that initially brought the organization together, there is now discussion in policy circles about deeper economic integration—potentially even steps toward a customs-union-like arrangement—building on existing initiatives such as the Simplified Customs Corridor. For the first time, the OTS summit held this year in Gabala, Azerbaijan, placed a renewed emphasis on security cooperation, with Azerbaijan proposing to host the first-ever OTS military exercise sometime in 2026. This would represent a significant shift for the organization, but one that appears increasingly inevitable given the geopolitical realities of the region,” he emphasized.
“The members of the Organization of Turkic States pursue balanced foreign policies among the major powers. Greater American engagement would strengthen its ability to maintain that balance. At the same time, the Organization of Turkic States itself is emerging as one of a small number of geopolitical poles on the Eurasian landmass that, from Washington’s perspective, serves as a balancing force against countries like Russia and China. The US-OTS relationship, however, will not build itself. It will require deliberate effort and sustained attention. Failing to engage with the Organization of Turkic States would amount to geopolitical negligence and would not serve America’s interests in this era of great power competition,” the expert concluded.
