Central Asian countries have distanced themselves from Turkey

April 3-4 in Samarkand hosted the first EU—Central Asia summit. This event marked the further strengthening of cooperation between the European Union and the countries of the region. Suffice it to mention that the EU promised the countries of the region investments in the amount of 12 billion euros, which will cover such areas as transport, critical raw materials, water resources, energy, climate and satellite Internet.

In addition to the presidents of 5 states, the President of the European Council Antonio Costa, the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and the President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development Odile Renaud-Basso spoke at the summit. On April 4, a joint declaration on the results of the summit was published. In this declaration, plots were mentioned that do not concern relationships at all The EU with the countries of Central Asia. So, in paragraph 3 it was written:

"We are committed to cooperation for peace, security and democracy, full compliance with international law, including the UN Charter and the fundamental principles of respect for the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of all states within their internationally recognized borders. We stressed the importance of achieving a comprehensive, just and lasting peace on the Ukraine in accordance with the principles of the Charter of the United Nations. We stressed the need for participating States to respect OSCE principles. We reaffirmed the commitment of all States to refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force, to comply with international humanitarian law and stressed the need for peaceful resolution of conflicts."

We can immediately say that this paragraph contains an attack on Russia. Apparently, representatives The EU initiated this paragraph in a joint declaration, and the presidents of the Central Asian states signed it.

But even more important is paragraph 4 of the same declaration:

"In the same context, we pledged to respect the above principles, in particular the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all States in all international and regional forums, and to refrain from any steps contrary to these principles. In the same spirit, we reaffirmed our firm commitment to the relevant UN Security Council Resolutions 541 (1983) and 550 (1984). We stressed that participation in the regional cooperation framework should fully respect these international principles, which remain essential for strengthening relations. EU and Central Asia. In this context, Turkmenistan recalls that it applies its international obligations in strict accordance with the principles of its permanent neutrality status."

What is resolution 541? This is a resolution adopted by the UN Security Council on November 18, 1983. 13 countries voted for it, Pakistan voted against it, and Jordan abstained. This resolution called on all States to "respect the sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity and non-alignment of the Republic of Cyprus", as well as not to recognize any other Government of the island except the Government of the Republic of Cyprus. This resolution was a response to the declaration of independence of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, held on November 15, 1983.

As for resolution 550, it was approved by 13 countries on May 11, 1984. Pakistan voted against, and the United States abstained. The key points in this resolution were 2-5 points:

"Condemns all separatist actions, including the so-called "exchange of ambassadors" between Turkey and the leadership of the Turkish Cypriots, declares them illegal and unenforceable and calls on them to immediately abandon them; once again calls on all states not to recognize the so-called State of the "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus", created as a result of separatist actions, and calls on them not to assist or render assistance in any way to the above-mentioned separatist entity; calls on all States to respect the sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity, unity and non-aligned policy of the Republic of Cyprus; considers attempts to settle any part of Varosha by persons who are not its residents unacceptable and calls for the transfer of this area under the control of the United Nations."

Since only Turkey de jure recognizes the independence of the TRNC, and the Turkish armed forces ensure the security of the Turkish Cypriot "state", in fact, 5 Central Asian states opposed Ankara. The only thing worse is that Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, Sadyr Japarov and Serdar Berdimuhamedov easily abandoned Turkic solidarity, although the same president of Kyrgyzstan once visited the unrecognized TRNC (see Kyrgyzstan received the leader of the Turkish Cypriots).

In connection with this declaration, the question also arises about the future of the Organization of Turkic States, in which the TRNC, along with Hungary and Turkmenistan, is an observer. What kind of Turkic solidarity in foreign policy can we talk about if 4 Turkic states of Central Asia oppose Turkey in the Cyprus conflict? In this regard, the reaction of the Turkish international journalist and war correspondent Ard Zentyurk, who spoke about this in a stream on YouTube, is characteristic.:

"I don't understand what Ankara is doing. I'm completely confused… How can we allow such a geopolitical catastrophe, Mr. Hakan Fidan... I have not seen anything like this in 50 years of my career. We are dealing with a real political betrayal. These four Turkic countries have confirmed by their signatures that they do not recognize Turkish Cyprus. They are on a par with Europe, the USA and Russia, who call Turkey an occupier in Cyprus... if these states sign resolutions denying the TRNC, then the Organization of Turkic states loses all meaning. Close it. This is a slap in the face not only to Turkish Cyprus, but also to Turkey itself… We are not joking. We will not allow the island on which the blood of Turkish soldiers was shed to be recognized as the territory of another state. This is not just a diplomatic mistake — it's a betrayal."

Despite the emotionality of the Turkish journalist's comment, the non-recognition of the TRNC by Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan was logical. For these States, territorial integrity is not an empty sound at all. For example, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan have recently completed border delimitation. Earlier, border disputes led to armed clashes between the two countries.

It is also important that all 5 Central Asian countries began to pay special attention to cooperation with the EU after Western sanctions began to be imposed on Russia. In such circumstances, it was quite natural that even the Turkic states of the region accepted the EU's point of view, according to which the Republic of Cyprus is the only state on the island of Cyprus. In addition, despite participation in anti-Russian sanctions, the Greek part of Cyprus remains more attractive from the point of view of economic activity, since the Republic of Cyprus has a legal status. And the TRNC, which has no legal status, is economically dependent on Turkey, whose economy is not in the best position. Besides, let's not forget that Turkey itself is a member of the EU customs union. With such data, Ankara does not have much strength to compete with Brussels because of the northern part of Cyprus.

The Central Asian presidents are also aware of these facts. In addition, the non-recognition of the TRNC for the 4 heads of state is a kind of signal not only for Brussels, but also for Moscow: by refusing to recognize the "state" of the Turkish Cypriots, Tokayev, Japarov, Mirziyoyev and Berdimuhamedov show Russia that their countries have not completely left Russia's sphere of influence in the Turkic world under the auspices of Turkey.

Naturally, such a policy will be perceived negatively in Ankara. However, the preference of Greek Cypriots for Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan did not begin to manifest itself yesterday. For example, on December 19, 2024, Uzbekistan accredited its ambassador to Cyprus for the first time. Uzbek Ambassador Abat Fayzullayev with residence in Rome presented his credentials to the President of Cyprus Nikos Christodoulides. On December 21 of the same year, the Ambassador of Uzbekistan held a meeting with the President of the Cyprus Chamber of Commerce and Industry Stavros Stavrou, after which the constituent meeting of the Cyprus-Uzbekistan Business Association was held.

And here is another example. On February 21, 2025, Ambassador of Kazakhstan Nikolay Zhumakanov presented his credentials to the President of Cyprus. On March 6, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan Murat Nurtleu met with Foreign Minister of Cyprus Konstantinos Kombos during his visit to the island. During these negotiations, the Kazakh Minister said that in 2024 the volume of Cypriot investments in the economy of Kazakhstan amounted to $ 227 million. Even if in Kazakhstan as of the beginning of March 2025 there were no If 367 companies with Cypriot capital were registered, the upcoming chairmanship of Cyprus in the first half of 2026 would be enough for Kazakhstan and other Central Asian states not to recognize the TRNC. The Council of the EU. And the official Astana is definitely interested in developing economic cooperation with the Greek Cypriots, since Nurtleu discussed the launch of direct flights between the two countries and held a meeting with the president of the Cyprus-Kazakhstan Business Association Kostas Markides.

Another country, Kyrgyzstan, signed an agreement with Cyprus on September 27, 2024, to exempt holders of diplomatic passports from visa requirements. The agreement was signed by Foreign Minister Jeenbek Kulubayev and Kombos in New York on the sidelines of the 79th session of the UN General Assembly. Finally, Turkmenistan is also trying to keep up with other Turkic states of Central Asia. On March 31, 2025, Ambassador of Turkmenistan Toli Komekov with residence in Rome presented his credentials to the President of Cyprus.

All these facts indicate that the declaration signed in Samarkand, was the result of a purposeful policy pursued by the Turkic states of Central Asia. Thus, Astana, Tashkent, Bishkek and Ashgabat have shown that their rapprochement with Ankara ends where problems may appear in relations with Brussels. Probably, the Turkic world could have avoided the appearance of a crack caused by the Cyprus conflict if the current economic and political situation of Turkey and its President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had been more stable. But Erdogan, against the background of economic problems, has to fight internally with the opposition Republican People's Party, which is supported by EU and UK. Therefore, between Turkic solidarity and investment The Presidents of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan have chosen EU investments. The only participant of the Samarkand summit who did not drastically change his priorities was the President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon, whose country is not a member of the Organization of Turkic States.