17th Meeting of the Council of Elders of the Organization of Turkic States Held in the TRNC

The 17th meeting of the Council of Elders of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) is currently underway in Girne, in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC).

The meeting, hosted at a hotel in Girne, brings together several key figures: Chairman of the OTS Council of Elders Binali Yıldırım, OTS Secretary General Kubanychbek Omuraliev, TRNC representative Elder İsmail Bozkurt, Azerbaijan’s Elder Hasan Hasanov, Kazakhstan’s Elder Ikram Adyrbek, Kyrgyzstan’s Elder Apas Jumagulov, Uzbekistan’s Elder Sadykjan Turdiev, as well as other OTS representatives and officials from various institutions.

During his remarks, Chairman Yıldırım stressed that holding the meeting in the TRNC holds “special significance” and serves as “a firm response to recent criticisms” directed at the organization. He also noted that the TRNC continues to actively participate as an observer within the OTS.

“This gathering of Elders — a crucial body within the Organization of Turkic States — is the clearest and strongest response to the baseless claims made against our organization and its members through the lens of either Northern Cyprus or Southern Cyprus, particularly in recent times,” Yıldırım stated.

The meeting is closed to the press and will focus on reviewing previous sessions, evaluating OTS activities, drafting new roadmaps, discussing the venue for the next meeting, as well as initiatives such as a common alphabet, unified calendar, and infrastructure for low-Earth orbit satellites.

Under the Nakhchivan Agreement, the Council of Elders is the third most important organ of the Organization, after the Summit and the Foreign Ministers’ Meeting.

A major topic on the agenda is the recent decision by Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan to open diplomatic missions in the Republic of Cyprus. Late last year, the three countries appointed ambassadors to the south. This move prompted TRNC President Ersin Tatar to urge Turkic states to exercise caution in their relations with the Greek Cypriot side.

In light of these diplomatic developments and agreements between some OTS member states and the European Union, the decision to host the 17th Council of Elders meeting in the TRNC is seen as a significant and symbolic gesture by the Organization.