The Organization of Turkic States within the Turkey Kazakhstan–Uzbekistan Axis

The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union affected the international order, changed all balances and created new geostrategic opportunities and threats. The dissolution of the Soviet Union added new dimensions to Turkey's relations with the Turkic States with which it shared common values, history, language and cultural ties. It created the opportunity for relations and cooperation to be maintained directly with independent states rather than under the Soviet roof. Turkey determined a Central Asian foreign policy line by evaluating social characteristics and historical associations. In this process, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan were at the top of the countries that Turkish foreign policy paid attention to. The relations that continued gradually with Kazakhstan could not make progress with Uzbekistan for many years. The main reason for this was determined as the isolationist and overprotective foreign policy experienced in Uzbekistan. However, the institutionalization of the Turkic Council in the following years enabled the expansion of relations between Turkic states. Indeed, Uzbekistan was also included in the relations that were advanced under the roof of the Turkic Council after 2009 in 2019. The organization, which took the name of the Organization of Turkic States in 2021, has assumed the role of a bridgehead in deepening relations. In the study, the Organization of Turkic States is examined on the axis of Turkey, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. Explaining the contributions of the countries, the events in the global conjuncture and the stages achieved by the organization has been determined as the starting point of the study.