UPSC Prelims 2022 Q83: Organization of Turkic States Members — Explained
Consider the following countries:
1. Armenia
2. Azerbaijan
3. Croatia
4. Romania
5. Uzbekistan
Which of the above are members of the Organization of Turkic States?
- 1, 2 and 4
- 1 and 3
- 2 and 5
- 3, 4 and 5
Answer: (c) 2 and 5
Statement-wise explanation
- 1: incorrect — Armenia is not a member or an observer of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS). Armenian is an Indo-European language, not a Turkic one. Armenia also has long-running disputes with two OTS founders, Azerbaijan (over Nagorno-Karabakh) and Türkiye, so it has no reason to join a Turkic grouping.
- 2: correct — Azerbaijan is a founding member. It signed the Nakhchivan Agreement on 3 October 2009 with Türkiye, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, which set up the Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking States (the Turkic Council). That body was renamed the Organization of Turkic States at the Istanbul Summit on 12 November 2021. Nakhchivan, where the agreement was signed, is an exclave of Azerbaijan.
- 3: incorrect — Croatia is a Balkan country whose language, Croatian, is Slavic. It has no link with the OTS. The only European state involved is Hungary, and it is an observer, not a member.
- 4: incorrect — Romania speaks a Romance language and is an EU and NATO member. It holds no status in the OTS. Do not confuse it with Hungary, the OTS observer (since the 2018 summit in Kyrgyzstan), or with Moldova's Turkic-speaking Gagauz minority.
- 5: correct — Uzbekistan became a full member at the 7th Summit in Baku on 15 October 2019. Uzbek is a Turkic language. Uzbekistan hosted the OTS summit in Samarkand in November 2022.
How to eliminate
You can solve this with language families. The OTS groups states whose national languages are Turkic. Azerbaijani and Uzbek are Turkic. Armenian is Indo-European (a branch of its own), Croatian is Slavic and Romanian is a Romance language. So any option containing Armenia, Croatia or Romania can be dropped. Knowing only that Croatia is not Turkic removes two options (the ones with 1 and 3, and with 3, 4 and 5). Knowing only that Armenia is not Turkic removes the option with 1, 2 and 4. One option is left. Remember: 5 members (Türkiye, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan) and 3 observers (Hungary, Turkmenistan, Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus). The traps are Turkmenistan, which speaks a Turkic language but is only an observer, and Hungary, which is an observer although its language is not Turkic.
Know more
Organization of Turkic States (OTS)
- Origin: Founded by the Nakhchivan Agreement, signed on 3 October 2009 by Türkiye, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. It began life as the Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking States (the Turkic Council).
- Renamed: It became the Organization of Turkic States at the 8th Summit in Istanbul on 12 November 2021. Turkmenistan became an observer at the same summit.
- Secretariat: Istanbul.
- Aim: Cooperation among Turkic-speaking states on politics, the economy, transport, customs, education and culture.
| Status | Country | Joined / note |
|---|---|---|
| Member | Türkiye | Founder, 2009 |
| Member | Azerbaijan | Founder, 2009 |
| Member | Kazakhstan | Founder, 2009 |
| Member | Kyrgyzstan | Founder, 2009 |
| Member | Uzbekistan | Baku Summit, Oct 2019 |
| Observer | Hungary | 2018 (Kyrgyzstan summit) |
| Observer | Turkmenistan | Istanbul Summit, Nov 2021 |
| Observer | Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus | Recognised only by Türkiye |
Points to remember
- Of the five Central Asian republics, Tajikistan is the only one outside the OTS. Tajik is a Persian (Iranian) language, not a Turkic one.
- Turkmenistan follows a policy of permanent neutrality, which is why it stays an observer rather than a full member.
- Hungary, an EU member, takes part because of a claimed historical link with the steppe peoples.
- For India, three of its Central Asian partners in the India–Central Asia Summit (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan) are OTS members. Turkmenistan is an observer and Tajikistan is outside the OTS.
In the news
At its Istanbul Summit in November 2021, the Turkic Council renamed itself the Organization of Turkic States, and Turkmenistan joined as an observer. This made the grouping current-affairs material for Prelims 2022.