Saparmurat Niyazov, who governed Turkmenistan under tight personal control for two decades, died of a heart attack on 21 December 2006. Türkiye offered immediate condolences and called for an orderly transition in the Central Asian state.
Foreign Minister Abdullah Gül, speaking to reporters in Ankara, said the loss was felt across the broader Turkic world. He credited Niyazov with steering the country through its post-Soviet transition and helping it establish an independent footing.
Gül said stability in Turkmenistan, whose oil and gas wealth draws considerable international attention, was a priority for Ankara, warning that any power vacuum or prolonged uncertainty would be damaging. Both he and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan were scheduled to attend Niyazov's funeral on Sunday.
Analysts noted real uncertainty ahead: no obvious successor had been identified, and Niyazov's authoritarian rule had left the country's traditional clan networks marginalized. Within hours of his death, a government source told AFP that deputy prime minister Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov would assume interim authority.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this wire report, first published in December 2006, in its own words.