BY NASUHI GUNGOR
STAR- I recently visited Istanbul Deputy Alaaddin Buyukkaya at Assembly. He's also the head of the Turkish Group of the European Security and Cooperation Organization Parliamentarians Assembly (AGITPA), one of the ruling Justice and Development Party's (AKP) founders, and a well-known figure in economic circles. During my visit, I spoke to him about a project he's leading called the Turkic Union Assembly which aims to unite the countries of the Turkic world. Buyukkaya recently gave a presentation about this proposal in Azerbaijan.
I asked him what kind of Assembly it would be. He said it would take recommendations and promote common policies and cooperation among Turkic-speaking countries. He added that both Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and President Abdullah Gul have shown an interest in the project. Erdogan assigned his Deputy Undersecretary Hakan Fidan to coordinate the project. Fidan used to head the Turkish International Cooperation and Development Agency (TIKA).
Turkey's interest in the Turkic world has long been trumpeted, but no serious steps have been taken. So how is this project different? Buyukkaya said the basis of the project is a unity of opinions, business and language, not a union under the roof of a state. When I asked him about Turkey's oft-spoken role as an `elder brother,' he said they never use that expression and that they are aiming for an equal relationship. He added that Turkic communities now know each other to an unprecedented degree, thanks to the communications age, and that such an important advantage shouldn't be squandered through empty phrases like `big brother.'
In addition, the Turkic world's region is the world's new energy basin. For example, the largest natural gas beds are in Turkmenistan. Buyukkaya's views might spark talk and debate. He said that resources owned by these countries shouldn't be controlled by the Russian ruble but instead benefit their own peoples. He added that when we open their resources to the world with dollars and euros, we would be contributing to their improvement. So we're entering a new era which extends towards interior parts of Central Asia in the area of energy.
So what's Russia's stance? Will it just watch these developments? Will it allow others to act comfortably in its traditional area of influence? Buyukkaya said that Russia is first trying to maintain its influence and wield the energy security card by creating problems around the Caspian and the Caucasus, meaning, trying to continue to have control over energy in the region.
This project is difficult and has to deal with sensitive balances. Buyukkaya said that they have to follow a calm, careful strategy.