Milliyet: Turkic states push for deeper integration, stronger co-operation

The six member states of the Organisation of Turkic States (OTS) are developing co-operation across a range of areas, according to Türkiye's Milliyet newspaper.

In an article ahead of the OTS summit on October 30, the newspaper said the member states were working towards a common market and customs union, visa-free travel, a common museum card and a unified alphabet.

It also highlighted co-operation in defence and security, saying the countries aimed to build a strong Turkic World bloc while maintaining their independence.

The article examined the history of the OTS countries during the Soviet period, including repression in Azerbaijan. It said thousands of members of the Azerbaijani intelligentsia were executed or persecuted, including Mikayil Mushfig, Huseyn Javid, Ahmad Javad and Veli Khuluflu.

According to the article, about 70,000 to 100,000 people in Azerbaijan fell victim to the repressions.

Milliyet also said Azerbaijan began switching from the Arabic to the Latin alphabet in 1929, before Moscow imposed the Cyrillic alphabet in 1939.

It further referred to the transfer of the Zangezur region to Armenia, describing it as a territory that had connected Azerbaijan with Nakhchivan and Türkiye.

Foreign ministers are due to meet in Ankara on October 29, followed by a gathering of heads of state for the OTS summit on October 30.

By Aghakazim Guliyev