Why in the News
The External Affairs Minister’s visit to Baku last week points to a reset in India’s ties with Azerbaijan, which had soured in recent years. It tests the view, hardened during Operation Sindoor in May 2025, that Turkey, Azerbaijan and Pakistan form one bloc. National interest is proving stronger than ties of religion and ethnicity.
Why did India see Turkey, Azerbaijan and Pakistan as one bloc?
- Islamabad Declaration (2021): The three countries jointly backed Pakistan’s position on Kashmir, which New Delhi flagged.
- “Three Brothers” exercise: Their joint military exercise in Azerbaijan that year gave the partnership its label.
- Boycott calls: During Operation Sindoor, calls to boycott Turkey and Azerbaijan spread from social media into travel and trade.
- Baku-Islamabad ties: Azerbaijan’s ties with Pakistan were thinner than the language of brotherhood suggested. They flowed mainly from Baku’s closeness to Ankara.
What is the Organisation of Turkic States, and why is Turkic unity fraying?
- What it is: The Organisation of Turkic States (OTS) groups Turkey, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, with Turkmenistan as an observer. It is like a club of states sharing Turkic language and heritage.
- How it grew: The Turkic Council, set up in 2009, became the OTS in 2021. It works on trade, transport, technology and culture, but not common security.
- Limits of identity: Pan-Turkism, the push to unite Turkic peoples, is promoted by Turkey’s President but faces limits, as pan-Arabism did. Republics freed by the Soviet collapse valued sovereignty and wanted no new master.
- Ankara-Baku divergence: The two partners now differ:
- Baku curbed Islamic headscarves in schools, drawing Turkish criticism. It also issued arrest warrants for Turkish nationals accused of incitement;
- Baku values defence ties with Israel. Turkey, the first Muslim-majority country to recognise Israel in 1949, now sharply opposes it.
- The takeaway: Shared religion and ethnicity help practical cooperation but do not make a strategic bloc, as Azerbaijan prepares to hand the OTS chair to Turkey this week.
Why do the Central Asian states resist a Turkic bloc?
- Multi-vector policies: The republics welcome Turkish investment and military technology, but keep “multi-vector” ties with many powers to widen their choices, like India’s “multi-alignment”.
- Different security needs: Turkey is a prominent North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) member. Central Asian states must manage Russia and China, both hostile to NATO, so their security needs differ.
- Kazakhstan’s position: The Kazakh President rejected proposals to turn the OTS into a military alliance or geopolitical bloc.
- Competing ties: Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan belong to the Russia-led Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO), a military alliance. Growing trade with China ties them further.
What does India gain from engaging Azerbaijan?
- Strategic location: Azerbaijan borders Russia and Iran, links westwards through Georgia and Turkey, and faces Central Asia across the Caspian Sea.
- Regional reach: Its energy and transport links reach the Caucasus, inner Asia and the Greater Middle East, widening India’s continental access.
- Energy and connectivity: India has energy interests in Azerbaijan and a stake in the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC), a multimodal route linking the Indian Ocean to Russia through Iran.
- Shared partners: Baku’s ties with Israel and the United Arab Emirates offer further convergence with India.
Challenges
- Deep Turkey-Azerbaijan roots: Their partnership runs deep, so differences will not turn Baku against Ankara.
- Armenia balance: India must keep its partnership with Armenia as Baku and Yerevan pursue normalisation.
- Crowded field: Russian, Chinese, Turkish and Iranian ambitions all compete in a region whose states have agency of their own.
Way Forward
- Neutrality, not exclusivity: India should seek the neutrality of Pakistan’s friends in India-Pakistan disputes, rather than object to their ties with Islamabad.
- Common ground: India should explore interests it shares with those countries, instead of giving Islamabad a veto over its diplomacy.
- Reset with Ankara: New Delhi should use the Baku opening to explore a reset with Turkey at an opportune moment.
Conclusion
Identity-based blocs in Eurasia are proving weaker than their members’ national interests, which opens room for Indian diplomacy. Whether the Baku opening widens into a reset with Turkey, without unsettling ties with Yerevan, is the test to watch.
Government Initiatives for India-Central Asia Engagement
- Connect Central Asia (2012): The policy set political, economic, security, cultural and connectivity engagement with all five Central Asian states as one framework.
- India-Central Asia Summit (2022): The first summit, held virtually, created a leaders’ summit cycle and an India-Central Asia Centre in New Delhi.
- India-Uzbekistan partnership (2026): The two countries raised ties to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, with a framework for long-term uranium supply.
Matching Previous Year Question
“[2022] 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 ? (a) 1, 2 and 4 (b) 1 and 3 (c) 2 and 5 (d) 3, 4 and 5 ANSWER: (c)”
