Turkic States Back TÜRKPOL Police Alliance

Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan have supported Turkey's initiative to establish TÜRKPOL, a police alliance of Turkic states. This was announced by Turkey's Interior Minister Mustafa Cifci to journalists following the third meeting of interior ministers from member states of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) in Astana, according to AZERTAC.

According to Cifci, the creation of TÜRKPOL will strengthen cooperation among Turkic states in combating international crime.

At the Astana meeting, the participants also discussed facilitating the movement of citizens between OTS countries. Specifically, they examined the possibility of opening unified passport control points at airports for citizens of Turkic states — following the model used in European Union countries. Another item on the agenda was introducing the possibility of travel between OTS countries using identity cards.

Cifci clarified that such a mechanism already operates between Turkey and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, as well as between Turkey and Azerbaijan. The Turkish side considers it advisable to expand this system to other Turkic states.