Turkey Opens to Central Asia

Since the fall of the USSR, Turkey has quietly been maneuvering its way into Central Asia, increasing trade, political ties and more. Yet, until recently, only citizens of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan could visit Turkey without a visa. Those days are over.

July 31, 2007 (RFE/RL)—Ankara has lifted its visa requirement for tourist visits to Turkey of up to 30 days by citizens of Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, and Mongolia.

Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Mehmet Gunay told RFE/RL’s Uzbek Service on July 30 that Ankara has unilaterally abolished short-term visas for citizens of the four former Soviet republics as well as Mongolia starting on August 1.

As the the world continues to change, so too will Ankara’s policies. Much of the recent talk about rising Islamist sentiment and Turkey moving eastwards aren’t signs of internal problems or the country moving out of the West’s orbit, but rather signs of Turkey’s policies slowly realigning to the post-Cold War world. More on that to come in the next few days.