Turkic Solidarity and the Karabakh Conflict: Impact on Turkey's Central Asian Vector

The object of this study is Turkey's Central Asian foreign policy in the context of Turkic solidarity. The subject of the research is the impact of the Second Karabakh War of 2020 on the dynamics of military-technical, economic, and institutional interaction between Ankara and the Central Asian states. The author examines the evolution of diplomatic positions of Central Asian countries on the Karabakh conflict, the chronology of defense contracts for Turkish UAV deliveries to the region, and the transformation of the Organization of Turkic States from a cultural-economic forum into a platform with security ambitions. Particular attention is paid to the differentiation of engagement models across the five states of the region. Trade and investment flows within the OTS, the role of transport corridors, and geopolitical constraints imposed by Russia, China, and Iran are also analyzed. The study covers the period from 2009 to 2025 with a focus on post-Karabakh dynamics. The methodology is based on comparative analysis of diplomatic positions, statistical analysis of trade and investment flows, and chronological reconstruction of defense contracts using open sources in three languages. The novelty of the research lies in identifying the causal link between the Second Karabakh War and the emergence of a defense dimension in Turkic integration in Central Asia. The main conclusions are as follows. Turkic solidarity after 2020 shifted from rhetoric to instrumental geopolitics. The Karabakh War triggered a cascade of Turkish UAV acquisitions across the region. However, Turkic solidarity operates selectively: it simultaneously integrates Turkic-speaking states and pushes Persian-speaking Tajikistan toward Iran. The gap between the OTS institutional ambitions and their operational implementation remains significant.