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ISTANBUL -- President Suleyman Demirel on Wednesday lashed out at Russian charges that Turkey was trying to bring five former Soviet republics under its control, as a two-day summit of Azerbaijan and four central Asian countries of Turkic origin hosted by Turkey came to an end.
Russia's Foreign Ministry on Tuesday accusing Turkey of using common ethnic, linguistic, cultural and religious ties to establish a closed bloc with the Turkic world, and shrugged aside Turkish assurances to the contrary.
"The leaders here represent independent states," an upset Demirel told reporters. "There is no need for them to get permission from anybody for their activities."
He made the comments after meetings with Kyrgyz President Askar Akayev, Kazakh leader Nursultan Nazarbayev, Turkmen President Saparmurad Niyazov, Uzbek President Islam Kerimov and Azeri leader Heidar Aliyev.
Other regional leaders tried to calm Russian fears that they were drawing too close to Turkey. They will all travel to Moscow for an Oct. 21 meeting of the CIS. "This gathering does not mean that we forget our obligations under the Commonwealth of Independent States," said Turkmenistan's Niyazov.
But the gathered presidents went ahead with a joint communique further developing their political, economic, cultural and educational ties.
The summit was marred by a new dispute erupting between Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan regarding a 30-year Caspian Sea oil and natural-gas exploration deal. Along with Russia and Iran, the three share the Sea's coastline.
The deal was signed last month by Azerbaijan's state oil company and a Russian, European and American consortium, but Russia has already backed out of the deal.
Russia also objects to a Turkish plan to ship oil through a pipeline that will cross Armenia to Turkey's Mediterranean coast. It wants to move the oil through the Turkish straits.
In the latest disagreement, the leaders of Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan said the Caspian coastal states must first draw up an accord to share the sea.
"The Caspian Sea is a very important sea for us. We have to solve our problems peacefully regarding the matter," Kazakhstan's Nazarbayev said.
He was supported by Niyazov, who said that "we have to take measures to prevent creating a new area of dispute around the Caspian Sea."
The next Turkic summit will take place in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, in August 1995.
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