MOSCOW -- Turkey and Russia have escalated their competing quests for influence among the resource-rich former Soviet states of Central Asia, a complex geopolitical region that has also drawn the attention of China and the U.S.
In a virtual summit late last month of the Cooperation Council of Turkic-Speaking States, also known as the Turkic Council, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan argued for formally upgrading the group to an international organization, citing its "significant international prestige."
