In the multipolar world, the struggle for Eurasia is unfolding through the creation of new alliances and corridors. Key roles are played by the countries of Central Asia, the South Caucasus, and global actors striving for balance and stability.

Transit corridors

The modern world is experiencing a period of turbulence driven by geopolitics and geoeconomics. This signals an inevitable transition from a unipolar world order led by the United States to a multipolar system. A new, more just order will be based on the principles of economic competition and security.

Of particular importance in this context is the Eurasian continent. Numerous local and regional conflicts are unfolding here, the focus of which is shifting toward control over strategically important resource regions and multimodal transit corridors.

Central Asia and the South Caucasus: Key Arenas of Geopolitical Ambitions

Central Asia and the South Caucasus are being closely watched by global and regional powers such as the United States, the United Kingdom, the EU, and Türkiye. The rich resource potential of these regions and their transit communications critical for exporting natural resources to world markets make them key elements of ambitious geopolitical and geoeconomic projects.

London and the Revival of the Great Game

London, following its traditional strategy of confrontation between the Rimland (maritime powers) and the Heartland (land powers), is reviving the seemingly forgotten Great Game for dominance over Asia. Racist ideology and the geopolitical strategy of Pan-Turanism (i.e. the Turan project aimed at forming an association of Turkic states under Türkiye’s leadership) are being employed.

As part of this policy, there are attempts to create alternative cross-border energy and transport communications. The goal is to ensure the export of raw material resources from Central Asia and the South Caucasus to Western markets, and to resolve long-standing conflicts to guarantee the security of new transit routes bypassing Russia, Iran, and China.

Türkiye: The Driving Force of Pan-Turanism

Türkiye, as a NATO member and an ally of the United Kingdom and the United States, is the main promoter of Pan-Turanist ideology and policy, which is based on the linguistic and cultural commonality of Turkic peoples. After the collapse of the USSR and the formation of new independent states, including five Turkic ones, Türkiye has implemented a number of ambitious projects.

Among them are the Southern Gas Corridor, which connects Azerbaijan to Europe, and the creation of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) after the Second Karabakh War in 2020. This has allowed Türkiye to strengthen its influence and create a buffer on the path to Turan, connecting Azerbaijan with the Turkic countries of Central Asia. Since 2021, Ankara has been actively promoting the idea of turning Türkiye into a strategic hub for the supply of energy resources and raw materials to the European market.

Azerbaijan: The Connecting Link and Geo-economic Player

In this geopolitical projection, the role of Azerbaijan is increasing. Its geographical position and its role as a link in the Trans-Caspian or Middle Corridor project from Asia to Europe make it a key player on the route to Central Asia. Since 2021, Azerbaijan has been actively developing multi-vector relations with Central Asian countries, both within the framework of the OTS and at the regional and bilateral levels. The geo-economic interests of the United States and Europe regarding Azerbaijan, Armenia, and the Central Asian republics are becoming increasingly evident.

In 2025, Washington served as a venue for summits of the heads of state of the US-Azerbaijan-Armenia tandem and the US+C5. These resulted in agreements on strategic partnership, the construction of the Trump Road in Zangezur, and access to rare earth metals and other resources of the South Caucasus and Central Asia. Similar agreements were concluded by the United Kingdom and the EU with Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Central Asian countries.

Eurasian Integration: From C5 to C6

As noted by South Korean expert Chong-Jin O, serious shifts are being observed in Eurasian regional dynamics. The official inclusion of Azerbaijan into the Consultative Meetings of Central Asian States in November 2025 at the 7th regional summit expanded the C5 format to C6 (the countries of Central Asia plus Azerbaijan). This was not merely a formal expansion but evidence of deep structural changes aimed at forming a unified Eurasian concept.

An Alternative Model of Regional Development: From Turkic Dominance to Multi-vector Cooperation

Instead of focusing on Turkic racial dominance with Türkiye in the leading role, the priority for the region could be a continental and cross-civilizational strategy of multi-vector cooperation. Such a model presupposes interaction with various centres of power in the context of an emerging multipolar world, including Russia, China, Japan, South Korea, Iran, Türkiye, Europe, and the United States.

A telling example of large-scale regional transformations is the C5 and C6 framework. In addition to the Turkic republics, they include Persian-speaking Tajikistan. It is important to note that these associations maintain pragmatic ties and partnerships with a wide range of countries: Russia, China, India, Iran, Korea, Japan, Türkiye, Europe, and the United States. As Chong-Jin O noted, the emergence of C6 signals the consolidation of a more autonomous and internal regional order.

The expansion of regional projections to the South Caucasus for the countries of Central Asia is dictated by pragmatic interests. This is linked to the need to access international transit corridors, in particular the Middle Corridor, and new world markets. Such opportunities are opening up within the framework of China’s Belt and Road megaproject, Russia’s North-South International Transport Corridor, and the American TRIPP project.

It is no coincidence that the idea of joining the C6 framework to include Christian Armenia was discussed in the United States. On the eve of the parliamentary elections in Armenia, Azerbaijani experts, supporting Nikol Pashinyan’s course, also considered the possibility of Armenia joining the Greater Caspian union. In recent years, Kazakhstan’s diplomatic mission in Yerevan has actively advocated for the opening of the Zangezur Corridor through Armenia to Nakhichevan and Türkiye.

The South Caucasus is seen as a key element in the C6 configuration, and potentially in the future as C7 (with the addition of Armenia). This region acts as a geographical gateway to European markets, strengthening the Middle Corridor and integrating transport, energy, and trade infrastructures.

Türkiye is not the sole beneficiary of a potential expansion to C7. Certainly, Türkiye’s growing role in regional affairs in the South Caucasus and Central Asia became clear in the first quarter of the 21st century. Turkic unity has been confirmed by interconnected economic, cultural, military, and political ties. However, the resource advantages and national elites of the new post-Soviet states are increasingly inclined to strengthen their own sovereignty, expand mutually beneficial cooperation with the outside world, and exploit the advantages of their geography in the context of an emerging multipolar world. An example of this was the agreement of the heads of Central Asian states with the European position on resolving the Cyprus issue at the EU-C5 summit of leaders in Samarkand in April 2025, which provoked a negative reaction from Ankara.

Let us agree with the South Korean expert’s opinion: the C6 framework is oriented toward geographical connectivity, economic pragmatism, and common development challenges. This is possible not within the confines of limited and subordinate Turkish leadership, but under conditions of broader Eurasian integration. Such integration presupposes the preservation of a secure regional order with the key participation of Russia, the CSTO, and the SCO. Through Eurasian integration, a balance of geopolitical and geoeconomic interests will be ensured, as well as the development of mutually beneficial horizontal ties with countries of the Global South and North.

The transformation of C6 into C7 does not imply neglect of the historical merits and current interests of the Eurasian power that is Russia. Despite attempts to distance post-Soviet countries from Russia, the laws of history, economics, and geopolitics remind us of the importance of respect for the past in building the future.

Alexander Svarants – PhD in Political Science, Professor, specialist in Turkish studies, expert on Middle Eastern countries. Courtesy

https://journal-neo.su/2026/06/18/respecting-the-past-and-looking-forward-eurasia-searches-for-a-new-system/