Prof. Kanibek Osmonaliev made the announcement during the Turkic World Common Alphabet Workshop in Bursa, Turkey earlier this week, Poland’s niezalezna.pl website reported on Thursday.
The event brought together scholars and academics from Turkic countries, according to niezalezna.pl.
Kyrgyzstan to adopt Latin alphabet
Osmonaliev, who heads the Linguistic Commission of Kyrgyzstan, told the gathering that his country would follow in the footsteps of Kazakhstan, which is set to switch to the Latin script in 2025, according to the central.asia-news.com website.
“We will switch after Kazakhstan,” the official said, as quoted by niezalezna.pl. "This is our turn. This event is the first step in this direction."
Osmonaliev added that Kazakhstan’s adoption of the Latin alphabet would be “a bridge” to the new linguistic system for neighbouring countries.
The conference in Bursa recommended that future national alphabets be based on the “34-letter Common Turkic Alphabet,” approved at a symposium at Marmara University, Turkey, in 1991, niezalezna.pl reported.
Kyrgyzstan distances itself from Russia
The Polish website said that Kyrgyzstan was increasingly seeking to distance itself from Russia.
"Russkiy Mir is falling apart," niezalezna.pl added.
It reported that the Kyrgyz embassy in Moscow last week warned Kyrgyz citizens against taking part in the war in Ukraine.
Russia has offered incentives for foreign nationals to join its army, including a fast track to Russian citizenship.
Foreigners may apply for this fast pathway to Russian citizenship after just one year of service in the Kremlin’s military, niezalezna.pl reported.
10-year jail term for joining foreign war
However, the Kyrgyz embassy in Moscow announced: “The embassy of Kyrgyzstan in Russia warns its citizens who temporarily reside on Russian territory against taking part in armed conflicts or war operations on the territory of other countries, which is subject to criminal liability," as quoted by niezalezna.pl.
The Polish website reported that such charges carry a prison sentence of up to 10 years and confiscation of wealth in Kyrgyzstan.
The Kyrgyz embassy made the announcement on the day Russian President Vladimir Putin unveiled a plan to mobilise 300,000 additional troops to fight in Ukraine.
Thursday is day 218 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
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Source: niezalezna.pl, central.asia-news.com