ANKARA : Talking Turkey

Presidents and heads of state from five Turkic republics of the former Soviet Union--Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan--meet Friday and Saturday in Ankara for the first Turkic summit.

Having won independence, the countries will assess their situations and discuss regional issues such as the war in the Nagorno-Karabakh enclave of Azerbaijan and the trouble in Tajikistan. They will also look at ways of strengthening relations with each other and with Turkey.

Turkey, organizer of the summit, has actively supported the Central Asian republics since the fall of the Soviet Union, sending relief supplies, giving grants and export credits as well as inviting 10,000 students to attend Turkish schools.

Turkey, for one, would like the summit to become a yearly event.