OSCE Summit Highlights Disagreements Between Astana and Tashkent
The situation in Kyrgyzstan generated an emotive exchange between Kazakh and Uzbek officials during the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) summit in Astana, on December 1-2, highlighting continuing disagreements between neighbors. READ MORE
CSTO: Half Dead, Half Alive
“CORF [Collective Operational Reaction forces] will be no worse than NATO,” claimed Russian President, Dmitry Medvedev, only one year ago. Today, these words are used in Russia to popularize the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) and the CORF within the post-Soviet space. READ MORE
Central Asia’s Perfect Storm
Dean Acheson, US President Harry Truman’s Secretary of State, liked to quote a friend who said that being in government made him scared, but that being out of it made him worried. To those of us not privy to the hidden complexities of NATO’s military intervention in Afghanistan, the situation there – and across Central Asia -- is extremely worrisome. READ MORE
For U.S. and Russia, Kyrgyz Crisis Poses Strategic Risk
The worsening ethnic violence in Kyrgyzstan is hundreds of miles from U.S. and Russian bases in the central Asia country, but it poses thorny strategic dilemmas for both. READ MORE
Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan: Signs of Real Rapprochement
Today the foreground of international relations includes the issues of arrangement and holding of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit in Tashkent this June. The Heads of SCO member-states are constantly substantially exchanging views on the situation within Central Asian region. A significant defining factor is the relations between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, which gain the tendency to rapprochement. READ MORE
OSCE Summit in Exchange for Water
Nursultan Nazarbayev has recently paid a visit to Tashkent. Last time in April of 2008 the similar bilateral meeting resulted in a scandal, when Islam Karimov without hesitations harshly reacted on the initiative of Nazarbayev to create the CAU: “the initiative to establish the Central Asia Union is not acceptable for Uzbekistan. I want to declare it once and for all, for there will be no speculations on this subject.” This time everything was different... READ MORE
Holbrooke’s Visit Highlights US-Uzbek Regional Dilemmas and Opportunities
Richard Holbrooke, US Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, visited Uzbekistan on February 19 as part of a series of meetings across the Central Asian capitals to boost regional support for the military campaign in Afghanistan, as well as cultivating closer collaboration with Uzbekistan. Uzbek President, Islam Karimov, and Holbrooke discussed a range of issues, emphasizing the importance of bilateral efforts aimed at bringing stability to Afghanistan. READ MORE
GUAM And “Eastern Partnership”
The dynamics of international life of the passing year comprised a sound list of significant events, which are able to give a start for new large-scale transformations as many commentators think. They include – the launch of the “Eastern Partnership” program. This project has called different reactions among the states participating within “Eastern Partnership” as well as in neighboring capitals. The reaction was mainly emotional and unpredictable. It’s perfectly known that for example Warsaw gives a strategic meaning to this project. Moscow also sees a long-term effect, strategy but the aim of this strategy is observed in a different way. READ MORE
Uzbekistan: European Union Looks Likely To Lift Arms Embargo
The European Union appears poised to lift its four-year arms embargo against Uzbekistan. EU officials say strategic necessity is exerting pressure on Brussels to fully engage Tashkent. Critics, however, contend that by compromising on principles, the European Union is sacrificing long-term interests for immediate, but likely fleeting gains. READ MORE
