Latest Articles about Central Asia
Russia Pursues Post-Soviet Integration
In yet another bid to strengthen cooperation with the “near abroad,” Moscow has hosted informal summit meetings of the major post-Soviet groupings. However, the gatherings also served to highlight continued disagreements between some member states.On May 8, informal summits of the Collective Security Treaty Organization... MORE
Bishkek’s Dependence on Russia and Kazakhstan Deepens
During the Collective Security Treaty Organization’s (CSTO) informal summit on May 7 in Moscow, member states – Russia, Kazakhstan, Armenia, Belarus, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan – expressed concern over the ongoing instability in Kyrgyzstan. In the joint statement CSTO members agreed that the regime change in... MORE
Turkmen-Chinese Cooperation: Key to Turkmenistan’s Diversification Strategy
The visit of the Turkmen President, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, to China on May 2 has once again reaffirmed the significance of China for Turkmenistan following the launch of the Turkmenistan-China gas pipeline that has broken the Russian monopoly on energy transit routes in Central Asia and... MORE
Astana Takes Credit for Stability in Kyrgyzstan
Astana has promised to open Kazakhstan’s border with Kyrgyzstan almost one month after the violent regime change in Bishkek. Astana remained reluctant to re-open the border despite numerous pleas from the Kyrgyz. The cost of the closed border was high – Kyrgyz businesses claim millions... MORE
Kyrgyz Instability Presents Challenges for Russia, China and the SCO
On April 23, the Security Council secretaries of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) met in Tashkent in preparation for the organization’s annual summit also scheduled to be held in the Uzbek capital in June. In the aftermath of the violent protests on April 7 that... MORE
Historical Context for Regional Response to Recent Events in Kyrgyzstan
The international reaction to the events of April 6-7 in Kyrgyzstan follows a pattern that is becoming all too familiar in the region. Over the past 19 years, many of the former Soviet republics have experienced violent and/or unexpected transitions in the form of political... MORE
Political Competition Intensifies in Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan’s provisional government today is torn between its efforts to gain international legitimacy and maintain its domestic popularity. It has convicted former president, Kurmanbek Bakiyev, of mass murder. Lacking formal legitimacy, the provisional government’s decision to convict Bakiyev was largely an act targeted towards its... MORE
Russia Moves to Strengthen Ties with Uzbekistan
As the Kremlin intensified its efforts to develop relations with Uzbekistan, the leadership of the most populous nation in Central Asia appears to remain non-committal. Following talks in Moscow, Russian President, Dmitry Medvedev, and his Uzbek counterpart, Islam Karimov, hailed the bilateral summit on April... MORE
Kyrgyzstan’s Provisional Government Needs International Support, Oversight
Kurmanbek Bakiyev was pressured by the OSCE, United States and European Union to leave Kyrgyzstan. On April 15, Kazakhstan dispatched a military aircraft to transfer Bakiyev and his family members to its territory. Several days later, the Kazakh government announced that Bakiyev had left the... MORE
Is a Russian-Uzbek Rapprochement in the Offing?
Uzbekistan is famous for its flexibility in maneuvering between Moscow and Washington. Most recently, President Islam Karimov has been the subject of overtures from the US and NATO to which he has responded positively. However, Moscow clearly intends to establish itself as Tashkent’s principal interlocutor... MORE