By history, culture and economy, the former Soviet countries of Central Asia maintain close ties and alliances with Russia. In addition, its powerful neighbor China has been extending its economic influence in the region for years. These ties seem unbreakable, so the United States is courting these countries by presenting itself as a “reliable partner,” one of the messages that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken wanted to leave during a two-day visit.
A week after one year of the start of the conflict in Ukraine, he arrived yesterday in Uzbekistan, the most populous country in the area. In his capital, Tashkent, he met with the president, Shavkat Mirziyóyev, and with the foreign minister, Bajtiyor Saidov. They agreed, among other things, to “join efforts to strengthen security in Central Asia,” the minister said on Telegram.
A day earlier, Blinken was in Kazakhstan, the region’s largest economy. In his capital, Astana, he reiterated to the foreign ministers of the five countries the support for their sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity.
“If we allow Russia to violate these principles without impunity, then we can contemplate more aggression against other countries,” he said at a press conference after the meeting of the so-called C5 1.
This platform for dialogue was created in 2015 by Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and the US to promote regional cooperation.
Blinken’s trip represents an opportunity to try to improve these relations at a time when the US is trying to further isolate Russia by sending its army to Ukraine.
But the Central Asian countries are willing to be wooed to a certain extent. Kazakhstan’s Foreign Minister Mukhtar Tleuberdi replied to Blinken: “We do not see or feel any risk or threat from the Russian Federation.”
The five Central Asian countries achieved their independence with the disintegration of the Soviet Union in 1991. Despite the time that has passed, Moscow still considers them part of its backyard. None of them have joined Western sanctions against Russia. But they advocate a diplomatic solution in Ukraine and defend the territorial integrity of the countries.
With this idea, they have sometimes distanced themselves from Putin. At the St. Petersburg Economic Forum, Kazakhstan’s President Kasim-Yomart Tokayev told his Russian counterpart last year that Kazakhstan would not recognize the independence of the self-proclaimed Donetsk (DPR) and Luhansk (LPR) People’s Republics. Nor did they recognize the annexation of these territories by Russia in September.
His position on the current geopolitical situation became clear on February 24, during the vote on a United Nations resolution calling for an immediate end to Russia’s intervention in Ukraine. Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan were among the 32 countries that chose to abstain (141 voted in favor, seven against, including China, Belarus and Russia). Turkmenistan did not even vote.
The Kazakhstan Foreign Minister assured that the economies of these countries have been tied to Moscow for a long time and, for this reason, the current situation “affects us quite strongly and we try to avoid any negative effect of the sanctions.”
Blinken said that Washington is aware and that is why it has issued waivers to companies dependent on the sanctioned Russian companies to give them time to “break their ties with Russia.” With the objective that these economies “do not depend on a single country”, he announced a new aid of 25 million dollars for the economic development of Central Asia, which joins a previous contribution for the same amount.
Prior to Blinken’s trip, Under Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Donald Lu noted that the US’s main mission “is to show that it is a reliable partner, and we see the difficulties those economies are facing. They’re coping.”
“The purpose of the sanctions is to target Russian entities fueling Putin’s war in Ukraine, not to harm the Central Asian republics,” Lu said, noting that one of those licenses allows the Caspian Pipeline Consortium, an oil pipeline passing through Russian territory, bring Kazakhstan’s oil to the markets.