Uzbeks Reluctant Players in Former Soviet Blocs

Uzbekistan’s president Islam Karimov, never a keen participant in regional initiatives, is expected to appear at not one but two gatherings of former Soviet leaders in Moscow on December 19-20.

Uzbekistan is part of the Commonwealth of Independent States, the original post-Soviet bloc, and also of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation, CSTO. But it frequently voices criticism of them or abstains from signing their agreements. In 1999, for example, the Uzbeks suspended membership of the CSTO, resuming it only seven years later.

Some commentators suspect Karimov is going to Moscow only to spell out the areas where Uzbekistan plans to go its own way. In a speech in early December, he underlined that inter-governmental groupings needed to be handled with “caution” because they tended to harm bilateral cooperation.

A political analyst said it was clear why Karimov was unhappy

“Moscow’s idea of opening a military base close to our borders, in southern of Kyrgyzstan, under the auspices of the CSTO, has recently been a major irritant for Tashkent,” he said. “It is making Karimov nervous, as he’s currently focused on military cooperation with the West.”

This article was produced as part of IWPR's News Briefing Central Asia output, funded by the National Endowment for Democracy.

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