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WHY ARE CENTRAL ASIA'S PRESIDENTS BLOWING OFF NATO?
by Joshua Kucera
EurasiaNet.org
http://www.eurasianet.org/node/65431
May 20 2012
NY
Central Asia's presidents would have a lot to talk about at the NATO
summit taking place in Chicago, given that the summit is focusing
on Afghanistan and the Central Asian states play a key role in NATO
transport to the theater. But all five of Central Asia's presidents
are a no-show at the NATO summit in Chicago, in spite of being
on NATO's official list of "leaders expected to attend" and being
regular attendees of the last few summits. Instead, they all seem to
have sent their foreign ministers.
It's a strange snub, and intriguing because these five countries
never do anything in coordination. Information on their decisions
are of course hard to come by, and so it's not certain if they are
in fact coordinated, but it sure seems that way.
One Kyrgyzstan analyst, Orozbek Moldaliyev, told KyrTag that it's
because of Russia:
"One can make various guesses and speculation about why none of the
leaders of Central Asian countries responded to the invitation and
why all of them are sending their foreign ministers. One of the main
reasons, which is on the surface, could be solidarity with Russia,"
Moldaliyev told KyrTAg.
Moldaliyev pointed out the recent CSTO directive to harmonize members'
foreign policies, which is as reasonable explanation as any for the
collective no-show, especially since Armenia's Serzh Sargsyan also
seems to be skipping it.
The presidents of Georgia and Azerbaijan are attending, as is that
of Mongolia, Elbegdorj Tsakhia. And China has taken a dim view of
Mongolia's ties with NATO, according to a report in People's Daily,
which said the alliance is "roping in" Mongolia as an "important
part of its eastwards expansion strategy... Especially against the
background of the United States 'return to Asia' strategy, Mongolia's
position within NATO's strategy becomes increasingly important."
But if NATO is "expanding East" to rope in Mongolia, it looks like
it's having to skip over a lot of space in Central Asia to do so.
by Joshua Kucera
EurasiaNet.org
http://www.eurasianet.org/node/65431
May 20 2012
NY
Central Asia's presidents would have a lot to talk about at the NATO
summit taking place in Chicago, given that the summit is focusing
on Afghanistan and the Central Asian states play a key role in NATO
transport to the theater. But all five of Central Asia's presidents
are a no-show at the NATO summit in Chicago, in spite of being
on NATO's official list of "leaders expected to attend" and being
regular attendees of the last few summits. Instead, they all seem to
have sent their foreign ministers.
It's a strange snub, and intriguing because these five countries
never do anything in coordination. Information on their decisions
are of course hard to come by, and so it's not certain if they are
in fact coordinated, but it sure seems that way.
One Kyrgyzstan analyst, Orozbek Moldaliyev, told KyrTag that it's
because of Russia:
"One can make various guesses and speculation about why none of the
leaders of Central Asian countries responded to the invitation and
why all of them are sending their foreign ministers. One of the main
reasons, which is on the surface, could be solidarity with Russia,"
Moldaliyev told KyrTAg.
Moldaliyev pointed out the recent CSTO directive to harmonize members'
foreign policies, which is as reasonable explanation as any for the
collective no-show, especially since Armenia's Serzh Sargsyan also
seems to be skipping it.
The presidents of Georgia and Azerbaijan are attending, as is that
of Mongolia, Elbegdorj Tsakhia. And China has taken a dim view of
Mongolia's ties with NATO, according to a report in People's Daily,
which said the alliance is "roping in" Mongolia as an "important
part of its eastwards expansion strategy... Especially against the
background of the United States 'return to Asia' strategy, Mongolia's
position within NATO's strategy becomes increasingly important."
But if NATO is "expanding East" to rope in Mongolia, it looks like
it's having to skip over a lot of space in Central Asia to do so.