On 14 October 2022, the “Central Asia-Russia Summit” was held in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan. The Presidents of Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Russia, and Kazakhstan met during the summit as a group of six to improve their cooperation. Yuri Ushakov, Assistant to the President of Russia on international affairs declared: “The meeting of the six countries was initiated by Moscow. It is projected to further develop cooperation between Russia and the countries of the region.”[1]
During his speech at the summit, Russian President Vladimir Putin said: “Our agenda includes measures to protect common commercial and economic interests, especially in the current geopolitical situation and regional security issues regarding the situation in Afghanistan.” Putin highlighted external interventions as the most important problem for Russia, which is used to hinder the integration of regional countries and Russia and to disrupt the close ties and deep interactions that have developed in politics, economy, and culture throughout history. “In our opinion, the thoroughly coordinated joint steps of our countries are in great demand both to establish an alliance and strategic partnership and to increase the stability of our economies,” Putin stated.[2]
In general, Putin argued that Russia’s relations with the five Central Asian countries cause a stir among non-regional states. The Russian leader stated that in the last five years, Russia’s trade with the regional states has doubled to 37.1 billion dollars, and according to the data for the first half of 2022, mutual trade has increased by 16%. Putin added that the total volume of Russia’s direct investments in the economies of Central Asian countries reached approximately $5 billion.
Putin pointed out that cooperation between Russia and five states in the field of energy security has deepened, production capacities have increased and partnerships have developed on the construction of nuclear power plants and switching to digital technologies. He explained:[3]
“Our country is ready to help the re-establishment of the unified energy system of Central Asia, which will increase the energy security of all states in the region… The redirection of exports and imports by Russia encourages the development of transport corridors throughout Greater Eurasia. The key task is to organize the new Trans-Eurasian corridors traversing the territories of your countries.”
On the other hand, the United States (US) has a consultative mechanism with five Central Asian countries with a “5+1” format. The US aims at addressing regional security issues and improving cooperation with the countries of the region through this mechanism. Moreover, China has the “Central Asia-China” consultative mechanism with the regional countries at the level of foreign ministers. The third summit of the mechanism was held in Astana in 2022. Likewise, China seeks to increase cooperation of the regional countries with Beijing, whereas trying to prevent them from getting closer to the US or other actors on geopolitical issues. For this reason, China intensifies its contact with Central Asian countries.
Similar to the prospect of China and the US, Russia’s desire to hold the “5+1″/”Central Asia-Russia” talks with regional countries indicates that Moscow is trying to develop a new policy for the region.
China has hitherto developed its relations with the countries of the region through the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and through bilateral relations. Therefore, Beijing’s initiation of the “Central Asia-China” negotiations is not only an act against the US but also against Russia, which is a member of the SCO. This is because the “Central Asia-China” negotiations serve as a platform excluding Russia.
Meanwhile, Russia has developed different cooperation and integration tools since 1991. In this sense, institutional structures such as the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) are operating. However, Moscow’s desire to establish a new mechanism outside these existing structures with the regional countries is very important as it suggests a new policy. There may be three main reasons for this change.
First, organizations such as the CIS, the CSTO, and the EAEU, which are established in the geography of the former Soviet Union, include countries beyond Central Asia, and their focus deviates from the relations between Russia and the regional countries. Second, these organizations are of the 20th century, and although they are institutional, they are not functional enough on certain issues. Third, only part of the Central Asian countries are members of these organizations.
As a result, by changing its policy for the region, Russia is trying to establish a resilient structure replacing the existing international organizations. Thus, Moscow wants to take steps on issues such as improving commercial-economic relations that the region needs the most and making investments.
[1] “Первый саммит Россия-вентральная Азия пройдет в Астане 14 октября”, Ria Novosti, https://ria.ru/20221012/sammit-1823457015.html, (Date of Accession: 14.10.2022).
[2] “Саммит Россия-вентральная Азия”, kremlin.ru, http://kremlin.ru/events/president/news/69598, (Date of Accession: 14.10.2022).
[3] Ibid.
