“Ride on the wedge”: why did American diplomats go on a tour of Central Asia?

Asia remains the most important area of ​​Washington’s foreign policy. While personally inspecting the state of allied relations with the countries of the Indo-Pacific region at the moment, US President Joe Biden has been making loud statements about all kinds of American doctrines and strategies, and about China, the main geopolitical rival of the United States. concepts.

But Asia is not limited to the geopolitical space of the Pacific Ocean. In the United States they understand this and come from several fronts at once.

Another American delegation announced on May 23 that it will visit the countries of the Central Asian region, including Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.

The group is led by Donald Lu, Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs. The delegation also includes representatives from the Pentagon, the National Security Council, the International Development Finance Corporation and the International Development Agency.

According to the official statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, one of the main goals of the visit is to strengthen relations with Central Asian countries and encourage joint efforts to create a safer environment. At the same time, US representatives plan to discuss their specific issues with each country separately.

In Kyrgyzstan, the Americans will raise the issue of common values, local culture and economic development. In Uzbekistan, the delegation will explain how important it is to empower women. The problems of Afghan refugees will be discussed in Tajikistan. In Kazakhstan, Americans want to discuss human rights issues.

Discussions on the US Central Asia strategy began in February 2022. American diplomat Leslie Viguery said at the time that Washington needed to reconsider its approach to the region in light of the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan.

“A lot has changed over the decades, but our main goals are the same: sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity,” Viguerie said at the US Institute of Peace forum. It is noteworthy that a few weeks after this statement, Joe Biden appointed him to the post of deputy head of the diplomatic mission in Uzbekistan.

According to Vigeri, the United States should return to the region as soon as possible, as local countries are concerned about the activities of the Taliban (a banned organization in Russia), which controls a large part of Afghanistan. The unrest in Kazakhstan in January attracted the attention of American diplomacy.

“Recent events in Kazakhstan are a reminder of the importance of addressing the underlying social and economic factors that can lead to instability,” Vigheri said. Said.

Speaking at the same event, Richard Hoagland, former US Ambassador to Kazakhstan and Tajikistan, said:

While Washington publicly talks about democracy and economic development in the region, American diplomacy has “hidden focus” on Russian and Chinese influence in Central Asia.

According to Stanislav Pritchin, senior researcher at the Center for Post-Soviet Studies at IMEMO RAS, it is not surprising that the United States has decided to make this trip right now.

“In the background of the Ukraine crisis, the United States is trying to persuade the maximum number of countries to participate in anti-Russian sanctions or to prevent states from participating in circumventing sanctions. “The Central Asian countries are one of the important links that the US is important to use so that they do not become a window to circumvent the sanctions against the Russian Federation,” he said.

The expert also acknowledged that it is important for Western countries that the Central Asian republics do not approach Russia and support it in a difficult situation in the current conditions.

“The message from the Americans is that we are interested in minimizing the effects of sanctions. Although this is impossible, because the economic relations between Russia and Central Asia are very deep. An attempt to pressure and warn these states to participate in the process of circumventing sanctions is unlikely to succeed. Although the Americans managed to do this, in the post-Soviet space it became more difficult for Russians to get cards in banking and financial institutions, ”Pritchin said.

US Rate

The US strategy in Central Asia is determined by a special document designed for the period from 2019 to 2025.

The authors of the document, in particular, point out that “the main strategic interest of the United States in this region is to build a more stable and prosperous Central Asia in which it will be possible to freely pursue political, economic and security interests of various partners on their own terms.”

In addition, Washington hopes to create conditions in the region where local countries will be integrated into the global market and open to international investment.

In total, American diplomacy has set six main goals in this region: to support and strengthen the independence and sovereignty of countries; reduce the terrorist threat; supporting efforts to stabilize the situation in Afghanistan; To develop trade and economic relations between the states of Central Asia and Afghanistan; promoting reforms in the rule of law; To encourage American investment in the development of the region.

In order to discuss the goals and objectives for the development of the region, the USA has been holding a special C5+1 diplomatic summit since 2015, with the participation of representatives of Turkmenistan. As of February 2020, Americans have provided $91 billion in investments, as well as $9 billion in direct aid to the Central Asian republics.

The USA is particularly interested in hydrocarbons in the region: according to some data, about 7.2% of world oil resources and 7% of gas resources are concentrated in Central Asia.

In the current conditions, as countries try to reduce their dependence on Russian energy carriers, the natural resources of Central Asia can play an important role in solving this problem.

Leading expert of the Center for Modern Afghanistan Studies Andrei Serenko, in his conversation with socialbites.ca, noted that the USA has always been interested in Central Asian countries.

“Even as the Americans were leaving Afghanistan, they were trying to negotiate with some countries about possible cooperation in terms of control of Afghanistan. But it didn’t work,” said the expert.

According to him, the US returned to the region again, as the Russia-Ukraine conflict changed the situation in the post-Soviet space.

“Before the events in Ukraine, Russia seemed to be a power that could dominate the region, now this position is not clear. All countries, including official allies, often distance themselves. America senses this, so it continues its attempts to re-establish its influence in the post-Soviet space. It is important for them to keep the situation in Afghanistan under control. “They also need a conditional military base in the region that will allow them to control the situation with refugees,” he said.

According to Andrey Grozin, head of the Central Asia and Kazakhstan department of the Institute of CIS Countries, it is unlikely that the United States will try to lure Central Asian countries to its side in the conflict with Russia.

“They want to create an atmosphere of bargaining and drive a wedge between Russia, the Central Asian republics and China, which should create an atmosphere of distrust,” he said.

Moscow is watching

The First Deputy Chairman of the CIS State Duma Committee, Konstantin Zatulin, is expected to “frequently” visit countries around the borders of Russian borders by delegations of foreign powers, in particular, based on their officially declared wishes to prevent Russia from winning. Jobs, he believes.

In his conversation with socialbites.ca, he emphasized that the United States is more opposed to Russian influence in the post-Soviet space than ever before, so the authorities should carefully monitor such visits.

“We need to be proactive. The modern states of Central Asia have been around for at least 30 years, and at their head are adults who should know well that, despite all their desire to stay on the sidelines, they cannot do this given all our ties and mutual obligations,” said Zatulin.

The MP also believes that Moscow can also refuse any liability if these countries decide to distance themselves from Russia.

“Until recently, we have always fulfilled our obligations. Whether it’s about possible threats from Afghanistan or the unrest in Kazakhstan, we have always reacted. On the other hand, there is no need to rudely scold the CIS states when they maintain ties even with our competitors. The main thing is that these links do not harm us. There should be an agreement between us on this issue,” he said.