FIRST STEPS TOWARD MILITARY COOPERATION WITH US AND NATO.

Kazakhstan’s foreign minister Kasymzhomart Tokayev said yesterday that he "sees no real basis" for a CIS military bloc. The previous day Tokayev disclosed that his president, Nursultan Nazarbayev, discussed the possibility of a joint Kazakh-US military staff exercise in Kazakhstan with US vice president Albert Gore, during Nazarbayev’s just-completed visit to the USA. The US side however suggested, and Kazakhstan agreed to also invite Russia, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan to participate in the exercise, which would be held in the framework of NATO’s Partnership for Peace program. Nazarbayev and Gore also agreed on exchanging visits of the two countries’ defense ministers to discuss possible US equipment supplies to the Kazakh army and assistance in training Kazakh officers. Tokayev cited Nazarbayev as calling for "greater attention in Washington" to the country. (16)

In what may presage a more active US role in Central Asia, Gore also met with Uzbek president Islam Karimov in the US late last month. Yesterday in Tashkent, Karimov briefed the foreign ministers of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan on his talks with Gore.

US Supports International Status For Caspian Sea.