Latest Articles about Central Asia
Uncertainty Continues to Surround Future of U.S. Air Base
The Kyrgyz government announced that August 18, 2009, would be the final day for the U.S. base's functioning at Manas Airport (www.akipress.kg, February 24). Despite intense criticism from the international community, the Kyrgyz leadership seems is determined to shut down the base as soon as... MORE
Uzbekistan Playing Renewed Strategic Role in NATO’s Afghanistan Mission
General David Petraeus, Commander of the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), held meetings in Tashkent on February 16 and 17 with Uzbek President Islom Karimov and Defense Minister Qobul Berdiyev. Non-military transit routes for the NATO mission in Afghanistan were reportedly on his agenda. The discussions... MORE
Critics Question Kazakhstan’s Membership in Collective Rapid Response Force
The Kazakh Interior Ministry recently released a detailed press account of an armed clash between Arlan anti-terrorist detachment and a group of "extremist forces" in the Zelenov District of West Kazakhstan Province. Four soldiers from the Arlan group were reportedly wounded during the fight, but... MORE
Kyrgyz Parliament, President Confirm Eviction of U.S. from Manas Airbase
On February 20 the Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev signed a bill into law to close the U.S. military base at the Manas airport. The United States will have to leave Kyrgyzstan within 180 days after the Kyrgyz government officially passes the decision on to the... MORE
Bakiyev Will “Acquiesce” If Constitutional Court Calls for Early Elections
Despite low popularity ratings at home but with assured support from the Kremlin, Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev has declared his willingness to run for a second term. He added that he would not mind moving elections up to this year, since several political leaders have... MORE
Russia Pledges to Rescue Post-Soviet Economies
Russia has pledged to finance a rescue fund to bail out its allies within the Eurasian Economic Community (EEC), as those former Soviet states now face an increasingly adverse economic environment against the background of the continuing global financial meltdown. At a summit meeting in... MORE
Tashkent and Dushanbe Cautious on CSTO Forces
The announcement in Moscow on February 4, 2009 to activate the CSTO Collective Rapid Deployment Forces and transform them into a more viable, well equipped force structure akin to NATO's rapid reaction force concept masked underlying tensions within the CSTO. These relate to legal issues... MORE
The CSTO: Missions, Capabilities, Political Ambitions
The Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), which adopted decisions to develop Collective Rapid Response Forces at a summit in Moscow on February 4 (see EDM, February 5), owes its existence to Russia's ambition to cast itself as the leader of a political-military bloc on the... MORE
Russia and Kyrgyzstan Playing for High Stakes in Manas
The closure of the strategically important U.S. Manas air base in Bishkek, announced following Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev's visit to Moscow for bilateral talks with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, met with disbelief in the West. Kyrgyz Security Council Secretary Adakhan Madumarov briefing journalists in Moscow... MORE
CSTO Summit: Rapid Deployment Forces Advance at a Snail’s Pace
The Presidents of Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan held a session of the Collective Security Council-the top political decision-making body of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO)-on February 4 in Moscow, where they signed an agreement on further developing the CSTO's Collective... MORE