Latest Articles about Uzbekistan

KARIMOV PRIORITIZES RUSSIAN ARMAMENTS

Uzbekistan’s President Islam Karimov has prioritized procuring Russian armaments, not only to further the reform and modernization of the Uzbek armed forces, but also to strengthen Tashkent’s security response to the threat of terrorism. Karimov is using the new sense of cooperation in bilateral relations... MORE

IMU ISSUES NEW THREAT TO CENTRAL ASIAN LEADERS

The Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) is showing renewed confidence in Central Asia and has apparently increased its capacity to carry out terrorist acts within the region. A speech marking the anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, purportedly given by IMU leader Tahir Yuldashev, was... MORE

TASHKENT SEES ASTANA AS GATEWAY TO WESTERN COOPERATION

Uzbekistan’s turbulent bilateral relations with Kazakhstan, steadily improving in recent years as both countries vied for the potential benefits of cooperating with the West in the War on Terror, have now become a key political target for Uzbek President Islam Karimov. Karimov’s state visit to... MORE

KARIMOV FORGING PARTNERSHIP WITH JAPAN

Still tainted by the May 2005 Andijan massacre and its aftermath, Uzbek President Islam Karimov has discovered that Japan is willing to explore economic cooperation and to develop closer relations with the Tashkent regime. Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi visited Central Asia in late August... MORE

KYRGYZ-UZBEK SECURITY RELATIONS: SIMILAR PROBLEMS, DIFFERENT POLICIES

Recently revived security ties between Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan risk becoming yet another pompous declaration made by leaders of both states on regional security, fighting terrorism, religious extremism, and drug trafficking. The experience of the past year shows that political climates in both countries have rather... MORE

UZBEKISTAN ACCEDES TO COLLECTIVE SECURITY TREATY ORGANIZATION

Uzbek President Islam Karimov joined the presidents of the Collective Security Treaty Organization’s member countries -- Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan -- in Minsk on June 23 for a meeting of the CSTO’s top political body, the Collective Security Council. At the meeting,... MORE

KARIMOV GAMBLES ON RUSSIA, CHINA, AND GERMANY

Uzbekistan's President Islam Karimov has staked much on his efforts to strengthen and sustain relations with both Russia and China. He predictably talked up Uzbekistan's ties with China during the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Shanghai on June 15-16. Nonetheless, behind the scenes Karimov... MORE

PUTIN MARKS ZERO-SUM WIN WITH KARIMOV IN SOCHI

Uzbek President Islam Karimov's May 12 meeting with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, in Sochi marks a further stage in Russia's successful exploitation of Uzbekistan's unnecessary alienation from the United States. The Putin-Karimov meeting was demonstratively timed to the anniversary of the violent suppression of... MORE

RUSSIA REMAINS KARIMOV’S BEST HOPE

Amid growing international isolation, Tashkent views an alliance with Moscow as its main -- if not last -- geopolitical hope. The regime ruling Uzbekistan appears so keen to forge closer ties with Russia that President Islam Karimov has seemingly offered Russian companies unprecedented access to... MORE

KARIMOV’S SEARCH FOR SECURITY PARTNERS LEADS TO PAKISTAN

Uzbek President Islam Karimov visited Pakistan on May 2, making a point of placing security atop the agenda for bilateral meetings. Karimov is staking considerable political capital on deepening Tashkent's relations with Pakistan, principally based on building economic ties and appealing to mutual security interests... MORE