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For many Central Asian countries, Russia remains a partner in the field of military and political security and at the same time is a threat to them. International political scientist Rafael Sattarov said this on the air of FREEDOM TV channel.
“If we look at the dynamics of the development of relations and the economy, in general, the development of military-technical cooperation, Russia is certainly one of the main partners in the field of military-political security for the states of Central Asia. And there are huge factors that do not allow to interrupt these relations. These relations have, in particular, a personal character. There are a lot of connections with various oligarchs… If we talk about Uzbekistan, Russian oligarchs of Uzbek origin are certainly one of the locomotives and lobbyists for strengthening Russia’s relations with Uzbekistan. There is Iskander Mahmudov, the famous Alisher Usmanov and others,” said the political scientist.
At the same time, he noted that representatives of the intelligentsia and public workers emphasize that Russia is a threat because it questions the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Central Asian states.
“What’s more, Russia openly expressed this at the international level when it issued an ultimatum to NATO and Washington. There was also a demand that Washington and NATO should stop bilateral military cooperation with the post-Soviet countries. And Russia, questioning the statehood and territorial integrity of the states of Central Asia, is not alone. You remember the statement of the Chinese ambassador to France, who said that there are no such international documents that allow us to talk about the full sovereignty of the states of the post-Soviet space. And, of course, this is a threat to the states of Central Asia,” said Sattarov.
He does not agree with the opinion that Uzbekistan is allegedly seeking to become the main partner of the Russian Federation.
“Uzbekistan does not aspire to this. By the way, there was a lot of talk before about some kind of geopolitical rivalry between Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. But the main thing for Uzbekistan is business as usual, that is, if relations bring financial losses, then why not strengthen them. But Uzbekistan does not aspire to become a leader, as if to maintain leadership in relations with Russia, in Central Asia… Uzbek foreign policy at the official level declares, first of all, the strengthening of relations with the states of the region. That is, regional policy is a higher priority for them than strengthening relations outside the regional states,” said the political scientist.
At the same time, according to him, Uzbekistan maintains a multi-vector nature in its foreign policy.
