President Putin wants to get American military bases out of Central Asia. Specifically, he has in mind the Hanabad base in Uzbekistan and the Bishkek-Manas base in Kyrgyzstan.
-Am
7/31/04 By Sergei Blagov
MOSCOW - Amid talk of creating a Muslim force to help with security in Iraq, former Soviet Muslim states are potential candidates, which would be an obvious boost for the United States, but a setback for Moscow's efforts to maintain its clout in the Central Asian region.
Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah called this week for the establishment of a Muslim army during the visit of US Secretary of State Colin Powell, who said that the idea was "interesting". The prince's call was later echoed by Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi.
The most populous Central Asian state, Uzbekistan, would be a prime candidate for supplying troops as it is a US ally. Coincidence or not, in late July, the head of US Central Command, General John Abizaid, visited Uzbekistan and Tajikistan before traveling to Pakistan and Afghanistan. Officially, Abizaid discussed US-Uzbek cooperation at meetings in Tashkent with Uzbek Foreign Minister Sadyq Safayev and Defense Minister Kadir Ghulyamov.
Uzbek officials reportedly reassured Abizaid that Uzbekistan was determined to continue cooperation with the US. Abizaid told a news conference after the meetings that the US would further develop its military cooperation with Uzbekistan.
The US has about 1,000 of its troops deployed at a military base in Uzbekistan, the remnant of a much larger force that played a key role in the military campaign that ousted the Taliban in neighboring Afghanistan in late 2001.
Officially, there was no talk about Uzbek troops going to Iraq. But Russia's Nyezavisimaya Gazeta daily speculated that should Uzbekistan send troops to Iraq, it would mean the prompt renewal and extension of US aid programs. This month the US State Department said it would cut up to US$18 million in aid to the country over concerns of human-rights abuses in the authoritarian regime.
In response, the Uzbek Foreign Ministry said that US human-rights standards "may be too high for Uzbekistan, which has just started to move toward democracy".
On Thursday, the Russian ambassador to Tajikistan, Maxim Peshkov, voiced concerns over the United States' increasingly proactive approach in the region, and Moscow clearly views troop deployment in Iraq by its former Soviet brethren as an affront to its opposition to the Iraq war. Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin has met with his Uzbek counterpart, Islam Karimov, and agreed to hold joint special-forces war games in the Uzbek mountains next year.
Russia has repeatedly declined to supply peacekeeping troops to the US-led coalition in Iraq. Speaking at a press conference after talks in late July in Moscow with his Iraqi counterpart, Hoshyar Zebari, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov reiterated Russia's reluctance to send troops to Iraq.
In mid-July, Moscow strongly dismissed media allegations that the Kremlin was even considering sending Russian troops to Iraq after the US-based private consultancy Stratfor claimed that Moscow and Washington were negotiating a request by the administration of President George W Bush to send Russian troops to Iraq or Afghanistan this fall. Stratfor alleged that the Russian deployment could be as high as 40,000 troops.
After the US decision to trim aid to Uzbekistan, Moscow moved to come up with economic carrots, and Russian government-connected companies have announced a series of projects in Uzbekistan. Notably, Moscow-based Mobile TeleSystems (MTS) agreed to pay $121 million for 74% of Uzbek provider Uzdunrobita, and signed an option to buy the remaining 26% for $38 million in the next three years. MTS is controlled by Sistema, a holding company with close ties with the Moscow Municipal Administration.
MTS will be paying a hefty premium for the Uzbek firm, which is controlled by Karimov's daughter, Gulnara Karimova, known as the "Uzbek Princess", as the price is about 33 times what the company valued itself at just two years ago. Last November, the Russian Foreign Ministry accredited the "Princess" as a counselor at the Uzbek Embassy in Moscow in a move that was seen as a sign of Uzbekistan's drift toward Moscow.
Russia and Uzbekistan have moved to boost bilateral ties, and a summit meeting in Samarkand last August was described by the Uzbek leader as "important". During that meeting, Putin and Karimov focused on the prospects for expanding bilateral economic cooperation, especially the export of Uzbek cotton and natural gas, and the participation of Russian companies in exploring oil and gas deposits in Uzbekistan. Karimov has described Russia as a "priority partner".
Russia is interested in enlisting Uzbekistan into its hydrocarbon game in Central Asia. Russian natural-gas giant Gazprom has indicated interest in acquiring a 44% stake in the Uzbek pipeline monopoly Uzbektransgas. The deal was supposed to facilitate supplies of Turkmen gas to Russia via Uzbek pipelines. However, Gazprom's acquisition of the Uzbektransgas stake is yet to materialize.
In June, Putin and Karimov met in Tashkent to sign a partnership agreement, as well as a $1 billion 35-year production-sharing agreement (PSA) to develop Uzbek natural-gas deposits. Under the PSA, top Russian oil producer LUKoil is to develop the Kandym, Khauzak and Shady gas fields in the south of the country, which have 280 billion cubic meters of proven reserves. LUKoil will have a 90% share in the project, with Uzbekistan's Uzbekneftegaz holding the remaining 10%.
Gazprom is also to invest $1 billion in Uzbekistan, Putin recently announced. Gazprom's investment will eventually raise Russian involvement in Uzbekistan to $2.5 billion.
Russian analysts are now suggesting that Moscow use all its clout - including these economic carrots - to completely pry Uzbekistan away from any US influence once and for all.
Sergei Blagov covers Russia and post-Soviet states, with special attention to Asia-related issues. He has contributed to Asia Times Online since 1996. Between 1983 and 1997, he was based in Southeast Asia. In 2001 and 2002, Nova Science Publishers, NY, published two of his books on Vietnamese history.
(Copyright 2004 Asia Times Online Ltd. All rights reserved. Please contact content@atimes.com for information on our sales and syndication policies.)
Market Data 
Markets 
AI
