... values in these countries.
Russia and the Central Asian states jointly touch the southern belt of Eurasia, which includes such states as Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India. Their own scale and demographics make absorption and full integration with Russia and Central Asia impossible. At the same time, there are historically strong and fundamental ties between this region and such Central Asian countries as Tajikistan or Uzbekistan. Afghanistan itself is a clear dividing line between East and West, North and South, underpinned by its mountainous topography and complex ethnic composition. An important common task for Russia and the Central Asian states may be to maintain relative ...
... maintain stability within its traditional sphere of influence. Central Asia appears to be no less decisive than Belarus or Nagorno-Karabakh in this sense.
Alexander Yermakov:
Challenges to Eurasian Security in the Coming Decade
After the Soviet collapse, Russia has been involved in the Central Asian political disorder first-hand. During the 1990s, a violent civil war struck Tajikistan, while the beginning of the new century started with the US military intervention in Afghanistan. Later on, new ethnic tensions mounted in the Fergana Valley, two revolutions erupted in Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan was shocked by the Andjan massacre and by the rise of the Islamic Movement.
A series of issues concerning Russia’s economic stability ...
The Working Group on the Future of U.S.-Russia Relations’ Report
Central Asia stands out as a comparatively “nontoxic” region where there are limited, but not insignificant, opportunities for U.S.-Russia collaboration both bilaterally and within multilateral frameworks: in the space ...
... Central Asia, the strengthening of the IS extremist group risks further destabilizing the situation in the countries neighboring Russia.
Given the unstable statehood system
[1]
in almost all countries of Central Asia
[2]
, ethnic tensions among the populations ... ... is difficult to seriously discuss their effective ability to counter the threats of extremism and terrorism that emanate from Afghanistan.
Of all the Central Asian states, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan appear to be the most vulnerable in this respect, due to their proximity to Afghanistan, setting aside ...
Interview with Vladimir Zakharov
On September 12, 2014, the capital of Tajikistan hosted the Shanghai Cooperation Organization’s annual summit, which ... ... Tajik diplomacy and multilateral SCO efforts.
The Dushanbe Declaration statement on Afghanistan does not outline a solid SCO position on the deteriorating situation and... ... advancing multifaceted cooperation with the SCO and in strengthening diverse ties with Russia. Crucially, the SCO countries understand that Moscow remains the organization's...
