At last weekend’s summits in Tajikistan, Russia agreed to supply cheap arms to members of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) in return for enhanced security cooperation. Russia’s support is seen as essential to the survival of regimes, such as Uzbekistan’s, criticised by the west on human rights grounds.
Meanwhile, on Wednesday, the EU’s foreign policy high representative, Javier Solana, restated the case for a trans-Caspian pipeline to export gas from Kazakhstan to Europe. The EU is once again considering whether to extend sanctions imposed against Uzbekistan following the Andijan crackdown in 2005.
Kazakhstan has been suffering from the knock-on effects of the global credit crunch, with banks undermined by a shortage in liquidity, according to London’s Financial Times. In addition, forecasts for have been the country’s oil output in 2015 have been cut by 13% in response to the delay in developing the Kashagan field.
RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty debated Berdymukhammedov’s impact on Turkmen politics and society this week, arguing that corruption and nepotism are still huge problems for the country. On EurasiaNet, Joshua Kucera reports local views on whether the regime change has made any significant difference to life in the country. Also on EurasiaNet, Deidre Tynan speculates on the prospects for success of the Tajik push to a Central Asia-wide water management system.
In the run-up to Kyrgyzstan’s hastily scheduled constitutional referendum, doubt remains over whether the poll will bring an end to political uncertainty. Neweurasia reported on a planned protest by the Green party, which may be the first of many.
Stay tuned to Central Asia Now for weekly news digests. Keep an eye out for analysis slots by regional experts.
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