Central Asia/Russia


	June 15, 2002	atimes.com

Central Asia/Russia

Russia boosts military ties with Kyrgyzstan
By Sergei Blagov

MOSCOW - As opposition protests continue in the once-peaceful Central Asian nation of Kyrgyzstan, Russia still aims at building a security hub in the capital Bishkek.

Notably, the Kremlin has dispatched a number of top security officials in the past several days. Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov traveled to Kyrgyzstan for bilateral talks and multilateral security gathering, as well as joint military exercises.

During his meeting with Kyrgyz President Askar Akayev on Thursday, Ivanov pledged to boost military ties with the Central Asian state. Akayev reportedly acknowledged the Russian role in "strengthening Kyrgyz defense against international terrorists and extremists".

After a meeting with his Kyrgyz counterpart Esen Topoyev, Ivanov suggested strengthening Russian military presence in Kyrgyzstan "in terms of quality, and not quantity". Ivanov also described Bishkek as an emerging "capital of military structures" of many post-Soviet groupings.

Russia and Kyrgyzstan also inked some security deals. On Thursday, Ivanov and Topoyev signed an agreement on the status of Russian military personnel in Kyrgyzstan, as well as a memorandum on the lease of military facilities used by the Russians.

Russia maintains a small military post for seismic monitoring in Kyrgyzstan. Ivanov said this post plays an important role in sustaining the international nuclear non-proliferation regime.

Russia and Kyrgyzstan have maintained close political and military ties, and Akayev has tended to support the Kremlin's policies in the region.

Not surprisingly, Russian Security Council chief Vladimir Rushailo, who was also in Bishkek this week, voiced Moscow's concern over the situation in Kyrgyzstan, pointing out the need to back the country's authorities.

"Russia supports President Akayev's policy aimed at internal stabilization," Rushailo stated in Bishkek on Thursday, according to Interfax. "No one should interfere in Kyrgyz internal affairs," Rushailo said.

"Russia has information relative to those forces aiming at destabilization in Kyrgyzstan and Russia intends to support President Akayev's efforts to destroy these forces," Rushailo was quoted as saying by the Russian Information Agency (RIA).

Political tensions in Kyrgyzstan have been sparked by a controversial border treaty under which Kyrgyzstan transfers some 95,000 hectares of its territory to China. Akayev's administration has faced criticism over the border deal. In March, 5,000 people gathered in Jalal-Abad province in impoverished southern Kyrgyzstan. In ensuing rioting, five protesters were killed and 15 wounded, while 47 police were injured. Political unrest continues in Kyrgyzstan, as on June 5 protesters again blocked the main Bishkek-Osh highway.

Rivalries among the country's clans have also contributed to recent tensions. Notably, southern Kyrgyz clans have grown increasingly discontented with the reluctance of Akayev's northern clan to share power. Moreover, there is a large ethnic-Uzbek minority in southern Kyrgyzstan, and some Uzbeks feel that the Kyrgyz government discriminates against them.

In response, Akayev has attempted to defuse tensions with a government reshuffle, with ethnic Russian Nikolay Tanayev replacing Kurmanbek Bakiev as prime minister. However, Akayev's critics lashed out at the selection as a gift to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

However, relations between Russia and Kyrgyzstan have been far from cloudless recently. In January Russia delayed signing an agreement on "military-technical cooperation" with Kyrgyzstan. In March, some deputies of the Russian parliament urged against ratifying a debt deal with Kyrgyzstan, including a writeoff of $133 million owed by Kyrgyzstan. They argued that Kyrgyzstan leases its military bases to US troops and expects "good financial inflows" in return.

Since the arrival of the US troops, Russia has been watching Kyrgyzstan closely. Some 1,900 US personnel now occupy Manas air base near Bishkek and up to 5,000 coalition soldiers are expected to be based there eventually. However, Russian officials continue to insist that they do not object to the US presence. "This temporary measure" is not going to affect Russia's ties with Kyrgyzstan, said Rushailo. The US military presence will not impact Russia's cooperation with Kyrgyzstan, Ivanov stated in Bishkek on Wednesday.

On the other hand, recent volatility in Kyrgyzstan raises questions about the viability of some post-Soviet groupings, including attempts at security integration. Kyrgyzstan is a member of a number of post-Soviet groupings, notably the Collective Security Treaty (CST) and the so-called Eurasian Economic Commonwealth (EEC), which also includes Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Tajikistan.

Moreover, Kyrgyzstan is a founding member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), which also includes Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, China and Russia. The SCO summit on June 7 in St Petersburg decided to launch a joint anti-terrorist center in Bishkek.

Last month, the Collective Security Treaty (CST) summit was held in the Russian capital. The leaders of Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan discussed multilateral Collective Security Forces, but failed to agree on a joint military command under Russian control. They also decided to transform the CST into a new international body, the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO).

Moreover, Kyrgyzstan has become a venue for the CSTO's military exercises, after the grouping's decision last year to set up joint rapid-reaction forces for Central Asia. From Wednesday to Saturday this week, the SCTO's Collective Security military forces are holding "Commonwealth's Southern Shield - 2002" military exercises at Ala-Too, Kyrgyzstan. The Collective Security Forces are to be assembled in case of need by the CSTO member states. The forces are to be used to combat outside aggression, to carry out "anti-terrorist" operations or to be involved in military maneuvers.

The Collective Security Forces' commander, Russian General Sergei Chernomordin, told RIA that the situation in Central Asia remained volatile and unpredictable, hence the maneuvers were needed to train troops for the war on terror. Chernomordin also claimed that the US military stationed in Kyrgyzstan "viewed the maneuvers positively".

Apart from the CSTO maneuvers, on Friday Ivanov was also to chair the defense ministers' council of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), yet another security gathering in Bishkek.

In addition to the visits by Ivanov and Rushailo, Russia's chief propaganda official, press and media minister Mikhail Lesin, was also to travel to Bishkek on Friday "to discuss bilateral cooperation in mass media", according to RIA.

Therefore, Moscow seemingly views Kyrgyzstan as a sort of security outpost of Russian-led post-Soviet groupings in the heart of Central Asia. Yet it remains a matter of debate whether Kyrgyzstan can sustain a role of security hub with a backdrop of domestic political problems.

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