Turkmen, Uzbeks to Help NATO's Afghan Effort
Turkmen, Uzbeks to Help NATO's Afghan Effort
Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan are to allow NATO freight to cross their territory on its way to Afghanistan. NBCentralAsia see this as a clear sign that both states want to cooperate with the West, and also to demonstrate a new commitment to work in tandem with one another.
Following talks between Uzbek president Islam Karimov and Turkmenistan’s Gurbanguly Berdymuhammedov on February 25, Ashgabat made it clear it was prepared to allow NATO planes carrying non-military freight to fly through its airspace.
The Uzbeks have gone further and granted permission for freight, again of a non-military nature, to cross their territory by land. Two routes are planned – one by rail through Uzbekistan and then Tajikistan to the Afghan border, and a direct road connection to the Uzbek frontier town of Termez and Khayratan on the other side.
Analysts say the demonstrative statements made by Karimov and Berdymuhammedov suggest they are keen to show they are close to each other on the question of support for NATO’s Afghan operations. Both governments had agreed their respective arrangements with NATO prior to this, but they had not announced them publicly.
Transit issues were discussed when General David Petraeus, the head of the United States military’s Central Command, met Uzbek officials on February 17, and he seems to have secured the Turkmen leader’s support when he visited that country a month earlier.
“Karimov and Berdymuhammedov decided to take a common stand on the issue of Afghanistan and cooperation with NATO in order to look strong,” said a political scientist in Tashkent.
The analyst suggested that Uzbekistan became amenable to the idea of assisting NATO when the European Union softened the sanctions it imposed on the country following the Andijan violence of 2005. As for Turkmenistan, the new approach became possible with Berdymuhammedov’s election in 2007, marking a change from the long rule of his predecessor Saparmurat Niazov.
Both countries seem to want to collaborate with western partners as part of a policy of working independently of Russia, which exerts a lot of influence in Central Asia. Moscow buys much of the gas exported by Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, and is seeking to expand its economic presence in both states.
“By making coordinated friendly moves towards the US and the West, the Uzbek and Turkmen presidents are aiming to create a counterbalance to the Russian influence,” said an analyst in Tashkent.
Last year, Uzbekistan made several statement on how to manage the Afghan conflict, for example a proposal to revive a special contact group on Afghanistan, which used to consist of the neighbouring states, Russia and the US, but which Tashkent said could also include NATO.
Turkmenistan pursued an avowed policy of neutrality, and thus prefers to confine itself to humanitarian aid programmes for Afghanistan. It is currently constructing a railway that will go as far as the Afghan border and is also restoring electricity lines.
The Tashkent-based analyst predicted, “It is possible that the active engagement of Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan with NATO will lead to further steps. These are positive signals for the West.”
(NBCentralAsia is an IWPR-funded project to create a multilingual news analysis and comment service for Central Asia, drawing on the expertise of a broad range of political observers across the region. The project ran from August 2006 to September 2007, covering all five regional states. With new funding, the service has resumed, covering Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan.)
Following talks between Uzbek president Islam Karimov and Turkmenistan’s Gurbanguly Berdymuhammedov on February 25, Ashgabat made it clear it was prepared to allow NATO planes carrying non-military freight to fly through its airspace.
The Uzbeks have gone further and granted permission for freight, again of a non-military nature, to cross their territory by land. Two routes are planned – one by rail through Uzbekistan and then Tajikistan to the Afghan border, and a direct road connection to the Uzbek frontier town of Termez and Khayratan on the other side.
Analysts say the demonstrative statements made by Karimov and Berdymuhammedov suggest they are keen to show they are close to each other on the question of support for NATO’s Afghan operations. Both governments had agreed their respective arrangements with NATO prior to this, but they had not announced them publicly.
Transit issues were discussed when General David Petraeus, the head of the United States military’s Central Command, met Uzbek officials on February 17, and he seems to have secured the Turkmen leader’s support when he visited that country a month earlier.
“Karimov and Berdymuhammedov decided to take a common stand on the issue of Afghanistan and cooperation with NATO in order to look strong,” said a political scientist in Tashkent.
The analyst suggested that Uzbekistan became amenable to the idea of assisting NATO when the European Union softened the sanctions it imposed on the country following the Andijan violence of 2005. As for Turkmenistan, the new approach became possible with Berdymuhammedov’s election in 2007, marking a change from the long rule of his predecessor Saparmurat Niazov.
Both countries seem to want to collaborate with western partners as part of a policy of working independently of Russia, which exerts a lot of influence in Central Asia. Moscow buys much of the gas exported by Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, and is seeking to expand its economic presence in both states.
“By making coordinated friendly moves towards the US and the West, the Uzbek and Turkmen presidents are aiming to create a counterbalance to the Russian influence,” said an analyst in Tashkent.
Last year, Uzbekistan made several statement on how to manage the Afghan conflict, for example a proposal to revive a special contact group on Afghanistan, which used to consist of the neighbouring states, Russia and the US, but which Tashkent said could also include NATO.
Turkmenistan pursued an avowed policy of neutrality, and thus prefers to confine itself to humanitarian aid programmes for Afghanistan. It is currently constructing a railway that will go as far as the Afghan border and is also restoring electricity lines.
The Tashkent-based analyst predicted, “It is possible that the active engagement of Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan with NATO will lead to further steps. These are positive signals for the West.”
(NBCentralAsia is an IWPR-funded project to create a multilingual news analysis and comment service for Central Asia, drawing on the expertise of a broad range of political observers across the region. The project ran from August 2006 to September 2007, covering all five regional states. With new funding, the service has resumed, covering Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan.)
