Reliance on Russian Arms Won't Hamper NATO Ties

Kazakstan’s continuing dependence on Russian arms is unlikely to affect their growing relationship with NATO, say NBCentralAsia analysts.



Defence Minister Danial Akhmetov announced that Kazakstan will continue to make cooperation with Russia in defense matters a priority during his visit to Moscow on February 16



Kazakstan’s new military doctrine maintains that the country will work with Russia to train troops and modernise technology.



Concerns about whether this alliance will hamper Kazakstan’s relationship with NATO are unfounded, according to NBCentralAsia analysts.



Political commentator Eduard Poletaev said, “The emphasis will be on Russian technology. Russia will give Kazakstan discounts, as one of its major buyers of military technology.”



Kazakstan can successfully manoeuver between the interests of both Russia and NATO by showing that it can cooperate constructively without damaging either party, he adds.



During President Nursultan Nazarbaev’s visit to Brussels last December, Kazakstan was named NATO’s most active partner in Central Asia.



Kazakstan is involved in the Partnership for Peace programme, a number of environmental and humanitarian projects and will soon start cooperating with coalition peacekeeping operations in Afghanistan.



However, political observer Daur Dosybiev says that no matter how much Kazakstan seeks to ally itself with the West, Moscow will continue to exert influence over Astana, especially in the field of military purchases.



Colonel Sergey Pashevich, president of the union of war veterans, Battle Brotherhood, said, “[Kazakstan] has two choices: either it can buy new [equipment], or modernise what it has.”



In both cases it is reliant on Russia.



(News Briefing Central Asia draws comment and analysis from a broad range of political observers across the region.)