08/04/2010
The fall of Kyrgyzstan's government this week contains glints of a latent Cold War rivalry between Moscow and Washington and the Kremlin has won the latest big-power tussle, AFP quoted experts as saying Thursday.
Moscow has emerged from the riots which ousted President Kurmanbek Bakiyev with a strong partner in interim Kyrgyz leader Roza Otunbayeva, with whom Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin spoke by telephone on Thursday.
The United States and EU on the other hand, eager for access to a US airbase near Bishkek, hurt their standing by keeping silent over Bakiyev's increasingly harsh rule, said Alexander Cooley, a professor at Columbia University in New York.
"The US and EU are big losers today. Both have dampened their criticism of Bakiyev's political and corrupt governance practices in the name of preserving stability in the country," he said.
The presence of the US airbase at Manas, which is used to ferry tens of thousands of coalition troops into and out of Afghanistan every month, has long been a point of contention between Moscow and Washington.
In 2009, Kyrgyzstan said it would close the base after receiving a promise of more than two billion dollars in aid and loans from Moscow, which many saw as a sign of Russian anger over the US presence in its geo-political backyard.
In the end, Bishkek pulled an abrupt about-turn after Washington more than tripled the rent it was paying for the base, a move perceived by many in the Russian government as a slap in the face.
Relations between the former allies plummeted further in recent months, with Russian media bashing the fifth anniversary celebrations of the revolution with brought Bakiyev to power, prompting a note of protest from Bishkek.
While Russia was not involved in the toppling of Bakiyev, they will be happier in dealing with Otunbayeva, who has good relations with Putin, said Alexy Malashenko of the Moscow Carnegie Center.
Putin "knows the position of the opposition in Kyrgyzstan. Roza and her colleagues, they visited Moscow a month ago approximately," he said.
"They met with some people from (Kremlin-backed political party) United Russia... and everybody in Moscow knows the general idea about Kyrgyz-Russian relations."
In another sign of warming ties, Putin offered Russian economic aid to Kyrgyzstan, a mountainous country mired in desperate poverty, during his conversation with Otunbayeva, a government spokesman in Moscow said.
The interim government is unlikely to make any immediate changes to the US base agreement, Cooley said, but as ties with Moscow continue to warm and a new government comes into place, changes are likely in the cards.
"Over the next few months we will likely see either the termination or renegotiation of many of the contracts and payments related to base operations, especially the fuel deals," he added.(AFP)
Thursday, 8 April 2010
Kyrgyzstan's opposition said today it had taken power and dissolved parliament in the poor but strategically important Central Asian state after deadly protests forced President Kurmanbek Bakiyev to flee the capital.
Kyrgyzstan's opposition said today it had taken power and dissolved parliament in the poor but strategically important Central Asian state after deadly protests forced President Kurmanbek Bakiyev to flee the capital.
As interim government leader, Roza Otunbayeva demanded the resignation of the president, whom she helped bring to power five years ago. She said Bakiyev was trying to rally supporters in his power base in southern Kyrgyzstan.
"We have a caretaker government now in place, and I am the head of it," Otunbayeva, a former foreign minister, told Reuters several hours before addressing reporters in the parliament building in Bishkek.
River to Sea"We have a caretaker government now in place, and I am the head of it," Otunbayeva, a former foreign minister, told Reuters several hours before addressing reporters in the parliament building in Bishkek.
Uprooted Palestinian
No comments:
Post a Comment