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CIAO DATE: 07/05
Geopolitical Change in Central Asia; A View from Ukraine
Serhiy I. Pyrozhkov
April 2005
Abstract
Formerly, the Central Asian countries were considered objects of international pressure by Russia, China and Islamist fundamentalists. The region is rich in natural resources, predominantly energy resources. Until the US-campaign against the Taliban in Afghanistan (2001) the region was stuck in a kind of weird impasse since it was under pressure from all sides and open to the pressure of the big neighbour-states. The United States has 'discovered' Central Asia's energy resources for herself and the West as a whole. The American influence in the region is a crucial factor which plays a role in the resistance against fundamentalism and could diminish the influence of other actors like China (especially on the economic level) and Russia (militarypolitically). Russia tries to take countermeasures, like by opening of military bases in Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan.
It can be dared to predict that the attempts of the big powers from outside the region - mainly by the United States, Russia and China - to force one another and other countries out of the region will lead to unpredictable consequences.
Central Asia is also of strategic importance for Ukraine, mainly on the economic level (the region is a key energy-supplier and market for Ukrainian products) and for the strengthening of the international security: Central Asia is confronted with the challenge of terrorism, which can have effects going beyond the region. Therefore, Ukraine supports the fight of the International Community against this threat and takes part actively, and thereby strengthens its own security.
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