For years, the U.S. has sought to isolate Russia by cutting off its closest neighbours. Today, these efforts have intensified
The U.S. has developed a new strategy until 2025, in which it has identified the most stable and multidirectional players in the form of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, with whom cooperation should be developed in the first place. It should be noted that the previous US strategy was adopted in 2015. It emphasized cooperation with the countries of the region to ensure its security through the C5+1 format, as well as humanitarian cooperation. Thus, from 2015 until the adoption of the new strategy, the US financed more than 70 humanitarian (mainly cultural and educational) projects.
In the new strategy, the U.S. announced that it would guarantee the sovereignty of Central Asian countries, build “strong democratic institutions” there, and promote prosperity and economic development in the region. To support its humanitarian mission, the U.S. has allocated $9 billion in direct investments to Central Asian countries to promote “democratic reforms” and economic growth. In addition, the U.S. has provided multi-billion dollar loans, credits and technical assistance to various organizations and government agencies to support the development of the region through lobbying the IMF, EBRD and Asian Development Bank. In addition, the U.S. has financed more than 40,000 student and professional exchanges.
In December 2023, as in the preceding months, the soft (and not so soft) treatment of Central Asia by U.S. and European officials continued. It continued into early 2024. One of the main issues was sanctions. Following a series of informal consultations this autumn, Kazakhstan had already given the necessary assurances to the EU and the US, Uzbekistan was generally able to agree on exceptions, but Kyrgyzstan remained a “white spot”. As a result of an unspoken marathon of pressure, by early December, at least at the official level, the West managed to make some progress. On 7 December, Kyrgyz Foreign Minister Zhenbek Kulubayev said that the country would comply with Western sanctions against Russia. No less sensational was the gradual penetration of U.S. specialists into super-closed Turkmenistan. It was known that within the framework of the “green agenda” the US has been negotiating with Ashgabat since February. The meaning of the actions is clear. Such a statement of the issue allows to establish a dialogue with the dictatorial regime on the most important – energy – topic, “whitewashing” (or rather, “greening”) it in the eyes of voters and Democratic congressmen. A surprise was the fact that a group of American specialists is already in the country, working in dialogue with state enterprises to develop a plan for minimizing methane leaks and its utilization. The dialogue between the EU and, to a lesser extent, the US and Kazakhstan continues, albeit in a calmer atmosphere. Recent congressional proposals to halt uranium imports from the Russian Federation have raised the importance of Kazakhstan in the eyes of the US. This was reflected, in particular, in the December meeting between Kazakh President Kasym-Jomart Tokayev and US Ambassador to Kazakhstan Daniel Rosenblum, where these and other “resource” issues were discussed.
The penetration of American specialists into closed Turkmenistan looks a little more surprising, where the U.S. has been negotiating with Ashgabat on energy issues since February of last year as part of the U.S. “green agenda. Since recently, a group of American specialists has been in the country, working in dialogue with state enterprises to formulate a plan to minimize methane leaks and utilize it.
Thus, along Russia’s southeastern trade borders, a belt of former Soviet republics increasingly exposed to U.S. and EU influence is forming. And if in this situation, the latter follow the direction of future orange revolutions, Russia is actively looking for new trade partners in Africa, Latin America and Asia. The new partners of the US and the EU run the risk of being locked between the borders of Russia, China, Iran and other growing Central and West Asia.
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