Bloomberg: Former Soviet Countries Create New Alliances Against Russia
- 31.01.2023, 12:09
The Kremlin's aggression in Ukraine pushed them to this.
Putin's war against Ukraine is pushing the former Soviet countries to create new alliances to reduce dependence on Russia.
It is reported by Bloomberg.
Officials from ex-Soviet states in central Asia and the Caucasus say the war has prompted their governments to look for ways to reduce dependence on Moscow by turning to rival powers including Turkey, the European Union and Middle East countries.
Political scientists note that Russia has been for decades “a veto player”, a gatekeeper in northern Eurasia where nothing much could happen if the Kremlin didn’t like it. However, now that seems to be changing with Russia reacting harshly to new allies in Asia.
While Russia is preoccupied with the war in Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Armenia to actively build ties with powers that Moscow long sought to keep at bay in the region. That has allowed Turkey in particular to step in to the void.
Kazakhstan
The publication notes that one of the main representatives of the new geopolitical processes is Kazakhstan. Russia has appeared to show its displeasure with Kazakhstan by repeatedly interrupting flows through the 1,500 km (932 miles) Caspian Consortium Pipeline (CPC), citing technical or regulatory issues. This is the pipeline through which Kazakhstan sends about 80% of its oil exports.
In November, however, Kazakhstan said it would increase oil exports across the Caspian Sea by 1.5 million tons by feeding oil into the Baku-Ceyhan pipeline, which runs from Azerbaijan to Turkey’s Mediterranean coast. This route bypasses Russia, and the country is ready to increase exports volumes.
In the past year, Kashmiri-Jomart Tokayev also encouraged ties with the leaders of Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates to boost trade and investment cooperation.
Uzbekistan
Neighboring Uzbekistan, heavily dependent on trade with Russia, was looking to open up even before the war. It signed an Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement in July with the EU. In December, it increased ties with the United States.
Armenia and Azerbaijan
The conflict around Nagorno-Karabakh has shown that Russia's authority in the region is rapidly declining. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan is unhappy that the Russian Federation cannot provide a corridor to Nagorno-Karabakh. This month, there were three protests outside the Russian military base in Gyumri (Armenia's second largest city) with the slogan “Russian occupying forces get out of Armenia”.
At the same time, Azerbaijan took advantage of the Russian invasion and effectively blocked the main highway that connects Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia. Against this background, Baku has strengthened cooperation with Turkey.
Armenia, in turn, announced that it would not host the CSTO exercises, and also agreed with the EU on a civilian mission to monitor the border. Azerbaijan is also moving closer to the European Union, having signed an agreement in July to increase gas supplies.