Asian states attempted to forge greater cohesion on anti-terrorism efforts during the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA), but their efforts were overshadowed by a failed attempt by Russia and the host country, Kazakhstan, to defuse tension between India and Pakistan.
The inaugural CICA gathering, which ended June 4, drew leaders from 16 Asian nations. The Indian-Pakistani crisis dominated the gathering. Following talks with top Indian and and Pakistani leaders, Kazakhstani President Nursultan Nazarbayev indicated that the two parties were far apart on finding compromise in a dispute that stems from the ongoing violence in Kashmir, and from India holding Pakistan responsible for a terrorist raid on the Indian parliament last December. "The process is very complicated," Nazarbayev told a news conference. "The elites and political powers in both countries are involved in this. It is not easy for the presidents alone to sort out these complicated issues."
At the same time, Nazarbayev held out hope that a negotiated solution could be found. "In my private talks [with Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee] I asked him whether it was possible that this conflict might lead to a nuclear exchange," the Kazakhstani president said. "Nobody wants war.
Editor's note:
Aibat Zharikbayev is a freelance journalist based in Kazakhstan.
