NATO Embraces Central Asia and the Caucasus at Istanbul Summit

Though overshadowed by discussions about the reconstruction of Iraq and Afghanistan, the Caucasus and Central Asia figured greatly at the recently concluded North Atlantic Treaty Organization summit in Istanbul. The 26 NATO member states expressed a desire to devote "special focus" to developing ties with countries in the Caucasus and Central Asia.

Among the most prominent announcements during the June 28-29 Istanbul summit were an agreement for NATO to supply and train security forces in Iraq, and a decision to reinforce the NATO-led peacekeeping unit in Afghanistan, known as the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). In a communiqué issued at the conclusion of the summit, however, NATO emphasized that it will seek to increase its profile in what it described as the "strategically important regions of the Caucasus and Central Asia."

Against the backdrop of the US-led war on terrorism, the two regions have developed into arenas of geopolitical competition among the United States, Russia, and, to a less extent in Central Asia, China. [For additional information see the Eurasia Insight archive]. In the immediate aftermath of the September 11 terrorist attacks, the United States dramatically increased its strategic cooperation with countries in the regions, sending military advisers to Georgia, and opening air bases in Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. In recent months, however, the ardor of some states in the region for cooperation with Washington, such as Kazakhstan and Tajikistan, appears to have cooled. [For additional information see the Eurasia Insight archive].

Central Asian states, in particular Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, now seem intent on pursuing a "multi-vector" approach to foreign policy, essentially diversifying their foreign policy interests and seeking to play the regional powers – China, Russia and the United States – off against each other in an effort to negotiate generous security assistance packages.

The NATO declaration to expand cooperation with the Caucasus and Central Asia is likely a US-led attempt to help prevent the further erosion of Western influence in the regions, regional analysts say. "NATO has agreed on improved liaison arrangements, including the assignment of two liaison officers, as well as special representatives for the two regions from within the International Staff," the NATO summit communiqué said. "We welcome the decision by Georgia, Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan to develop Individual Partnership Action Plans with NATO."

Among those leaders attending the Istanbul gathering were Ilham Aliyev, president of Azerbaijan, and Georgian leader Mikheil Saakashvili. In addition, Nursultan Nazarbayev and Askar Akayev, respectively the presidents of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, participated in the NATO summit. The regional leaders held numerous meetings on the sidelines with representatives of Western governments. Following a June 28 meeting between Saakashvili and Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer, for example, Georgian officials indicated that Tbilisi would be willing to dispatch troops to Afghanistan to bolster the ISAF force there.

The NATO communiqué devoted special attention to Georgia, where an ardently pro-Western government under President Mikheil Saakashvili came to power in January. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive]. NATO praised the Saakashvili administration's efforts to curb corruption and promote economic reform. [For additional information see the Eurasia Insight archive]. The communiqué called for the "swift resolution" of the issue of Russia's continuing military presence in Georgia. Tbilisi and Moscow have haggled for years over a timetable for the closure of the two remaining Russian bases in Georgia. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive].

In announcing its desire to expand cooperation in the Caucasus and Central Asia, NATO at the same time sought to reassure Russia; the communiqué stressed that "these efforts [to transform the alliance] should not be perceived as a threat by any country or organization."

Concerning Afghanistan, the country's interim president Hamid Karzai welcomed NATO's renewed commitment to promote security ahead of planned presidential and parliamentary elections in September, but the Afghan leader also urged the rapid deployment of additional Atlantic alliance troops. Violence in many Afghan provinces has risen in recent months, as Islamic radicals have sought to disrupt the election process. On June 26, for example, a Taliban bomb attack left two female election workers dead near the eastern city of Jalalabad. In a separate incident in southern Uruzgan Province, Islamic radical fighters stopped a bus and killed at least a dozen Afghans who were holding voter registration cards.

Reports have circulated indicating that NATO planners are encountering difficulty in identifying the approximately 4,500 extra troops that are to be sent to Afghanistan as ISAF reinforcements. At the Istanbul summit, Karzai sought to bring pressure to bear on the Atlantic alliance to pick up the deployment pace. "Elections are coming in September and we need security forces today in Afghanistan," Karzai said.