Russian officials think the Collective Security Treaty Organization, a bloc of friendly ex-Soviet republics, can develop into a security grouping on par with NATO. But recent CSTO military exercises show that Moscow lacks a clear vision for how to utilize the alliance.
A recent uptick in diplomatic activity in southern Kyrgyzstan indicates Russia’s rising presence and influence in the country, which gives Russia substantial leverage over regional powers like Uzbekistan and global players like the United States.
Last week, President Islam Karimov came to New York to participate in the UN General Assembly (UNGA). His staff put out the rumor via the semi-official uzmetronom.com that he would meet with President Barack Obama. In the event, another regional leader, Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev, got to meet with the American president but President Karimov, who is also helping the U.S.
The early April upheaval in Kyrgyzstan is helping to define what the Collective Security Treaty Organization is, and is not. The Russia-led alliance is definitely not an instrument that can be depended upon by authoritarian-minded leaders in Central Asia to prop up their regimes during times of trouble.
