Moscow uses base as negotiation tool
Güncelleme Tarihi:
AP
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Şubat 07, 2009 00:00
WASHINGTON - Russia, which has long opposed the presence of US military forces in Central Asia, seeks ways to use the closure of US base in Kyrgyzstan as tool for the defensive protection of resources and wider talks on security. The closure move is seen as a part of deeper contest for influence in the region.
A standoff over an obscure airbase in a Central Asian country few Americans could find on a map is an opening salvo in a new kind of Cold War with Russia.
The prize is not military mastery or the global supremacy of ideas, but the defensive protection of resources and security. Each of the 20th century nuclear superpowers wants say-so over the decisions the other has reserved the right to make, and with a new U.S. administration signaling possible compromise with Russia on a missile-basing plan detested by Russia, Moscow is using U.S. dependence on the base for the Afghan war to drive a hard bargain.
"I think that the principal motivation is to reassert Russian influence and get visible U.S. presence out of former Soviet republics," said retired Adm. William J. Fallon, who oversaw the Afghan and Iraq war as head of U.S. Central Command until last year.
New warnings
Over the last week, Russian officials have issued new warnings against the U.S. medium-range missile system and promised billions to a former client state, Kyrgyzstan, to persuade its strongman leader to evict the U.S. military from its main air hub in the region.
Russia also signalled that it would allow U.S. supplies for Afghanistan to cross its territory. The Bush administration's plan to base U.S. missiles and receptors at Russia's doorstep in Poland and the Czech Republic is the main irritant in play between Russia and the United States, but it is a symptom of the deeper contest for influence in central and eastern Europe and in Central Asia. For Russia the contest is about protecting itself in its own neighborhood. For the United States, it's about ensuring that terrorism isn't exported from that neighborhood to threaten the U.S. or its allies.
"The Russian government appears eager not to close any doors with the Obama administration and to explore opportunities for cooperation," said longtime Russia analyst Dimitri Simes of the Nixon Center in Washington. "But there seems to be a fear, at the same time, that Russia may be taken for a ride again, meaning that the U.S. would pocket Russian concessions without offering much in return."
Word that Russia had leaned hard on Kyrgyzstan and dangled new sweeteners a few days before the session is probably not a coincidence, analysts said, nor were double-edged remarks from Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. He said that Russia and its ex-Soviet allies wanted to cooperate with the U.S. on stabilizing Afghanistan but he appeared to link any help to changes in Western policy. These include a halt to NATO enlargement in Europe and the cancellation of plans for the U.S. missile-defense system.
Russia also sought to strengthen its security alliance with six ex-Soviet nations by forming a joint rapid reaction force in a continuing effort to curb U.S. influence in energy-rich Central Asia.
The prize is not military mastery or the global supremacy of ideas, but the defensive protection of resources and security. Each of the 20th century nuclear superpowers wants say-so over the decisions the other has reserved the right to make, and with a new U.S. administration signaling possible compromise with Russia on a missile-basing plan detested by Russia, Moscow is using U.S. dependence on the base for the Afghan war to drive a hard bargain.
"I think that the principal motivation is to reassert Russian influence and get visible U.S. presence out of former Soviet republics," said retired Adm. William J. Fallon, who oversaw the Afghan and Iraq war as head of U.S. Central Command until last year.
New warnings
Over the last week, Russian officials have issued new warnings against the U.S. medium-range missile system and promised billions to a former client state, Kyrgyzstan, to persuade its strongman leader to evict the U.S. military from its main air hub in the region.
Russia also signalled that it would allow U.S. supplies for Afghanistan to cross its territory. The Bush administration's plan to base U.S. missiles and receptors at Russia's doorstep in Poland and the Czech Republic is the main irritant in play between Russia and the United States, but it is a symptom of the deeper contest for influence in central and eastern Europe and in Central Asia. For Russia the contest is about protecting itself in its own neighborhood. For the United States, it's about ensuring that terrorism isn't exported from that neighborhood to threaten the U.S. or its allies.
"The Russian government appears eager not to close any doors with the Obama administration and to explore opportunities for cooperation," said longtime Russia analyst Dimitri Simes of the Nixon Center in Washington. "But there seems to be a fear, at the same time, that Russia may be taken for a ride again, meaning that the U.S. would pocket Russian concessions without offering much in return."
Word that Russia had leaned hard on Kyrgyzstan and dangled new sweeteners a few days before the session is probably not a coincidence, analysts said, nor were double-edged remarks from Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. He said that Russia and its ex-Soviet allies wanted to cooperate with the U.S. on stabilizing Afghanistan but he appeared to link any help to changes in Western policy. These include a halt to NATO enlargement in Europe and the cancellation of plans for the U.S. missile-defense system.
Russia also sought to strengthen its security alliance with six ex-Soviet nations by forming a joint rapid reaction force in a continuing effort to curb U.S. influence in energy-rich Central Asia.