Wednesday, August 03, 2005
Fraying U.S.-Russian relations
August 2, 2005 Russia Profile - Baltimore Sun -
Fraying U.S.-Russian relations seen in former Soviet states Expulsion at Uzbek base may be latest indicator of Moscow's skepticism By Douglas Birch Sun Foreign Staff Summary prepared by Hayk Sargsyan of CDI
The immediate cause of Uzbekistan's decision last week to expel the United States from an air base supporting military operations in Afghanistan was a quarrel over Uzbekistan's bloody suppression of a prison riot and protests in May. But the roots of the dispute run much deeper, diplomats and experts say, to a long-term deterioration of Russian-U.S. relations, and reflect the increasing tensions between Moscow and Washington over their influence in the nations of the former Soviet Union. "There is a concerted and coordinated effort [by the Kremlin] to foster the impression that the United States is trying to undermine the regimes in the region," Alexander Vershbow, the outgoing U.S. ambassador to Russia, said in an interview in July.
After the Sept. 11 attacks four years ago, there was talk of building a new strategic alliance between the Kremlin and the White House. Today, Western diplomats and analysts say, relations between the two nations are at their lowest point in more than a decade. Over the past two years, irritant has piled on irritant. Washington has become critical of Russia's record on democracy and human rights. Moscow has accused Washington of instigating the overthrow of regimes in Georgia, Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan, in order to undermine Russian influence.
In Uzbekistan, the White House suddenly faced a significant problem. Karimov responded to a prison riot and anti-government protests in Andijan with force, killing at least 187 people. The U.S. pressured the regime to permit an international investigation. On Friday, the United States helped Uzbek survivors of the Andijan clashes leave Kyrgyzstan for Eastern Europe. Karimov's Uzbek government, in turn, gave the United States 180 days to close its Karshi-Khanabad air base, called K-2. The Kremlin has so far had little to say publicly about the Uzbek decision. But the chill winds blowing from the Kremlin, some Western experts say, may reflect more than just annoyance over specific events or policies. Russia's leaders may be having second thoughts about political and economic integration with the West.
The rift, experts and analysts from both countries say, probably began with Western criticism of the war in Chechnya. Moscow claims it is part of the global war on terror. Europe and the United States insist that it is mostly a war against separatists, and have been critical of human rights abuses committed by pro-Russian forces there. The Kremlin's frustration grew during the diplomatic maneuvering preceding the invasion of Iraq, which was overwhelmingly unpopular here. The tension was exacerbated by Western criticism of the arrest and trial of the oil tycoon Mikhail B. Khodorkovsky as politically motivated. Frustrations seemed to boil over in September of last year, after 331 children, teachers and others died in the fiery school siege in Beslan, in the Caucasus. After the carnage, President Putin went on television to warn that an unnamed hostile power - by clear implication the United States - was fomenting unrest in the Caucasus in an effort to weaken Russia. The United States, Vershbow said, wants nothing more than for Russia to become a more stable, democratic nation. "The real cause of the Beslan tragedy was the poor management of the incident by the security services," he said. "But there was this scapegoat, the West."
Following Putin's lead, authorities at all levels here have adopted a militantly anti-Western tone. "Many politicians and leaders here still believe that there is some kind of American conspiracy, that Russia is being encircled," said Andrei Kortunov, a political analyst and president of the Eurasian Fund. So far, though, the main result of the growing mutual distrust is a chilly, arms-length relationship. "There is no real hostility, but a profound neglect of one another," Kortunov said.
Despite their differences, the United States and Russia still cooperate in areas such as international efforts to persuade North Korea and Iran not to pursue nuclear weapons development programs. Russian and American intelligence agencies continue to share information on the movement of arms and guerrilla groups. But "There's mutual agreement that we could be doing more," Vershbow said. "Some of it relates to the continuing ambivalence on the part of Russian security service as to just how much they want to cooperate."
Fraying U.S.-Russian relations seen in former Soviet states Expulsion at Uzbek base may be latest indicator of Moscow's skepticism By Douglas Birch Sun Foreign Staff Summary prepared by Hayk Sargsyan of CDI
The immediate cause of Uzbekistan's decision last week to expel the United States from an air base supporting military operations in Afghanistan was a quarrel over Uzbekistan's bloody suppression of a prison riot and protests in May. But the roots of the dispute run much deeper, diplomats and experts say, to a long-term deterioration of Russian-U.S. relations, and reflect the increasing tensions between Moscow and Washington over their influence in the nations of the former Soviet Union. "There is a concerted and coordinated effort [by the Kremlin] to foster the impression that the United States is trying to undermine the regimes in the region," Alexander Vershbow, the outgoing U.S. ambassador to Russia, said in an interview in July.
After the Sept. 11 attacks four years ago, there was talk of building a new strategic alliance between the Kremlin and the White House. Today, Western diplomats and analysts say, relations between the two nations are at their lowest point in more than a decade. Over the past two years, irritant has piled on irritant. Washington has become critical of Russia's record on democracy and human rights. Moscow has accused Washington of instigating the overthrow of regimes in Georgia, Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan, in order to undermine Russian influence.
In Uzbekistan, the White House suddenly faced a significant problem. Karimov responded to a prison riot and anti-government protests in Andijan with force, killing at least 187 people. The U.S. pressured the regime to permit an international investigation. On Friday, the United States helped Uzbek survivors of the Andijan clashes leave Kyrgyzstan for Eastern Europe. Karimov's Uzbek government, in turn, gave the United States 180 days to close its Karshi-Khanabad air base, called K-2. The Kremlin has so far had little to say publicly about the Uzbek decision. But the chill winds blowing from the Kremlin, some Western experts say, may reflect more than just annoyance over specific events or policies. Russia's leaders may be having second thoughts about political and economic integration with the West.
The rift, experts and analysts from both countries say, probably began with Western criticism of the war in Chechnya. Moscow claims it is part of the global war on terror. Europe and the United States insist that it is mostly a war against separatists, and have been critical of human rights abuses committed by pro-Russian forces there. The Kremlin's frustration grew during the diplomatic maneuvering preceding the invasion of Iraq, which was overwhelmingly unpopular here. The tension was exacerbated by Western criticism of the arrest and trial of the oil tycoon Mikhail B. Khodorkovsky as politically motivated. Frustrations seemed to boil over in September of last year, after 331 children, teachers and others died in the fiery school siege in Beslan, in the Caucasus. After the carnage, President Putin went on television to warn that an unnamed hostile power - by clear implication the United States - was fomenting unrest in the Caucasus in an effort to weaken Russia. The United States, Vershbow said, wants nothing more than for Russia to become a more stable, democratic nation. "The real cause of the Beslan tragedy was the poor management of the incident by the security services," he said. "But there was this scapegoat, the West."
Following Putin's lead, authorities at all levels here have adopted a militantly anti-Western tone. "Many politicians and leaders here still believe that there is some kind of American conspiracy, that Russia is being encircled," said Andrei Kortunov, a political analyst and president of the Eurasian Fund. So far, though, the main result of the growing mutual distrust is a chilly, arms-length relationship. "There is no real hostility, but a profound neglect of one another," Kortunov said.
Despite their differences, the United States and Russia still cooperate in areas such as international efforts to persuade North Korea and Iran not to pursue nuclear weapons development programs. Russian and American intelligence agencies continue to share information on the movement of arms and guerrilla groups. But "There's mutual agreement that we could be doing more," Vershbow said. "Some of it relates to the continuing ambivalence on the part of Russian security service as to just how much they want to cooperate."
# posted by Deval : 6:53 AM
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