Uzbek President: “We Need Russian Help in the Region”

Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, speaks to Uzbek President Islam Karimov at a signing ceremony following their meeting in the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, April 26, 2016. (Maxim Shemetov/Pool Photo via AP)

Uzbek president Islam Kerimov paid an official visit to Moscow between 25-27 April.

Russian president Vladimir Putin has invited him to discuss several topics and to boost bilateral relations according to the website of Russian presidency.

Two sides signed five documents on trade, military cooperation, culture, sports and technical issues.

An intergovernmental agreement was signed under the name of “on cooperation in exporting military goods to third countries,” as a mutual program between Russian and Uzbek governments in the cultural and humanitarian area for 2016-2018. Some sources argue that the meetings were totally about security issues and a debt topic.

Eurasianet.org has published a weekly digest under the headline of “Uzbekistan: Between Russia and the West”. According to the piece, Uzbekistan looks to find new sources for the debt issue: “Russia’s State Duma ratified the deal to write off the bulk of Uzbekistan’s debts in late March, leaving Tashkent with only another $25 million left to pay. But Uzbekistan sees this as no act of generosity, but rather considers the deal as fair quid pro quo for relinquishing its claim to its stake in Russia’s Diamond Fund, a vast collection of riches inherited from the Soviet Union. Uzbek media have remained silent about the details of the debt waiver, so there are few details about how the debt accrued and what calculations the government in Tashkent performed in working out its share in the Diamond Fund.”

“Russia Should Play a Key Role”

During the meetings, Kerimov told that the instability in Afghanistan would negatively affect other neighboring countries in the region. He said that cooperation with Russia is an important element for the countries in Central Asia. He talked about the tension in Afghanistan and noted that Russia’s position in resolving the problem is a necessary.

“The current situation in Afghanistan can be described as a smoldering standoff between the warring parties. If this confrontation persists, there will be a real risk that this instability could spill over to neighboring countries and regions,” TASS reported. He offered to take part in this process to assist Russia under the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

Putin supported his ideas and declared that Russia and Uzbekistan might be pioneers of the creation of antiterrorist struggle group.