| Author (Corporate) | Deutsche Welle |
|---|---|
| Series Title | Article |
| Series Details | 28.8.08 |
| Publication Date | 28/08/2008 |
| Content Type | News |
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Medvedev likely to win muted support from eastern allies With western condemnation of Russia's intervention in Georgia ringing in his ears, President Dmitry Medvedev is today looking east in the hope of winning at least a nod of approval from Asia in the unpromising surroundings of Dushanbe, Tajikistan's dusty capital. The Russian leader discussed its backing for separatists South Ossetia and Abkhazia with Hu Jintao, his Chinese counterpart, in advance of today's summit of the Shanghai Co-operation Organisation, a loose security grouping composed of Russia, China and four central Asian states - Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. The SCO, which has traditionally opposed separatist movements, is most unlikely to give Mr Medvedev the formal endorsement he wants - but even a modest sign of backing would be welcome. "Russia's main aim is to get support from the organisation for its military action and approval in one form or another for recognising South Ossetian (and Abkhazian) independence," says Yevgeny Volk, an analyst in Moscow for the Heritage Foundation, a US-based think-tank. "It is clear that Russia is using it as a counterweight to the west in the conflict and its recognition of South Ossetia (and Abkhazia).'' The big prize is China. Beijing has no interest in joining the chorus of western disapproval. But it will do nothing that might smack of backing separatism for fear of encouraging its own minorities, not least the Tibetans and the Muslim Uighurs of Xinjiang province, which both used the Beijing Olympics to highlight their causes. "The Russian president informed his Chinese colleague about the situation in South Ossetia and Abkhazia," a Kremlin spokeswoman said. Having said little earlier in the crisis, China yesterday issued a cautious warning about Russia's recognition moves. "China is concerned about the latest development in South Ossetia and Abkhazia," said foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang. Two Chinese academics said China would be strongly opposed to independence for South Ossetia and Abkhazia, but it would try to avoid a public argument with Russia, which might weaken the SCO. A foreign diplomat in Beijing said behind the scenes there could be a dispute between China and Russia. After recent bombings in Xinjiang province, China is likely to want to use the meeting to reinforce the SCO's opposition to separatists. This debate shows that Moscow and Beijing are far from developing anything like a global partnership. Also China, like the west, is making inroads into central Asia, a region that Russia sees as its backyard, just like the Caucasus. The competition has concentrated on trying to secure oil and gas supplies from energy-rich Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. Meanwhile, Mr Medvedev cannot expect more than token support from the four other SCO members, all former Soviet republics keen to maintain friendly ties with Russia but wary of Russia's ambitions to assert itself in the former Soviet Union. Their authoritarian leaders are no friends of Georgia's president, or the democratic Rose Revolution that brought him to power. But they are frightened by the precedent set by Russia's military intervention. And they all have ethnic minorities to manage, such as the 4.5m ethnic Russians in Kazakhstan, more than a third of the population. For example, Kazakhstan, the dominant central Asian power led by the canny Nursultan Nazarbayev, who balances his Russian ties with relations with the west and China, has guardedly called for a political resolution of the conflict. Kazakhstan will continue to try to avoid giving offence while attempting to preserve its freedom of action. Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan have even less interest in supporting separatists. Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan are fragile states with weak central governments, while Uzbekistan is a dictatorship that suppresses domestic dissent, including from violent radical Islamists. SCO leaders will also discuss their energy resources, although previous efforts to develop common policies have not moved beyond declarations of intent because of inherent conflicts of interest between China and Russia, and between Kazakhstan and Russia. Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008 Russia fails to secure regional backing Dmitry Medvedev, Russian president, failed on Thursday to win support from China or the former Soviet republics of central Asia in his deepening dispute with the west over military action in Georgia. At a central Asian summit in Tajikistan, Mr Medvedev was unable to persuade Hu Jintao, the Chinese president, or other regional leaders to give explicit backing to Russia’s intervention or its decision to recognise the independence of the two breakaway regions, South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Before the summit China had expressed its “concern” about “the latest changes in South Ossetia and Abkhazia”, an unusual move for Beijing which generally refrains from negative comment about Russia. Chinese officials declined to comment on Thursday but western diplomats in Beijing said the summit statement fitted closely with Chinese views. China had avoided any anti-western flourishes and – an absolute priority – any support for separatism. China, with restless ethnic minorities in Tibet and Xinjiang province, is concerned about precedents that might be set in Georgia, as are the central Asian states. Russian officials put a brave face on the summit. Ivan Melnikov, deputy chairman of Russia’s Communist party, claimed Russia had received great support and he was “convinced that the endorsement of the declaration has put a stop to all this speculation about the international isolation of Russia”. But Yevgeny Volk, an analyst in Moscow for the Heritage Foundation, a US think-tank, said the result of the summit illustrated the opposite. “The statement was very equivocal,” he said. “This shows Russia’s isolation.” Robert Wood of the US state department said: “Russia, I think you are seeing, is becoming more and more isolated: they are isolating themselves. You haven’t seen countries come forth and recognise these two parts of Georgia’s territory”. ● Belarus, perhaps Russia’s closest ally in the former Soviet Union, said on Thursday Moscow had “no choice” about recognising South Ossetia and Abkhazia but it declined to follow suit. Additional reporting by Daniel Dombey in Washington Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008 Reports of a meeting of the Shanghai Co-operation Organization (SCO), Dushanbe, Tajikistan, 27-28 August 2008. President Dmitry Medvedev met his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao and the leaders of four ex-Soviet Central Asian nations in a bid to secure support for Russia in its standoff with the West over Georgia. |
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| Source Link | http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,3597683,00.html |
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| Countries / Regions | Central Asia, China, Russia |
