DUSHANBE: Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet Central Asian leaders in Tajikistan on Thursday, for only the second such summit since the fall of the Soviet Union, as Moscow jostles with China and Europe for influence.
Weakened by the war in Ukraine, Russia’s historic grip over the region has waned in recent years.
At the first summit with Central Asia’s five leaders in 2022, Putin got a tongue-lashing from the president of Tajikistan, who accused Moscow of neglecting the post-Soviet states and of showing them little respect.
China and Europe have meanwhile rushed to fill the power vacuum. Both have held high-level summits in Central Asia this year and are hoping to expand their access to the region’s vast natural resources.
Putin is expected to arrive in Tajikistan on Wednesday.
The leaders of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan are set to attend Thursday’s meeting, which will take place in the Tajik capital Dushanbe.
Central Asian countries will use the summit to “advance their positions,” as well as to build trust with Russia and develop trade ties, Kazakhstan’s foreign ministry told AFP.
Russia said it expected “significant and interesting results from the talks.”
- ‘We want to be respected’ -
All five Central Asian states maintain close cultural and economic links with Russia.
The region is home to millions of Russian speakers, while millions of Central Asian migrants have moved across the border to work in some of Russia’s most labor-intensive industries.
Russia is set to build Kazakhstan’s first nuclear plant and its relations with its neighbors are largely friendly.
But after more than a century of Russian domination, Central Asia’s five republics are increasingly looking beyond Moscow — their former imperial ruler — for trade and security.
The region is increasingly looking to China and Turkiye for arms supplies, while the European Union announced a $14 billion investment package in the region following its summit in April.
Neighbouring China has already established a strong presence there through its Belt and Road Initiative, a colossal infrastructure project that aims to boost trade between Beijing and the rest of the world.
Russia has said it is not competing with Beijing for influence in Central Asia but the rivalry with other powers — including Europe — is “hard to ignore,” Kyrgyz-based analyst Ilya Lomakin told AFP.
“One could say that this is the latest iteration of the so-called New Great Game,” he said, referring to a 19th-century power struggle between the British and Russian empires in the region.
“Whether Russia will be able to maintain its position in this area, let alone expand it, remains to be seen,” he added.
At the last Central Asia-Russia summit in October 2022, Tajik leader Emomali Rakhmon demanded Russia show “respect” in a seven-minute tirade that left Putin squirming.
“Yes, we’re small nations, not 100 million or 200 million people... But we have history, culture. We want to be respected,” he added.
In response, Putin said he “largely agreed” and called for them to focus on “concrete matters.”
