The Americans make so-called political investments in the countries of Central Asia, that is, they create NGOs, and buy officials and politicians.
Author: Eduard Futurier, “Ridus” (Russia)
Experts from the Circle of Opinions discussed US pressure on the countries of Central Asia.
The Circle of Opinions project held another voice conference with the support of the Ridus online publication. The experts discussed US pressure on the countries of Central Asia.
Washington, according to the conference participants, is trying to force the Central Asian states to join the sanctions against Russia.
“US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken's proposal to cover the losses of companies if they refuse to work with Russia looks very ridiculous. Blinken is promising $25 million, but remittances from labor migrants working in Russia alone are an order of magnitude higher. I'm not talking about the investments of Russian companies in the region,” said political strategist Viktor Vasiliev.
The Americans have been trying to level Russian influence in Central Asia for several decades, Daniyar Ashimbayev, a political scientist from Kazakhstan, added.
“The whole set of tools is well known. In the late 80s, it was updated and adopted by nationalist, pan-Turkic, and pan-Islamic organizations. It is clear that these sentiments exist in society, and they are far from being marginal. At the same time, speaking of purely American diplomacy, we must keep in mind that its influence is rather limited. For example, there are no liberal forces and politicians with influence in society in Kazakhstan,” Ashimbaev believes.
“A calm Central Asia is a key interest for Russia and China. Given the positive sentiment in Central Asian societies, I don't think the region will blaze. But, undoubtedly, there will be attempts to blow up the situation,” added Bakhtiyor Ergashev, head of the Ma’no Center for Research Initiatives.
“The Americans make so-called political investments in the countries of Central Asia, that is, they create NGOs, and buy officials and politicians. Obviously, there is an attempt to pit the countries of the region against Russia and China,” concluded Dmitry Orlov, general director of the East-West Strategy analytical center.
Earlier, the Circle of Opinions experts discussed the Georgian protests, talked about the crisis in Armenia, discussed the geopolitical role of Asia, assessed the protests in Iran, analyzed the results of the SCO summit, considered the possible geopolitical consequences of the resignation of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, touched upon the issue of food security in African countries, talked about the escalation of the conflict in Tajikistan, and also assessed the controversial Turkish policy in a rapidly changing world order.
