Uzbekistan Is Hoping to Buy American Weapons

The U.S. is taking definitive steps to dislodge Russia from Central Asia.

A representative delegation from the U.S. will come to Uzbekistan in August for their annual bilateral consultations.

“Uzbekistan has been a critical part of the regional support of Afghanistan. … Uzbekistan has a central role in the Northern Distribution Network, with the majority of supplies transiting through the Uzbek-Afghan border,” said the head of the American delegation Robert Blake, who is the U.S. assistant secretary of state for the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs.

He talked about the American tactics in this region with the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Europe and Eurasia. According to Blake, Washington gave Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan $170 million in the 2011 fiscal year to strengthen their borders, their fight against drugs and terrorism, law enforcement agencies and armed forces. Until 2014, when NATO troops will withdraw from Afghanistan, the financial backing will be given in roughly the same amount.

It is noteworthy that the assistant secretary of state particularly underscored the following: Besides the personnel transit center at the Kyrgyz Manas International Airport, the U.S. does not aim to deploy new military bases in Central Asia.

However the American diplomat appears to be skirting the issue.

“The U.S. has clearly displayed interest in having a military base in Uzbekistan, or, worst case, the right to fly and land military aircraft,” said German expert on Central Asia Gunter Knabe.

By his reasoning, it is no coincidence that at the end of July Tashkent suspended its membership with the Collective Security Treaty Organization, which Russia dominates. The fact is that last fall, the organization adopted a critical decision that foreign military bases are not allowed on the territory of member states without the consent of the other members.

Knabe also recalled that on Sept. 22, 2011, the U.S. Congress lifted the restrictions on providing military help to Uzbekistan, which began in 2004. The White House explained this decision as needed to ensure the safety of the Northern Distribution Network.

“The Uzbeks hope that NATO, and primarily the U.S., will leave them with part of their military technology, which is awaiting removal from Afghanistan. The Pentagon, in fact, has similar plans with Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan as well,” said the leader of the Federation Council’s permanent delegation to the Asian Parliamentary Assembly, Rudik Iskuzhin.

The expert suggests that transporting such a mass of American military vehicles and specialty equipment is inadvisable. However, they cannot leave it all in Afghanistan, since the weapons would most likely fall into the hands of the Taliban.

It appears to him that Russia is not happy with these developments and not only because the U.S. is trying to dislodge it out of Central Asia with all its strength. With the emergence of a significant amount of foreign military technology comes the need to create repair facilities, which will inevitably lead to a partial or complete departure of Uzbekistan and the entire region from the sphere of influence of Russia’s Military Industrial Commission.