Bases in Central Asia: Russian-American competition for clout in Central Asia is getting fiercer

Dramatic changes in the American-Uzbek relations took place but recently. Hillary Clinton herself ordered removal of Uzbekistan from the black list of the countries where human rights are abused, the ones the United States is supposed to have no military-technical dealings with. Senior functionaries of the

White House, Pentagon, and U.S. Department of State became frequent guests in Tashkent.

Sources close to the Uzbek Foreign Ministry attribute intensification of contacts to the advances made in the bilateral military-technical cooperation. What information is available to this newspaper indicates that Washington and Tashkent even began negotiations over establishment of a Rapid Response Center. This facility will coordinate actions in the event of deterioration of the situation after the American withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2014.

Strength of the American contingent that willman the Rapid Response Center is being discussed at this point. The facility will be equipped with what the Americans will withdraw from Afghanistan together with the personnel. Washington said long ago that it intended to leave a great deal of this military hardware to Central Asia countries. It is clear now that most of it will end up in Uzbekistan. When NATO summit in Chicago was taking place this May, an Uzbek delegation was there too. The Americans and the Uzbeks then reached an agreement on military transit from Afghanistan via Uzbekistan. Appropriate memorandum was signed a month later.

Uzbekistan suspended its membership in the CIS Collective Security Treaty Organization. With it suspended, Uzbekistan is free now to let foreign countries establish military bases on its territory. On the other hand, the foreign political concept this country adopted only recently plainly states that there ought to

be no foreign military bases on the territory of Uzbekistan. Nobody seems to care, least of all Tashkent itself. U.S. Department of State spokesman said last week that the United States planned no "long-term" military bases in Uzbekistan. Diplomatic sources meanwhile say that this is but a ruse. "By and large, we are talking the largest American military object anywhere in the Central Asian region," said a source.

Moscow is unnerved by the prospect of appearanceof an American military object in Uzbekistan. It can only hope that Tashkent will reconsider yet. "Our Uzbek partners had better analyze all consequences of expansion of the American military presence in the region," said a source from Russian diplomatic

circles. "They had better remember that should something bad happen after 2014, it is their CIS CSTO partners and not the United States that will be in the best position to come to their help."

Russia meanwhile is strengthening relations and contacts with Kyrgyzstan, another strategically important Central Asia country. Insiders say that three major agreements will be signed come autumn.

Active contacts with Russia notwithstanding, neither do the Kyrgyzes forsake their relations with Washington. "Should the Americans decide to leave us some military hardware, we will certainly accept," said Premier Omurbek Babanov. Insiders say that the Kyrgyz military is particularly interested in military transports and radios but "light weapons will come in handy too." Sources in Bishkek even allow for the possibility that the Americans might be permitted to retain their military base in Manas after 2014 - despite President Almazbek Atambayev's assurances and promises to Moscow to shut it down.

A source in the Russian government said, "Bishkek promised to acquaint its CIS CSTO partners with the concept of future development of Manas... Besides, Atambayev said in public that there would be no American military there after 2014. We expect him to keep his word."