The authorities of Uzbekistan are focused on the development of military-technical cooperation with Moscow. This was announced on Friday by the head of the defense department of the Central Asian state Abdusalom Azizov during talks with his Russian counterpart Sergei Shoigu. The meeting was held as part of a meeting of the Council of Ministers of Defense of the CIS, which was also attended by the heads of the ministries of defense of Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

The Uzbek minister stressed that over the past year, the sides made significant mutual efforts to develop bilateral ties in this area. Azizov noted that the meetings of Presidents Vladimir Putin and Shavkat Mirziyoyev served as "an impulse in defense cooperation."

For his part, Sergei Shoigu reminded that Russia considers Uzbekistan a strategic partner in the region, including in the area of ​​security. In particular, we are talking about the coordination of efforts in the fight against the terrorist threat.

“In modern conditions it is necessary to jointly confront challenges and threats, especially the spread of international terrorism in the region,” explained Shoigu.

During bilateral negotiations, the heads of the defense ministries of Russia and Uzbekistan signed an agreement on the mutual use of airspace by military aircraft.

Now, the military transport aviation of Russia and Uzbekistan will be able to fly nonstop over the territory of both states. A plan for cooperation between the defense ministries for the next year was also signed, although already in 2018 more than 300 Uzbek soldiers began to study at the universities of the Russian Ministry of Defense.

The Russian minister invited the Uzbek military to take part in the International Army Games, the Moscow Conference on International Security and other events of the Russian Defense Ministry.

Also the delegation from Russia was received by the President of the Republic Shavkat Mirziyoyev.

Next week, Russian President Vladimir Putin will make an official visit to Uzbekistan. Following the trip, the parties planned to sign a number of joint documents. As the Russian leader noted on the eve, cooperation between Russia and Uzbekistan is being strengthened in all areas, including trade and the MTC sector.

Multi-course

The Russian-Uzbek cooperation received a positive impetus, not least thanks to the current president of the Central Asian state, who has embarked on strengthening ties with all neighbors in the region and major powers.

Mirziyoyev’s predecessor, Islam Karimov, once proclaimed the non-aligned status of Uzbekistan, and throughout the post-Soviet period, Tashkent has been pursuing a multi-vector policy. Two times Uzbekistan joined the Collective Security Treaty Organization, but each time left the bloc - first in 1999 and then in 2012, despite the fact that the initiative to create the bloc belonged to Karimov.

One of the reasons for the suspension of the country's membership in the CSTO was the discontent of Uzbekistan that the alliance used its forces to resolve internal political conflicts of the participating countries. In addition, the Uzbek side also opposed the “Afghan” tactics of the CSTO.

At the same time, Tashkent reduced military cooperation with Washington: after the US demanded that the Uzbek authorities investigate the Andijan unrest, the Uzbek parliament passed a law that closed the US Air Force base in Khanabad.

From the very beginning, the new leader of Uzbekistan emphasized that he did not intend to change the non-aligned status of the country. However, while remaining loyal to the multi-vector course, today Tashkent is using it to activate its foreign policy. In particular, the authorities are closely engaged in the restoration of defense cooperation with old partners - Russia and the United States. These plans were formulated in a special decree of the President of Uzbekistan, signed in April of this year.

  • Donald Trump and Shavkat Mirziyoyev
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In May, Shavkat Mirziyoyev made his first visit as head of state to the United States. Following the talks, the presidents of both countries made a joint statement in which they announced the start of a “new era of strategic partnership.” Also, Trump and Mirziyoyev agreed to implement a five-year bilateral cooperation plan for military cooperation, the White House noted that this is the first agreement of its kind concluded with Tashkent.

As explained in an interview with RT, Deputy Head of the Department of Public Policy of the Moscow State University named after M.V. Lomonosova Maxim Vilisov, in Tashkent, do not see any contradictions in the agreements on strategic cooperation with two competing powers at the same time.

“Therefore, it cannot be ruled out that, following the defense negotiations with Russia, Tashkent will hold similar negotiations with other countries,” the expert believes.

Afghan problem

First of all, Tashkent is counting on cooperation with Russian and American partners on the Afghan issue - a new reference center of the Islamic State * is being formed in the territory bordering Uzbekistan, which also seeks to create a network of sleeping cells in the region. This was reported earlier by the head of the CIS Antiterrorist Center, police colonel-general Andrei Novikov.

  • Militants "Islamic State"
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According to Maksim Vilisov, the main threat in the region currently comes from network terrorist structures that are able to very quickly take control of those zones in which state power gives up slack.

Most often, the former militants of the radical organization Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan ** are one of the most aggressive groups in the region. Its leaders swore their IG back in 2014. Now her supporters are moving to neighboring Afghanistan, fleeing persecution from the Uzbek authorities. Commenting on the information about the consolidation of the IG in Afghanistan, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said that the Russian military bases in Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan are reinforced with the latest weapons.

As for Uzbekistan, it also increases the purchase of Russian weapons to protect against a possible attack from the Afghan direction. Since the parties signed the Treaty on Military-Technical Cooperation (MTC) in 2016, Tashkent has been able to acquire weapons from Moscow at cost, on a par with the CSTO member states. For example, in March 2018, Russia and Uzbekistan agreed to supply a party of Mi-35 helicopters to the republic.

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In addition, last year, after a 12-year break, the parties resumed joint military exercises - in this way Tashkent took a step towards establishing military cooperation with the Russian Federation. The first maneuvers in the framework of the new agreements took place in October last year at the Forish range.

"At an unprecedented high level"

However, we are not talking about the return of the republic to the CSTO. This, in particular, was stated earlier by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan. However, experts do not exclude that the issue of returning to the CSTO is being discussed in Tashkent.

“First, the Uzbek side at the expert level should decide how much such a solution is appropriate for it. Indeed, Uzbekistan needs security guarantees, but being in the CSTO also implies a number of political obligations, which is clearly not to the liking of Uzbekistan, ”explained Maxim Vilisov in an interview with RT.

A similar point of view is held by the head of the department of political science and sociology of the PRUE. Plekhanov Andrey Koshkin. In his opinion, certain prerequisites for the return of Uzbekistan to the CSTO exist. Relations between Russia and Uzbekistan are now at an unprecedented high level, including close cooperation in the military sphere. The leadership of Uzbekistan is very concerned about the threats that have arisen in the region - first of all, we are talking about Afghanistan. Therefore, Tashkent sees Russia as its pillar.

“Even if Uzbekistan does not return to the CSTO, in practice this will change little. Modern realities are such that the actual level of interaction between countries means much more than abstract framework contracts sealed, ”said Koshkin in an interview with RT.

The fact is that now there simply aren’t any partners that could be an alternative to Moscow, experts believe.

“Objectively, only Russia can give security guarantees in the region. Only it is now able to provide its ground presence here, has bases and infrastructure. The United States today has no such opportunities in Central Asia. In theory, China could become an alternative, but it does not position itself as a security guarantor for other countries, ”explained Vilisov.

Of course, within the framework of diversification of relations, Tashkent can develop relations with such regional players as Turkey and Iran, however, the Uzbek side is unlikely to want to associate its further fate with them, the expert believes.

This opinion is shared by Andrey Koshkin. He recalled that Uzbekistan received modern and new equipment from Russia, while second-hand small arms and ammunition came from the Americans to the republic.

“The idea of ​​Tashkent to develop equal ties with Russia and the United States is hardly feasible. Yes, now many countries are trying to be friends with Moscow and Washington at the same time, but not all succeed. If it comes to a real threat, then the United States is unlikely to waste resources on protecting Uzbekistan. Moreover, the creation of chaos and the transformation of borders in Central Asia would only benefit our overseas opponents, ”Andrei Koshkin concluded.

* “Islamic State” (IG, ISIL) - the organization is recognized as terrorist by the decision of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation dated December 29, 2014.

** “Islamic Party of Turkestan” (the former “Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan”) - an organization recognized as terrorist by the decision of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation of February 14, 2003.