WORLD view

Remembering Asia

The only visit that Russia's President Boris Yeltsin has made for many months was his recent trip to Central Asia. After Yeltsin had postponed several visits (that to Kazakhstan twice, let alone the unaccomplished meeting of the Russian and Ukrainian presidents in Kharkiv), the hosts could not believe their luck right up to the last day. Meanwhile, the decision to visit this exact region seems quite logical from a political viewpoint, not only because Yeltsin, whose voluntary resignation is already widely discussed not only by Communists but also by respectable Luzhkov people, has now got the chance to prove his work capability but also due to the fact that Russia still possesses some levers to influence Central Asia.

It is worth noticing that due to the economic and financial crisis Russia has left much less such levers to influence Europe and it is gradually losing its leading role: even the most servile regime in Belarus is beginning to understand that there will be no more profit from Russia. But the situation is different in Asia where Russia continues to play the role of a country with armed forces.

Today, when the Afghan Talibs have approached the Uzbekistan borders and the Islamic opposition in Tajikistan is converting into an organic part of the local political elite, the future of the power structures established in the former Soviet republics of Central Asia after the Soviet Union's collapse is no longer a purely theoretical question. Of course, this to a greater extent regards Uzbekistan than Kazakhstan, and Yeltsin began his visit from Tashkent but not from Astana. Nazarbaev has his own interests: he has decided to run for reelection and during the campaign – conducted in conformity with a "made in Kazakhstan" scenario – he does not need at all to cast stones at Moscow taking into account both the Russian population factor and possible support of his allegedly main competitor and former Prime Minister Akezhan Kazhegeldin by some Moscow political and business circles. Quite the contrary, Yeltsin's arrival proved to be a great opportunity for Nazarbaev to revive his old integration slogans, which today's Kazakhstan elite does not need at all, but the electorate likes them so much. Thus, Yeltsin's trip turned out to be a holiday everybody needs. But the only sad thing about it for politicians and not only for them is that after a holiday always comes workaday routine.

By Vitaly Portnykov, The Day

Moscow

Belarus is Trying to Strengthen CIS

Ukraine believes that the CIS Heads of State Council should only be a consultative body on economic issues. “This will diminish the role of the CIS,” Belarus Deputy Minister for CIS Affairs and leader of the special interstate CIS reform forum’s working group Vasil Sholodonov told the reporters.

According to official Minsk, the Council should also discuss and adopt decisions on social and political issues. In his answer to The Day’s, Sholodonov specified that initially such decisions could be taken by a concensus and later—”when we grow up enough”—by a qualified and even simple majority vote.

While virtually all CIS members agree that the commonwealth is in crisis at the moment, they see different ways of coping with it. Yet, Sholodonov noted that, while in Kyiv, his delegation has been able to somewhat align the Belarus and Ukrainian positions on the issue, however, he did not explain what this alignment really entails. The guests acknowledged that the work of the CIS Reform Forum was supposed to be completed in the summer. It was to be conducted under the direct management of Boris Berezovsky, CIS Executive Secretary. Perhaps, the delay in the CIS reform was caused by the fact that this Russian financier runs the CIS “in his spare time from his main job.” The guests from Minsk remarked that after the Forum completes its work, Berezovsky will have to be re-confirmed in his post, and Belarus is not likely to support his candidacy. They also gave a high assessment to the development of the bilateral relations between the two countries while stressing regional cooperation, especially through restoring sister-city relationships and setting up joint ventures. Minsk and Kyiv are seeking mutually acceptable ways of mutual payments based on the shortage of turnover capital in both countries.

The Belarussians did not refuse to comment on the non-diplomatic statement of their President Aleksandr Lukashenka, who stressed that it is already time for Ukraine to “stop swaying” on the Kosovo issue.

Sergey Posokhov, Belarus permanent and plenipotentiary representative in charter and other CIS bodies, sees Kyiv’s “swaying” in Ukraine’s statement that it would support NATO air-strikes on Yugoslavia provided they are sanctioned by the UN Security Council. Posokhov is confident that the Security Council simply cannot and does not have a right to pass such a resolution because the UN Charter does not foresee the Security Council’s handing over its peacekeeping functions to any other organization. Thus, in Minsk’s view, there are two positions in this issue—the Belarussian and the incorrect. And Kyiv’s unwillingness to take Russia’s and Belarus’s side in this conflict causes unconcealed annoyance.

By Oleksa Pidlutsky, The Day