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Asia Times
December 12, 2001
Hollow ring to Russia's reassurances
By Sergei Blagov
MOSCOW - As the recently rediscovered partnership between Russia and the United States reaches new highs, Moscow remains keen to convince its so-called "strategic partners" in Asia that the rapprochement with Washington is not being achieved at the expense of Russia's southeastern neighbors.
Notably, in the wake of US Secretary of State Colin Powell's visit to Moscow earlier this week and his meetings with President Vladimir Putin, the Kremlin was keen to reassure its Asian partners.
Ongoing rapprochement between Russia and the US "does not mean any changes in Russian foreign policy in Asia", the official RIA news agency quoted "an informed diplomatic source" as stating following Powell's talks in Moscow.
Russia still views its "political and economic presence in the Asia-Pacific region as an important priority of the Russian foreign policy," the source said. Moreover, "the rapprochement between Russia and the US may improve stability and predictability in Asia," RIA commented.
Furthermore, there should be "no doubts in the firmness of ties" between Russia and China, according to the source. Any allegations that Russia's current drift towards the US amounts to a "betrayal" of Moscow's partners in Asia, notably China, are "groundless provocations aimed at undermining relations between Moscow and Beijing", RIA quoted the Kremlin sources. Russia and China are still in "close strategic partnership", the agency said.
However, circumstantial evidence may suggest otherwise. For instance, words of reassurance aimed at Beijing came from an anonymous source and not from a high-ranking official.
Notably, on December 11 Guennady Seleznyov, chairman of the State Duma, the lower chamber of the Russian parliament, visited Beijing and met Chinese President Jiang Zemin, as well as Premier Zhu Rongji. According to RIA, they discussed China's World Trade Organization membership, bilateral economic ties and even shuttle trade business. There was no mention of a "bilateral strategic partnership" or issues of strategic stability, favorite themes of previous bilateral discussions.
Just five months ago, Russia and China inked a historic bilateral pact aimed at creating a "just international order" and counterbalancing US global predominance. On July 16, Putin and Jiang signed the Treaty of Good Neighborly Relations, Friendship and Cooperation. The treaty, the first such concord since a 1949 pact between China and the Soviet Union, stated the two nations were not forming a military alliance, while saying that bilateral "military-technical cooperation is not directed against third countries".
In the joint statement signed on July 16, Putin and Jiang expressed hope for a "multipolar" world, a concept that reflected Russia's and China's shared concern over what they viewed as American dominance in the world. In their statement, Jiang and Putin reasserted their view of the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty as the "cornerstone of strategic stability". They warned that the proposed American anti-missile defense could undermine the existing strategic balance and spark a new arms race.
In recent years, a concept of "multipolar" world has been Moscow's favorite mantra, designed to argue that the US should not be allowed to dominate the world as a single superpower. Needless to mention that following September 11 there has been no talk of a "multipolar" world in Moscow.
On the other hand, at the fifth annual summit of the "Shanghai Five" in China last June the group was transformed into a new international body, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, or SCO. Moscow and Beijing were expected to push the SCO to become a sort of counterbalance to Washington's perceived predominance. However, the SCO was rarely, if ever, mentioned during the discussions relative to the Afghan settlement and Central Asia.
Incidentally, on December 11, the Kyrgyz Popular Assembly, or parliament, approved a presence of some 40 US combat aircraft and nearly 4,000 servicemen to be based at Manas, the international airport of the Kyrgyz capital of Bishkek. Kyrgyz President Askar Akayev told parliament that the US military presence was to become a "cornerstone of stability and security in Kyrgyzstan".
Kyrgyz Foreign Minister Muratbek Imanaliyev claimed that this decision had been previous agreed with and approved by Kyrgyzstan's SCO partners.
Still, despite the new partnership between Russia and the United States, the Kremlin is still reluctant to become directly involved in Afghanistan. "There will be no units of Russian armed forces in Afghanistan," Sergei Ivanov told journalists on December 11, dismissing media speculation that Russia has been preparing a 1,000-strong peace-keeping unit. This information is "absolutely untrue", he said.
Ivanov has repeatedly ruled out any Russian military involvement in Afghanistan, even as UN peace-keepers. Moreover, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov expressed doubts whether the UN would actually send peace-keeping troops to Afghanistan, because "it's not Kosovo". In the meantime, Russia plays a "key role" in humanitarian aid efforts in Afghanistan, Ivanov told Russian RTR television.
Although grim memories of the Soviet invasion from 1979 to 1989 are yet to disappear in Afghanistan, nonetheless, the Russians hurried to make their presence felt in Afghan capital.
Uniformed Russians with Kalashnikov assault rifles now guard a plot of land in the heart of Kabul where a field hospital has been built. About 100 men from the Emergency Situations Ministry, headed by deputy minister Valery Vostrotin, set up base last month. This ministry usually deals with helping the victims of natural disasters, such as floods.
"Russia is yet to make a decision whether it will take part in a peace-keeping mission in Afghanistan," Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov stated on December 11. Obviously, there are some Russian units to guarantee the security of the Russian humanitarian mission in Kabul, he said.
At the meeting with Powell, Putin thanked the US for helping Russian humanitarian missions into Afghanistan. At Bagram airport "our specialists and your specialists very effectively worked together", Putin said, quoted by RIA. Russia sends humanitarian aid through Kabul's Bagram airport, which is controlled by US troops.
On the other hand, Russian politicians warn about the immense challenges, now faced by Afghanistan. "Historical experience of recent decades indicates that Afghan factions are unable to reach a viable compromise themselves, this is why the UN support to Bonn talks became a crucial factors," argued Boris Pastukhov, State Duma deputy and former Soviet ambassador in Afghanistan. It is very important now to forestall Afghanistan's disintegration or renewed clashes between factions, he stated.
Therefore, Moscow moves towards closer ties with the US with a few second thoughts about its "strategic" partners in Asia. Nonetheless, the Kremlin is still hesitant about playing any role in international peace-keeping efforts in Afghanistan.
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