International organizations compromise Central Asian integration

Kazakhstan has appealed to the international organizations asking not to provoke disunity among the Central Asian countries, reports Tengrinews. According to Deputy Secretary of the Security Council of Kazakhstan Marat Shaikhutdinov, external players are more concerned with the integration of Central Asia than the region itself is. “(…) The escalating competition of the global players and their projects is pushing our countries towards making the so-called final geopolitical choice. All in all, the situation where the external players are more concerned with the regional integration than the Central Asian countries themselves is somewhat strange,” Shaikhutdinov pointed out, speaking at The New Geopolitics of Peacemaking Operations: A Dialogue with Emerging Powers; A Central Asian regional Dialog international seminar organized by Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) in partnership with Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). “On the one hand, this voluntarily or involuntarily leads the region to becoming a hot zone of external influence, on the other hand, this results in a slow build up of the dangerous conflict potential. It hasn't gone as far as the interstate armed conflicts for the time being, but local skirmishes at the borders and clashes among the citizens over water or other resources do take place. I do not think that a conflict is the best option for Central Asia,” continued Mr. Shaikhutdinov. He noted that today's Central Asia suffers from unresolved socioeconomic, water, energy, border, territorial and other internal issues. According to Mr. Shaikhutdinov the aggregation of all these factors makes the already complicated region even more susceptible to external challenges and threats. “Frankly speaking, I see no simple and quick solutions for the conflictogenic issues, especially since there is a lack of trust among the countries in the region and no unifying idea,” said the Deputy Secretary. “We are certain that no one can solve our problems for us, and we should start looking for a mutually acceptable compromise,” he added. Deputy Secretary of the Security Council Marat Shaikhutdinov reiterated Kazakhstan’s readiness for comprehensive negotiations with the countries of the region and its intention to support the regional integration. By Renat Tashkinbayev