Special Edition
Kazakhstan’s Foreign Minister Tokaev:
The international community must join efforts and help the United States build a democratic Iraq
The U.S. political and military presence in Central Asia, the efforts of the U.S.-led international coalition to stabilize Iraq and Kazakhstan’s support of those efforts continue to be a source of intense discussions in the region and beyond. Kassymzhomart Tokaev, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan, explained his country’s position on these issues, as well as on prospects of regional integration in Central Asia, in his remarks at the Foreign Ministry’s Council on Foreign Relations in Astana on April 30. Excerpts from Minister Tokaev’s remarks follow.
I cannot agree with the notion of a “crisis of
American values abroad”, particularly in Afghanistan
and Iraq. As far as Afghanistan is concerned, the
countries of Central Asia should be grateful to the
United States for toppling the Taliban regime. This is
why the U.S. military presence in Central Asia should
not be viewed through a prism of confrontation. This
factor is a natural complerment to their economic and
political presence here. Advocates of a confrontational
approach should not forget that U.S. military presence
in our region became possible after a relevant
agreement between Washington and Moscow.
Regarding Iraq, I can say unequivocally that
nobody, be it Western countries including those who
opposed military intervention in Iraq, or the Arab
countries, wants the return of a totalitarian regime. If
the Americans leave Iraq, it will bring about a real
catastrophe, incomparable in scale with current
events in that country. This is why the international
community must join efforts and help the United States build a democratic Iraq. The United Nations should have the main say in this process. It is a welcome sign that Washington has moved to the internationalist approach in solving the Iraqi problem. It is crucial that all the interested nations forget their old quarrels and, under the auspices of the UN, get down to the business of building the peace in Iraq together.
The integration in Central Asia in the medium term is hardly possible because integration provides for the unification of economic legislation of countries willing to move into this higher level of interaction. Besides, countries participating in integration must be similar in terms of the level of structural and institutional reforms they have achieved. None of this is present in Central Asia.
At this point in time, it would be more appropriate to talk about stepping up cooperation between the countries of Central Asia. Efforts are needed to remove existing problems, primarily in the economic sphere.
The following factors impede fully-fledged regional cooperation: poverty, drug trafficking and organized crime, religious extremism, illegal migration, lack of and irrational use of water resources, human trafficking, corruption, different level of economic development and reforms, competition between the regional countries, as well as different understanding of the geopolitical realities.
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News Bulletin of the Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the USA and Canada
(Compiled from own sources and agency reports)
Contact person: Roman Vassilenko
1401 16th Street NW, Washington DC 20036
Tel.: (202) 232- 5488 ext. 104, Fax: (202) 232- 5845
