Askar Akayev is the former president of Kyrgyzstan... as in the one who was deposed in the 2005 Tulip Revolution. He gave an interview with Russia Today (below) which is... well, more interesting than I'd expected it to be. I found a lot of it hypocritical, as he takes Bakiev to task for the same sort of things that he had done when he was president. He also places a LOT of blame for the discontent on the US. Not so sure how I feel about that. Thoughts?? (And something I learned from this interview: Akayev is a PHYSICIST. After the hell my physics class has been putting me through since last August, I am impressed. Who knew?)
2 comments:
Well, I kind of agree: No CIS country can ignore Russia and there probably is more to be gained from a close cooperation with Russia than from inviting competing great game interests in the country. Also, as it looks like part of the deal to keep the Manas air base open included a "preferential" fuel contract way above market prices with people from Bakiyev's surroundings as well as more money. In that respect and diplomatically the US did support the Bakiyev regime at the expense of democratization, the fight against corruption and thus economic development.
That being said, Russia is playing its international game in quite an imperialistic way as well. First comes the "sphere of influence", then all the rest. Keep in mind that Russia too supported Bakiyevs regime with loans, grants and cheap energy until he overplayed his cards by negociating a new bargain with the Americans AND taking Russian money. That is when Russia increased tariffs and Russian media started attacking Bakiyev.
Countries do not have values, they have interests. Let's just hope the powerful ones realize that having a value-led foreign policy is in their best long-term interest!
I agree with you 100%!!
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