RIA Novosti : Tashkent makes its geopolitical choice

RIA Novosti - Opinion & analysis - Alliance with Moscow: Tashkent makes its geopolitical choice:

Such an 'advanced' treaty obviously has a special role to fulfill: it was adopted at a time when Tashkent has faced strong pressure from the West, which is increasingly stigmatizing the Karimov regime as another rogue state. A group of American Congressmen has demanded sanctions against Uzbekistan and for Islam Karimov to be brought to trial at the International Criminal Court. EU governments have prohibited arms supplies to Uzbekistan and clamped a one-year ban on visas to 12 members of the Uzbek authorities.

So the best option for Tashkent is to look for friendship with Moscow, which is vital for Karimov. Russia, as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, can veto any resolution imposing sanctions against Uzbekistan. As for the West's negative reaction, Russia does not consider it a big problem. First, the time when the country depended on Western credits is gone never to return. Second, more substantial reasons exist for 'a showdown' (for example, a presidential ballot in Belarus next year). Finally (and most importantly), the Western philosophy is nothing if not pragmatic, and gas cooperation means to many European politicians more than events in Central Asia so far removed from Berlin or Paris.