By Ryskeldi Satke
Moscow’s projects in the region are coming unglued just as the West steps up sanctions over the Ukraine crisis.
The latest round of Western sanctions against Russia may be hampering Moscow’s ability to maintain its presence in Central Asia. Vladimir Putin’s interventions Ukraine may end up slowing the pace of Russia’s initiatives in other areas of interest.
The pinch is already being felt in Kremlin stronghold Kyrgyzstan, after delays over Russian investments, including the controversial construction of a massive water dam on the Syr Darya river. Russian energy giant Inter RAO was already having difficulties financing the Kambarata-1 hydro project prior to the standoff with the West, while Russian state oil company Rosneft appears to have lost the chance to take over Manas International Airport and its subsidiaries, according to reports emerging from Kyrgyzstan.
It is the most vulnerable Central Asian states, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, which are likely to experience the biggest economic impact, with a decline in migrant remittances from Russia, which remains a preferred destination for laborers from these countries. Traditionally hostile to Moscow’s meddling in regional affairs, the impact of the sanctions on Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan are unlikely to be as severe as they are in the rest in the region, although Uzbek migrants do represent a sizable labor force in Russia. As for Kazakhstan, it forged closer ties with the Kremlin this year by advancing the Eurasian Union, which experts see as a political rather than free market arrangement. Yet Moscow’s Cold War-style confrontation with the West could well have repercussions for Kazakhstan’s developing economy as well.
Read the full story at The Diplomat