----- Original Message ----- From: Rick Rozoff <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Friday, July 28, 2000 7:49 AM Subject: [STOPNATO] Russia, Kyrgyzstan Seek Closer Ties STOP NATO: NO PASARAN! - HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.COM Times of India July 28, 2000 Russia, Kyrgyzstan seek closer ties, ink deal Russian President Vladimir Putin and Kyrgyz President Askar Akayev (right) smile as they shake hands during their meeting in Moscow on Thursday. Akayev is in Russia on an official visit. (AP Photo/ Alexander Zemlianichenko) MOSCOW: Sealing a close relationship, Russia's President Vladimir Putin and Kyrgyzstan's President Askar Akayev signed a 10-year economic treaty on Thursday underlining a shared interest in Russian influence in Central Asia. "A strong and flourishing Russia will be the guarantee of peace and stability in post-Soviet territory," Akayev was quoted as saying by the ITAR-Tass news agency. He called his visit to Moscow and the treaty "a wonderful opportunity to strengthen the strategic partnership." The treaty calls for increased cooperation in the fields of fuel and energy, machine-building and light industry, as well as military-technical cooperation. Putin said, "We have established pragmatic relations in defense of the interests of our states," ITAR-Tass reported. Underlying the upbeat tone was mutual interest: Kyrgyzstan wants Russia's help boosting its economy and fighting insurgencies. Moscow, meanwhile, seeks to regain regional clout lost since the Soviet collapse, which gave independence to Soviet republics like Kyrgyzstan. The poor, mountainous country of four million, wedged between Kazakstan and China, is one of the most Russia-friendly in the region. About 40 percent of its trade is with Russia, and it recently made Russian an official language, alongside Kyrgyz. That drew nods of approval in Russia, where discrimination against Russians in former Soviet republics is a touchy issue. Russia moved technicians and managers to Kyrgyzstan in both the Soviet and Czarist periods, and about one-fifth of the population are ethnic Russians. In an interview published on Wednesday in the Nezavisimaya Gazeta newspaper, Akayev said the chief threats to regional stability were "international terrorism, religious and political extremism, and the accompanying trade in drugs and weapons." The leaders of the former Soviet republics in Central Asia are worried about Islamic fundamentalists, at least some of whom are believed to have support from Afghanistan's Taliban movement. Russian faces its own insurgency in Chechnya, where it is fighting a war it paints as an anti-terrorist operation against Islamic extremists. Last year, several hundred Islamic fighters invaded Kyrgyzstan from neighboring Tajikistan, and they engaged government troops in battle and held hostagfs including four Japanese geologists. Drugs and arms-smuggling are also major worries. Porous post-Soviet borders and widespread official corruption have contributed to a booming drug trade in Central Asia, with many of the narcotics coming from Aghanistan. Kyrgyzstan has also been careful to keep the door open to the United States, which has agreed to provide about dlrs 3 million to help train and equip Kyrgyz border guards, customs and security services. (AP) __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Kick off your party with Yahoo! Invites. http://invites.yahoo.com/ ______________________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED] FREE SHIPPING OR FREE SUNGLASSES at wonderfulbuys.com! We're giving free shipping on all our great buys plus get free sunglasses. Also, register to win a Total Gym 3000 ($1000.00 retail value). Click now, limited time offer. http://www.bcentral.com/listbot/wonderfulbuys
