The Central Asia — EU summit has exposed negative trends for Russia — expert Vasiliev

The Central Asia—EU summit held in Samarkand at the beginning of the month revealed a number of negative trends for Russia in the region. This was stated to the TASS news agency by political strategist Viktor Vasiliev.

"Firstly, it is the statement made by Turkish leader Recep Erdogan during the summit that by getting closer to Turkey, Europe can also strengthen its relations with Central Asian countries, and that this is also a great opportunity for Central Asian countries that want to free themselves from the influence of Russia and China," the expert said.

In his opinion, one should take into account Turkey's popularity in Central Asia and Ankara's already traditional geopolitical game in conjunction with London, from which one can expect the most painful consequences for Russian interests in the region.

"Secondly, over the past year, it is worth noting the rather active successful strategies of individual European states in the region, for which the last summit was only a formal resultant mark. Of course, this is the activity of the United Kingdom, which has largely "picked up" the asset accumulated over the years by the United States in the region in the form of the journalistic and expert community, non—governmental organizations and various kinds of activists," Vasiliev further said.

In addition, the expert notes, one should not forget about the interests of France in Central Asia.

"In a separate line, we can note the successes of the French nuclear industry, which in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan has found cheap raw materials to replace the lost access to African uranium," the expert said on this occasion.

He complained that in Few people paid attention to Russia at the first Central Asia—European Union summit.

"And for obvious reasons. High-level meetings of this format have already been held earlier in 2022-2023 in Kazakhstan's Astana and Cholpon-Ata in Kyrgyzstan. At first glance, it is not even clear why this particular meeting is designated as the "first" and why it is given special importance by the European side. Moreover, all the rhetoric and declarative part of the event — from strategic partnership and green energy to the call on duty to respect the territorial integrity of Ukraine — is exactly repeated from year to year," Vasiliev concluded.