US not competing with Russia in Central Asia: Rice
Foreign Desk Report

BISHKEK—US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice kicked off a tour of Central Asia saying Washington was not competing with Moscow for influence in the vital region and describing democracy as the US weapon of choice in efforts to fight terrorism. Speaking to reporters aboard her plane prior to arriving in Kyrgyzstan, Rice acknowledged that the United States was pursuing military interests in Central Asia, but said they took second place to its political objectives in a larger US strategy to counter extremism worldwide.
“What we are not willing to do is to make a choice between our objectives in terms of the immediate concerns about military access and our objectives in terms of democracy,” she said. “We think there is a inextricable link between our strategic goals of democratization and the war on terror”. US officials have portrayed Washington’s support for an international probe of a violent military crackdown last spring in Uzbekistan, and a subsequent order from Tashkent to close a US military base there, as proof political and human rights objectives trump military goals.
Rice greeted US troops based in Kyrgyzstan and was to meet President Kurmanbek Bakiyev and other top officials after taking part in a discussion on democracy and constitutional reform. She was scheduled to travel Wednesday to nearby Afghanistan and Pakistan before returning to the former Soviet Union on Thursday for visits to Kazakhstan and Tajikistan. On a stopover in Ireland, Rice said US efforts to cultivate relations with states in Central Asia that became independent after the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union were not aimed at thwarting Russia’s longstanding interests there.
“In no way are our relationships in Central Asia aimed at anyone,” she said. “In other words, we want these countries to have good relations with their neighbors, especially good relations with Russia. “They have longstanding ties with Russia — economic and other ties — and it’s only natural that those relationships are going to continue”. The Kremlin has grown increasingly wary of US intentions in Central Asia and has made clear it regards the US military presence established in the region after the September 11, 2001 attacks to support operations in Afghanistan as strictly temporary.
The Russian foreign ministry has said Moscow is prioritizing “development of military-political interaction” in its relations with Tajikistan, amid speculation Washington is looking for ways to boost its military presence in that country. US Secretary of State Donald Rumsfeld visited Tajikistan in July at about the same time Uzbekistan announced it was terminating its basing agreement with the United States. A Russian newspaper said Tuesday that Rice’s mission in Central Asia was twofold: to find a location for establishment of a new US military base to replace that being closed in Uzbekistan, and to urge creation of a new regional group excluding Russia, China and Iran.