Valdai expert sees CSTO cooperation as imperative to tackle regional, global instability

GELENDZHIK, May 12. /TASS/. Amid the global economic crisis and geopolitical tensions, Russia and the countries of Central Asia need to strengthen cooperation within the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), Timofey Bordachev, program director of the Valdai International Discussion Club and professor at the National Research University Higher School of Economics, told TASS ahead of the Club's 6th Central Asian Conference. "Russia and the countries of Central Asia are facing the same problems as the rest of the world: a global economic crisis and global political tensions, which are having a destabilizing impact on the region. The answer to this is economic and political cooperation, including within the CSTO," he said. The organization members are Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan, among the Central Asian countries. Bordachev also noted the prospects for joint economic development. "We see how significant Russian investments are in the countries of Central Asia," he emphasized. According to the expert, "Russia is not separated from Central Asia by any geographic barriers; it is an open space that extends from Moscow through the Kazakh steppes to the Amu Darya River and the Afghan border." Therefore, "the issue of instability in the Middle East and the extremism emanating from it is a common concern for Russia and the Central Asian states." There are also issues of interaction between various ethnic and religious communities, "since Russia has a fairly large Muslim community," he added. Regarding energy cooperation, the political scientist pointed to Kazakhstan, the largest resource producer among Russia's neighbors, which is connected to the Russian Federation, including through energy supply routes to Europe. The 6th Central Asian Conference of the Valdai Discussion Club is being held in Gelendzhik on May 12-13.