MOSCOW - Russia recognizes the importance of the opportunities that are open to Kazakhstan in its upcoming chairmanship of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. So Moscow is certainly interested in having a coordinated position with Astana on the key items of the agenda. This was the underlying idea of a paper A Russian Perspective, prepared by the analysts of the Lomonosov Moscow State University. A Russian Perspective became a basis for another paper prepared by Russian analysts in Kazakhstan’s OSCE Chairmanship, which was provided to the Kazakhstan Ministry of Foreign Affairs for familiarization. A presentation of this paper will be held on 9 December, the head of an expert group of the information and analysis center of the Lomonosov Moscow State University, Alexey Vlasov, told New Europe in an interview. “This will be the final version of the paper by the Russian experts that will discuss the main activities of Kazakhstan as the OSCE chair,” Vlasov said. He added that the paper reflects an agenda that “Russia is comfortable with,” and that “is quite adequate for the role Kazakhstan plays in the system of the international relations”.

Mr. Vlasov, during the recent visit of Kazakh Foreign Minister Kanat Saudabayev to Moscow it became clear that Russia was going to not just pay serious attention to Kazakhstan’s chairmanship in OSCE but to also take part in it?
I would put the question differently: What are Russia’s interests and where do they coincide with the interests of Kazakhstan?

Where?
First of all, in a more even distribution of the OCSE priorities - security, economic and humanitarian – should be equal. Second, our interests coincide in the idea of holding a special international conference on fighting Islamphobia, Judophobia and Christianphobia. And here Kazakhstan’s experience in interethnic and inter-confessional consent will be useful. Third, Kazakhstan’s participation as an OSCE Chair is important in the formation of a new architecture of European security that should be more equitable and more transparent and that should give a more balanced consideration to the interests of all the key players, not only the West, but also Russia. The fourth point is participation of Kazakhstan in the settlement of the local conflicts, including those in the post-Soviet space. I mean Nagorno Karabakh and, maybe, Transnistria.

But, obviously, Russia is not the only country to show interest in Kazakhstan’s OSCE chairmanship. Both the West and the US have provided their recommendations. A month ago, Astana hosted an international conference for foreign experts
You mean the debates that unfolded after the speech of Martha Olcott (Russian Ambassador to Kazakhstan Mikhail Bocharnikov said that the speeches of the European experts clearly reflected the position of the White House.) I know her. Martha Olcott is, above all, an expert, and her position should be regarded as a position of an expert, and not as that of the White House. But that there is a strong pressure from the American foreign policy structures on Kazakhstan is quite evident. It should not be expected, though, that Kazakhstan will take the Russian position or an anti-Russian position. The only way to “revive the spirit” of the OSCE is exactly to stay firm on its own course, which should not necessarily coincide with the position of Russia or Washington. That being said, Russia has a right to voice to its Kazakh partners those interests that it has with respect to the OSCE.

At the above-mentioned international conference in Astana, the western experts provided recommendations as to what Kazakhstan should and should not do. What are the recommendations of Russia?
Again, I would put it differently: “What are the priorities of Kazakhstan on the OSCE post?” At that same conference that you mentioned, the position of the western experts was vocalized very clearly that the priority for Kazakhstan should be the resolution of the Afghan problem. Undoubtedly, the Afghan issue plays an important role in Central-Asian security and in the context of European security. But is it possible to limit Kazakhstan’s initiative and set the priorities so that the Afghan theme overshadowed everything else? This is clear from the example of Uzbekistan which for many years has “pedaled” the Afghan theme as the main topic. But that’s exactly what Kazakhstan is not doing - it is not following this course. Instead, Kazakhstan president’s initiative to hold an OSCE summit in Astana is a part of the idea of a systemic work to reorganize the organization. The OSCE summits have not been held for a long time and they do not meet the new challenges. So let us all, not only Kazakhstan and Russia, but the Old and New Europe, join our efforts and resolve all these problems together. Speaking plainly and simply, the task is clear: Kazakhstan should not create new barriers, but should become a geopolitical bridge that would unite the interests of East and West. And Astana can do that.

Among the common interests of Kazakhstan and Russia, as you have listed above, is settlement of the protracted conflicts, including those in the CIS. I mean Nagorno Karabakh, which is a problem for Azerbaijan, our strategic partner. What is Russia’s vision of what the position of Kazakhstan should be?
Yes, the relations between Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan are of a strategic nature. And Kazakhstan faces a difficult task in resolving this conflict: to harmonize its interests with the interests of external forces – US, Russia, and the European Union. As is known, after the meeting of US President Barack Obama with the Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan, Turkey announced that it would open its borders with Armenia. This announcement drew the indignation of Azerbaijan which believed that that process should be simultaneous with the withdrawal of the Armenian troops from Nagorno Karabakh. If the Turkish Parliament ratifies the opening of the borders between Turkey and Armenia, then, according to the rules, the borders should be opened within 60 days of the ratification. However, it is a very big question if the borders will be opened, as there are differences within the parties of both Erdogan and (Turkish President Abdullah) Gul with regard to this matter. And Turkey on the whole is quite divided on this way of resolving the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. For Kazakhstan in the next year, it is important not to spoil the relationship with Turkey while preserving a powerful dialogue format with Azerbaijan. The position of Russia is as follows: Kazakhstan in such a situation should follow the initiatives of the Minsk Group and the Madrid principles on the resolution of this conflict. That is, the opening of the borders between Turkey and Armenia should be linked to the return to Azerbaijan of the five occupied areas. This should become the first step in the settlement of this conflict. The next question would be the status of Nagorno Karabakh, but it can be put off indefinitely, having resolved, at least as the first stage, the return of the occupied territories. If no concrete steps are taken in the nearest future to resolve the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, the level of conflict there will keep growing.

What can you say about the settlement of the Georgia-Ossetia conflict?
I think neither Abkhazia nor Ossetia will be high on the priority list for Kazakhstan as the OSCE chair. Today, all Georgian issues are of a political nature, so the economic reasoning will not pass here. One should understand that while the situation with Azerbaijan and Armenia could provide some economic reasons to open the Turkish-Armenian borders in the interests of the Russian or Turkish businesses or in the interests of the Armenian community, anything connected with Georgia is purely political. The economic logic will not work here. The settlement of the Georgia-Ossetia conflict will only be possible where a possibility for a normal dialogue between Georgia and Russia exists. It is just very recently that some small symptoms for a normal dialogue between Georgia and Russia have appeared. And only after a normal dialogue has been established between them will the other players around this theme learn to dialogue.

Interview by Kulpash Konyrova