Kyrgyzstan's unrest exposes heavy political jockeying
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Russia's role
The interim government leader Otunbayeva on Saturday requested Kremlin to consider sending "third-party troops" to southern Kyrgyzstan, but the Russian government declined the request, saying the Osh unrest is Kyrgyzstan's internal conflict, which does not necessitate the intervention of Russian troops.
Local analysts noted that Russia has never sent troops to intervene in the internal clashes of Central Asian nations since the disintegration of the Soviet Union. They said Kremlin's restraint to send troops is a wise decision, which helped avert possible worsening of the situation.
They cautioned that should Russian troops become involved in the Kyrgyz conflict, Russia would face grave international pressure. Some Western countries would have yet another chance to stir up the alleged threat of Russia's "imperialist ambitions," and CIS members might also be concerned with such a precedent.
However, they believed the close ties between and extensive common interest shared by Russia and Kyrgyzstan made it impossible for Russia to stand by when Kyrgyzstan is plagued by widespread unrest.
They think Russia would very likely play its role via the mechanism of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) Collective Security Treaty Organization rather than direct military intervention.
As the situation in Kyrgyzstan involves many uncertainties, it remains to be seen what changes would take place in the country's political and economic landscape, they said.
