Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 7
By Viktoriya Zhavoronkova - Trend:
Following Kyrgyzstan's almost four-year aspiration to join the Customs Union of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan, Bishkek has finally started considering the pros and con of this important political and economic step.
The country's president Almazbek Atambayev unexpectedly refused to sign a roadmap on Kyrgyzstan's joining the organization and laid down a number of conditions, which will make this process to move forward, during the last governmental meeting of the organization at the end of December. Observers assess this decision positively, taking into consideration the fact that earlier Kyrgyzstan was talking about its participation in the Union without mentioning possible problems, which may appear after its joining.
Nevertheless these conditions were not welcomed by the organization's members, including Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbayev, Atambayev's step will give Bishkek a chance to think again and to count the cost of participation in the Customs Union.
Bishkek's idea to join the organization, which was created in 2010, appeared in 2011, while Kyrgyzstan introduced its application for joining in 2013. The organization's participants have ambitions to create an Eurasian Union on its basis. Several experts assess this idea as an attempt to somehow revive the collapsed Soviet Union.
Kyrgyz experts believe that Atambayev, deciding not to sign the document, showed himself as a strong politician, both on local and international levels.
"In a situation, when the opposition constantly threatens the leadership with rallies and the south of the country is hardly under control, the decision on joining the Customs Union may have become a factor of full destabilization in the country," Dmitriy Michaylishenko, Russian expert on Kyrgyzstan told CentrAsia news portal.
According to Kyrgyz experts, the country finally should join the Union, but not now.
Kyrgyz political expert Sergey Masaulov believes that we can see a sign of anxiety in Atambayev's decision not to sign the document during the last high level governmental meeting with member-states' leaders.
"The dynamics and scenario of Kyrgyzstan's joining is still unclear," Masaulov told Trend.
Among the remaining problems if this process goes through, the expert points out , is the potential fate of large reseller markets in Kyrgyzstan and a great number of smaller technical detail, such as the lack of laboratories able to test the product in the country.
Optimistic forecasts say Kyrgyzstan will agree on all remaining detail with Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan in March and sign all needed documents in May.
Thus Kyrgyzstan won a battle but not the war, giving it a short reprieve and time to think on how to decrease negative and increase positive outcomes of this customs bargain.
Viktoriya Piriyeva
Correspondent