OSCE Summit Concludes

    By Baurzhan Mukhanov
    The two-day Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) heads of state summit closed early Friday morning after a long delay as members failed to approve a declaration calling for a nuclear weapon-free world. The day’s agenda called for the summit to conclude at 1pm Thursday with a closing declaration. Instead, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev called a recess, saying additional time was needed to agree on its final text.
    Just after midnight, the summit reconvened and the “Astana Commemorative Declaration: Towards a Security Community” reaffirming a commitment to OSCE principles was adopted. The declaration recognizes that while member countries have made progress, more must be done to ensure full respect and implementation of core principles, especially in the areas of defending human rights and fundamental freedoms.
    “The security of each participating State is inseparably linked to that of all others,” the declaration states. Each participating State has an equal right to security. We reaffirm the inherent right of each and every participating State to be free or choose or change its security arrangements, including treaties of alliance, as they evolve. Each State also has the right to neutrality. Each participating State will respect the rights of all others in these regards. They will not strengthen their security at the expense of the security of other States.”
    The declaration goes on to state that increased efforts should be made to resolve existing conflicts in the OSCE area in a peaceful and negotiated manner, within agreed formats, fully respecting the norms and principles of international law enshrined in the UN Charter and the Helsinki Final Act, and that new crises must be prevented.
    “This was perhaps one of the most unsuccessful OSCE summits I have ever observed,” said Eduard Razumovsky, an expert with the Central-Asian Institute of Political Science. “As in 1999, the wedge was Russia, which disagreed over co-operation on issues of conventional arms and security.” Razumovsky said hopes of resolving the Karabakh conflict were dashed when Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders didn’t talk and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev left before ratification of a final document. Medvedev reportedly left Astana by late afternoon or early evening.
    Still, Uzbek analyst Alibek Sabukhi said the summit had some achievements.
    “For the first time in many years, the countries of Asia and Europe discussed many important issues around a single table. In part, these are very significant issues for Central Asia as well as for the entire world, such as fighting terrorism in Afghanistan, the situation in Kyrgyzstan, and an agreement on mutual disarmament,” he said.
    The failure to reach agreement on these issues was not unusual, Sabukhi said. “This happens at all summits, as each side is representing its interests. All in all, the summit is still a success,” he said.
    Collective Security Treaty Organization General Secretary Nikolai Bordiuzha agreed. “Earlier it was never possible to gather the leaders of so many countries and international organizations in one forum, which is an indicator of the meeting’s success,” he said. “Organizing the OSCE Summit in Astana cost a lot and took a lot of effort on the part of the President of Kazakhstan, the Foreign Minister, and other high officials in the Kazakhstani government.”
    The second day provided the chance to discuss various Central Asian issues. Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov brought up his earlier initiative to create a security forum for co-operation in Central Asia and the Caspian Basin, under whose framework issues of combating terrorism, extremism and other issues could be decided.
    “Turkmenistan completely supports the concerns of the international community with regard to existing terror threats, and the activities of criminal organizations who engage in narco-trafficking, illegal arms and human trafficking,” he said. “We are prepared for close co-operation in the fight against these challenges through the OSCE. … In view of the Afghan issues, we are united in the conviction that achieving a durable and long term peace and stability in this country is one of the key issues in international politics,” Berdymukhamedov said.
    Tajik President Emomali Rakhmon expressed concern over transit shipments and access of goods and services to Central Asian markets, referring, in part, to Uzbekistan’s delay of Tajik rail cars on its territory. “One of the obligations, adopted in the OSCE framework, is the co-operation of developing countries who lack access to the open seas. These countries encounter a variety of serious challenges related to their reliance on services in the areas of transit and limited access to markets,” Rakhmon said. “Interference and the creation of artificial barriers during the delivery of freight and goods to Tajikistan of transit international rail and automotive routes, and the flow of electricity and gas from third countries, inflicts great harm to the economy, the social sphere, infrastructure and the population,” he noted.
    The fact that the Central Asian leaders presented their problems to their Western colleagues was what Razumovsky called “the positive part of the summit,” according to Central Asia Online.