The Atlantic – Joshua Foust: Going It Alone: Why Kyrgyzstan Doesn’t Want Russian or American Bases
In his weekly column for the Atlantic, ASP fellow Joshua Foust discusses Kyrgyzstan’s recent policy decisions regarding foreign-owned bases within its territory.
Kyrgyzstan can only benefit from playing hard-to-get. So long as Afghanistan remains unsettled, Kyrgyzstan (and especially access to basing in Kyrgyzstan) will be coveted by both the U.S. and Russia, and they will pay dearly for it. Figuring out how to maneuver and gain advantage in such a space is not an easy trick for U.S. or Russian policymakers, and as long as they don’t quite have congruous goals in the region it’s not likely they’ll team up to force concessions out of the Kyrgyz government.
So in a few months, let’s check back and see how all the various deals and arrangements have changed. They’ll mostly be much the same as they are now.
