It's been awhile since I wrote about the 'Brothers Stan'. Of course, all of that was in relation to the Oil Chugging Panda & the New Great Game.
This new twist has more to do with the West getting comfy in Central Asia - and making Iran squirm.
Turkmenistan is a former Soviet republic, a current member of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), a desert country rich in natural gas, and still mainly dependent on Russian-owned pipelines to export that gas. But Turkmenistan also shares a lengthy border with Afghanistan, which is where NATO comes in.
Turkmenistan was the first of the five Central Asian states to join NATO's Partnership for Peace program (in 1994), but under Niyazov (Turkmenistan's former strongmen) it was a partnership in name only. Which is why it was a surprise when President Berdymukhammedov announced he would attend the NATO summit in Romania in early April.
Several high-ranking NATO, U.S., and EU officials have been making trips to Turkmenistan for more than half a year now, but most reports pointed to talks focusing on potential Turkmen natural-gas exports to Europe.
It is apparent now that energy exports were not the only topic of discussions.
Of course, this new alliance greatly irritates the Russians since Turkmenistan, as a former soviet satellite, has long claimed 'neutrality' in the New Great Game.
Allowing NATO the use of military air bases is already a bold move for Turkmenistan, which risks the wrath of Russia and southern neighbor Iran in forging closer ties with the Western alliance.
There is also the question of Turkmenistan's official status as a neutral country. Turkmenistan has always refused to participate in military alliances because of this special status.
Ilyasov says the Turkmen government and NATO might simply use special phrasing to preserve Turkmenistan's neutrality.
Yes. The Great Game is still on....
