Tajikistan refused to join the economic union with russia
Instead, Dushanbe is increasing trade cooperation with China
The kremlin's attempts to preserve its zone of influence in Central Asia continue to face resistance from the leadership of the post-Soviet republics. Following Kazakhstan, which ridiculed the proposal to join the union state of russia and Belarus, Tajikistan refused to cooperate more broadly.
Source. This was reported by moscowtimes.eu.
Dushanbe is not considering the issue of possible accession to the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU). This was stated on Wednesday, June 7, by Tajik Foreign Ministry spokesman Shokhin Samadi, commenting on the statements of russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who visited Tajikistan the day before.
Calling Central Asia a new front in the confrontation between the kremlin and the "collective West," Lavrov expressed hope that Tajikistan would become a member of the EEU, a bloc that includes Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan in addition to russia.
This "issue is not on the agenda," Samadi replied to the russian minister. He added that Tajikistan's membership in the EAEU was not discussed at Lavrov's meeting with President Emomali Rahmon or during talks with Foreign Minister Sirojiddin Mukhriddin.
"During the meetings in Dushanbe, the emphasis was placed solely on the intensification of trade, economic, cultural and humanitarian cooperation, regional security, as well as on the interaction between the two countries within the framework of international organizations," Samadi emphasized.
russia has been campaigning for Tajikistan to join the economic union since 2015. But to no avail: Dushanbe is increasing trade with China, which is gradually pushing russia out of the region.
Although russia is still Tajikistan's largest trading partner, its share is declining, while transactions with China are growing: now it is 25% compared to last year's 18%.
Background. Earlier, Lukashenko offered Kazakhstan to join the "union state" of russia and Belarus.
As a reminder, China, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan will build a railroad to Europe bypassing russia.
If you have read this article to the end, we hope that means it was useful for you.
We work to ensure that our journalistic and analytical work is of high quality, and we strive to perform it as competently as possible. This also requires financial independence. Support us for only UAH 196 per month.
Become a Mind subscriber for just USD 5 per month and support the development of independent business journalism!
You can unsubscribe at any time in your LIQPAY account or by sending us an email: [email protected]
