By Georgiy Voloshin (8/18/2010 issue of the CACI Analyst)

On July 16-17 2010, the former capital of Kazakhstan, Almaty, hosted the OSCE Informal Ministerial Meeting to discuss the situation in Kyrgyzstan, reiterate Kazakhstan's commitment to the OSCE's fundamental principles and values and, more importantly, push for the summit at the end of this year, the first in the past 11 years.

On July 16-17 2010, the former capital of Kazakhstan, Almaty, hosted the OSCE Informal Ministerial Meeting to discuss the situation in Kyrgyzstan, reiterate Kazakhstan's commitment to the OSCE's fundamental principles and values and, more importantly, push for the summit at the end of this year, the first in the past 11 years.

The highly publicized event assembled 56 foreign ministers or their deputies for a 1.5-hour working dinner in the evening of the July 16 and the ensuing conference the following day with participation of Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev in the restricted-access resort Akbulak in the outskirts of Almaty.

The Kazakh Minister for foreign affairs and OSCE Chairperson-in-office Kanat Saudabayev held bilateral meetings with his French counterpart Bernard Kouchner, the U.S. Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg and the EU’s High Representative for foreign affairs and security policy baroness Catherine Ashton.

All three underscored Kazakhstan’s successful involvement in the stabilization of neighboring Kyrgyzstan, whereas Mr. Steinberg also noted the positive role Kazakhstan has been playing with regard to Afghanistan by allowing American troops to overfly the Kazakh territory en route to Kabul. At the same time Kouchner and Saudabayev signed a protocol on the creation of the France-Kazakhstan presidential commission to enhance cooperation between the two countries, in anticipation of President Nazarbayev’s visit to France in October this year and following Nicolas Sarkozy’s visit to Astana one year earlier.

Similar meetings took place between Kazakhstan’s foreign minister and chief diplomats of Cyprus, Portugal, Belarus, Albania, Macedonia and even Israel, which is not a member of the OSCE. Special attention was paid to the problem of Nagorno-Karabakh which was briefly discussed in a meeting between the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan aided by the Minsk Group co-chair countries – Russia, France and the United States.

On Saturday, July 17, Kazakhstan’s President Nursultan Nazarbayev addressed his distinguished guests with a speech touching upon a whole range of issues, from Kyrgyzstan to Afghanistan to the future prospects of the OSCE in drafting a new course for not only European but also Eurasian security. Before pledging US$ 10 million to the rebuilding of Kyrgyzstan’s Osh and Jalalabad provinces which have recently seen a string of violent interethnic clashes, President Nazarbayev stated that the core reasons, in his view, for two coups d’état in five years were poor economic development, unstable democratic institutions, widespread poverty and a feckless power hierarchy. In Nazarbayev’s words, the OSCE’s timely engagement spearheaded by Kazakhstan helped to preclude the outburst of a full-scale civil war in Kyrgyzstan. But, as he later noted, “fragile stability may cease at any moment”.

The leader of Kazakhstan also underlined the efforts of Russia and Uzbekistan to aid their troublesome partner. “But this is not enough”, he warned, “To provide further financial and donor aid, we are planning to hold two international conferences, one in Bishkek in July and the other in Almaty in August”. Another tangible achievement in relation to the Kyrgyz crisis was the decision to dispatch an OSCE police force to the south of the country to train local policemen and monitor the unfolding situation. According to Herbert Salber, Head of the OSCE’s conflict prevention center, this mission will be comprised of 52 unarmed police officers with a possibility of bringing this figure up to 102 persons in case of need. “The initial period of their mission will be four months. We are going to work with all categories of the population to consolidate and restore trust”, Mr. Salber noted.

Nazarbayev also mentioned the involvement of the OSCE in Afghanistan. “The situation in Afghanistan is of interest to all of us. There is no doubt that we need a new strategy for the OSCE in this country, as 40 OSCE member states have been active there”, he remarked. In Nazarbayev’s opinion, it is necessary to step up international efforts for Afghanistan’s ongoing rehabilitation. He also praised the conclusions of the London conference on Afghanistan suggesting to gradually transfer security-related responsibilities to local authorities.

“We should appreciate Kabul’s course to put an end to the bloodshed by way of reintegrating the whole spectrum of political forces back into peaceful living, including the Taliban. Whether we like it or not, they are native Afghans and an integral part of the population, and they will live in this country”, the President summarized.

Drawing on Nazarbayev’s words, Foreign Minister Kanat Saudabayev, while presenting his comprehensive vision of Kazakhstan’s ongoing chairmanship, suggested that full-scale Eurasian integration be thoroughly pursued and a new document within the OSCE’s second basket be drafted. Its proposed title is “Maastricht +” and the core principles of the new key paper will be derived from the OSCE’s Bonn Declaration and Maastricht Strategy.