Russian President Vladimir Putin met with the leaders of Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan on Thursday during the first full day of his state visit to Dushanbe.
Tajikistani President Emomali Rahmon greeted the Russian leader with an embrace on a red carpet rather than arresting him – despite his legal obligation to do so under the Rome Statute.
Instead, Putin and the five Central Asian leaders engaged in discussions as part of the second Russia-Central Asian Summit. According to Russian state media, Putin told them that Russia is committed to “deepening mutually beneficial political, economic, and humanitarian ties.”
“In all these areas, we have already achieved truly strong results. For example, last year Russia’s trade turnover with the Central Asian states – the so-called ‘five’ – exceeded $45 billion,” Putin said.
However, he drew an unfavorable comparison with Russia’s economic relationship with Belarus. Trade between the two countries exceeds the value of Russia’s trade with all five Central Asian countries combined.
The Kremlin has several incentives to promote trade with its neighbours. For one thing, China has made significant inroads in these post-Soviet states through its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in recent years. Russia will not be keen to give ground in a region that it has always seen as part of its sphere of influence.
More pressingly, Central Asian countries are a crucial part of Russia’s sanctions-busting shadow economy.
On Wednesday, reports emerged of more than 5,000 trucks queuing at the Russia-Kazakhstan border. The Kyiv Post was not able to independently verify the reports, but they could suggest that Kazakhstan is cracking down on one of Russia’s most important sanctions-evading routes into the country.
Russia has been hit with dramatic economic sanctions from Europe and the US since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. However, it has (often successfully) attempted to bypass these sanctions by importing sanctioned and dual-use goods – including those used in Russian weapons – via its Central Asian neighbours.
In August, Britain joined the US in sanctioning several individuals and companies in Kyrgyzstan on the grounds that they were part of a sanctions-busting network used by Russia.
As per Russian state media, Putin emphasized Russia’s investment in the region – as well as hinting that it may increase.
“The cumulative volume of Russian investments exceeds $20 billion. Still, I believe that is rather modest,” the Russian leader said.
A larger meeting including the heads of other Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) member countries is set to take place on Friday.
Also on Thursday, Putin met Azeri President Ilham Aliyev for the first time since a Russian missile struck an Azerbaijan Airlines passenger plane on Christmas Day – claiming 38 lives.