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| Uzbek Foreign Minister Abdulaziz Kamilov |
Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev has indicated creating a "zone of stability, steady development and good neighborliness" in Central Asia as priority in his foreign policy. This, according to the Embassy of Uzbekistan in Korea, played a significant role for the bilateral negotiations between the United States and the Taliban in February. The following is the second in a series of written Q&As with Uzbek Foreign Minister Abdulaziz Kamilov about Uzbekistan's vision of the major aspects of political settlement in Afghanistan and its contribution to ensuring regional security. ― ED.
Q: It is clear that the work on hosting the Tashkent Conference would be impossible without tight cooperation with your colleagues in the region, who have participated in the Forum. Are the states of the region ready to continue such close cooperation?
A: The President of Uzbekistan in his appearances at the international and regional platforms such as the United Nations, CIS, SCO and OIC, and others has numerously expressed readiness to jointly with our partners, including the countries of Central Asia, promote search for political resolution of the Afghan crisis.
It is quite obvious that not a single country is capable to tackle the Afghan problem on its own. The leader of Uzbekistan has emphasized not only once the important role of the neighboring countries in stabilization of Afghanistan. The efforts of the neighboring countries and partners must not replace, but add to the other.
All of the countries of Central Asia are actively promoting resolution of the Afghan crisis. Under the presidency and on the initiative of Kazakhstan, the U.N. Security Council held ministerial debates on Afghanistan. It was during this event that the initiative was enunciated to hold the Tashkent Conference which was endorsed by all countries of the region.
In its turn, Kyrgyzstan has proposed to establish the research center on Afghanistan in Bishkek to more thoroughly study the processes underway in this country.
All of us understand that it is necessary to draw Afghanistan into regional economic processes. This idea was broadly endorsed by participants of the Seventh Conference for Regional Economic Cooperation on Afghanistan in Ashkhabad, the Tashkent Conference, as well as the International High-Level Conference on Problems of Terrorism and Sources of its Financing, which took place in Dushanbe.
The "India-Central Asia" Ministerial Dialogue held in Samarkand with participation of Afghanistan for the first time can serve as another example of active regional interactions on the Afghan direction.
Q: Do you consider that Afghanistan stopped to be a stage of clashing interests of world powers, like it was during the Cold War?
A: Yes, indeed from the outset the Afghan conflict was a product of geopolitical confrontation of the two world systems. The President of Uzbekistan has said right away that the flame of war was imposed on the Afghan people from outside. It is not their choice.
And up until now the large centers of power are clashing between one another in Afghanistan while pursuing their own interests.
The constant dragging of new partakers into conflict has led to its unprecedented aggravation.
To a great regret, for over a span of decades the illusions remained in terms of the possibility to militarily tackle the Afghan problem. It is pity that it was possible to realize the dead-end nature of such an approach only after unparalleled human victims and massive economic and political losses.
Today it can only be ― the close cooperation of the world's big players ― above all, Russia, China and the United States, the EU countries and the states of the Muslim world.
We are noting with pleasure that Moscow and Beijing have lately achieved tangible results at their trilateral meetings joined also by other interested countries. All this forms necessary external conditions for effective resolution of the Afghan issue.
Q: Following from that then, who do you believe can act as a guarantor of emduring peace in Afghanistan?
A: These are, firstly, the large powers: the United States, Russia, China, the EU countries, and certainly, at much the same level, Afghanistan's immediate regional neighbors. These are external forces, but sustainability of all peace arrangements in Afghanistan will depend on involvement of domestic Afghan political forces in them. Without nationwide accord and reconciliation it will be impossible to achieve notable progress. It is extremely important to preserve and further develop the state law-enforcement institutions, full-scale operation of the civil society structures and observance of the rights of Afghan women, and so on. In sum, I mean all of those positive things which were achieved over the last 18 years in building an independent Afghan state and creating foundations of civil society.
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