Contemporary Uzbekistan On An Analysis Of The Evolution Of Russian Policy

Since Uzbekistan's independence, it has formulated an all-round foreign policy. Uzbekistan-Russian relations are a very important aspect in Uzbekistan's foreign policy. In the past sixteen years, the evolution of the bilateral relations has undergone four stages. First, from early days after its independence to 1993, due to the critical attitude towards each other's policy, the bilateral relations were once down to the bottom. Second, from 1994 to 1998, the two sides achieved understanding on a series of issues, with positive signs starting to emerge in the bilateral relations. Third, from 1999 to 2003, Uzbekistan-Russian relations almost stagnated because of the Uzbekistan's focus on developing bilateral relations with the United States. Fourth, from 2004 to present, Uzbekistan and Russia have launched extensive cooperation in the fields of politics, economy and energy. The signing of Treaty of Aligned Relations on November 14th, 2005 by the two countries witnessed comprehensive deepening of the bilateral relations.A series of important factors have contributed to the comprehensive deepening of Uzbekistan-Russian relations from the cold and indifferent bilateral relations at the outset, among which Russia and the United States are the two major ones. The historical connections between the two countries, the fact that Uzbekistan needs Russia's protection and its dissatisfaction with the US policy are the ultimate triggering forces for Uzbekistan to go back to Russia again.Judged on the whole, the"all-round"foreign policy followed by Uzbekistan will not change. And Uzbekistan will constantly adjust its Russia policy based on its national interests. In the short term, Uzbekistan-Russian relations will continue to move forward but future bilateral relations are full of variables. Uzbekistan's increased geographic significance has made it more difficult for China to foster China-Uzbekistan relations. Therefore, the Chinese government should attach greater importance to Uzbekistan from both a strategic and an overall perspective.