Radio Liberty reports that hopes for greater cooperation among the five Central Asian countries in the foreseeable future were dashed when Tajikistan and Turkmenistan refused to sign a new friendship treaty at the Fourth Consultative Meeting of the Heads of State of Central Asia at the Kyrgyz resort town of Cholpon-Ata resort on July 21.
The two countries reportedly said they would first "complete all domestic procedures" before committing to the agreement on Friendship, Neighborliness, and Cooperation for the Development of Central Asia in the 21st Century, the most important document at the high-level meeting attended by all five Central Asian presidents.
But Tajik and Turkmen officials offered no time frame for when the "procedures" will be done or what exactly needs to be done, according to Radio Liberty.
Analysts reportedly dismissed it as an excuse, saying that in authoritarian countries like Tajikistan and Turkmenistan, all major political decisions rest with the presidents themselves, not with the people or the parliaments.
Tajik President Emomali Rahmon's refusal to sign the new agreement was linked by experts to a long-standing border dispute between Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan that has included violent clashes on many occasions that have killed dozens, destroyed homes, and displaced thousands of people.
"Both Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan have repeatedly said border issues will be resolved in a bilateral format," Tajik political analyst Sherali Rizoiyon said.
Rizoiyon described it as a "reasonable approach, as the two directly deal with each other without a third actor."
Radio Liberty says some 35 percent of the countries' 970-kilometer border has yet to be demarcated in an ongoing process by Tajik and Kyrgyz officials.
Speaking at the summit, Kazakh President Kassym-Zhomart Tokayev reportedly offered to assist the Kyrgyz and Tajik governments to find a peaceful solution to their border dispute and prevent further violence.
As far as Turkmenistan is concerned, Alisher Ilkhamov, an analyst at the British-based Central Asia Due Diligence, was cited as saying that he wasn't surprised by Turkmen President Serdar Berdymukhammedov's decision not to sign the document, as his country has often distanced itself from regional treaties and integration initiatives.
Turkmenistan is not a member of any of the major regional groupings, such as the Commonwealth of Independent States, the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), the Eurasian Economic Union, or the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.
Ilkhamov also noted that Russia would continue to try to derail any potential integration initiatives in Central Asia and hamper any efforts to diversity trade and pipeline routes.
"Russia will begin to act behind the scenes to put pressure on each country — both through bilateral relations and by means of the Moscow-led regional groupings CSTO and the Eurasian Economic Union," the analyst was cited as saying
Radio Liberty notes that the full and final text of the treaty that was signed by Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan was not made immediately public, but according to official government websites, one of the main articles of the agreement states that the countries will refrain from using force — or threatening to use force — against each other, will work toward peace and security, and coordinate efforts to counter challenges and security threats.
