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United States Surprised by Shanghai Organization Declaration
The declaration by the Shanghai Cooperation Organization calling for an exact time limit on the presence of antiterrorism coalition military bases in Central Asia has caught Washington by surprise. It was suggested on the American side that the presence of the bases was regulated by bilateral agreements with the countries involved and that those agreements would not be reconsidered in the near future. However, by passing the declaration, the Shanghai Organization countries made it clear that the American presence is seriously alarming to them.
Confidential American sources told Kommersant that the call to set a time limit on the presence of the bases “was a great surprise, to put it mildly… How can it be discussed seriously when the active phase of the operation in Afghanistan is far from over?” The source added that the declaration clearly shows the intentions of some countries belonging to the Shanghai Organization to limit the influence of the U.S. in the region.
This reaction was expected in Moscow and Central Asia, where they immediately began trying to convince the West of just the opposite. “The Shanghai Cooperation Organization cannot be viewed as an anti-Western coalition,” said Andrey Kokoshin. The call to set a time limit “is not connected with any opposition to the West or the United States,” said Kyrgyz Acting Minister of Foreign Affair Roza Otumbaeva, who also naively expressed the hope that the declaration would not affect U.S.-Kyrgyz relations.
All the Article in Russian as of July 07, 2005
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