More Russian troops to be stationed in Kyrgystan: CTSO deepens its operational field.

During his first trip to Kyrgystan on July 31st, President Medvedev pulled off a coup that will have the Pentagon seething, if not in rage, then in frustration.
 
The Presidents of Presidents of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, comprise what is known as the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CTSO). NATO it may not be, and militarily CTSO is a mere shadow of the Warsaw Pact, but between them, these states are major players in the fossil fuels industry, with their major companies being state controlled.
 
The US has an airbase in Kyrgystan, from which it supports operations in Afghanistan, and earlier this year the future of the facility was under threat, as the Kyrgyz government demanded more money from the US. Here, Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev appeared to be playing off the US against Russia, with the latter offering some $2 billion in aid. In June the Americans agreed to triple their "rent" for the base to $60 per annum, and the base will remain operational, although it is restricted to non-combat activities only, which is not exactly the deal the US wanted.
 
At the CTSO meeting, however, Medvedev won an agreement for the stationing of larger numbers of Russian troops on Kyrgyz soil - an infantry battalion will be dispatched shortly, and a second base will be built, which will be home to a planned CTSO "rapid reaction force", to be dominated by Russia. My sources also tell me that these bases are to be given a "diplomatic status" akin to the the Soverign Base Authority enjoyed by British military bases on Cyprus. This is a highly significant move. It was also announced that a decision was taken to establish, in Russia, an information technologies centre for training security experts for CTSO. Improved intelligence sharing techniques were also discussed.
 
Medvedev is acheiving results not by bullying or provocation, as was the case in the Soviet era, or even, to a lesser degree, as pracised during the Putin administration. He is demonstrating a grasp for realpolitik, combined with an understanding of the western agenda, and western weaknesses. US observers will very likely interpret the outcome of the CTSO summit as a provocation, and as a threat, but in this they will be wrong. Russia is very sensitive to western, and particularly American, encroachment in that area it regards as its 'sphere of influence'. The Kremlin is simply attempting to ensure the integrity of its own security, and its economic interests.
 
Of course, when we speak of Russian economic interests, we speak primarily of energy supply, which is of course unashamedly used as a tool of foreign policy by the Kremlin. But it would be wrong to interpret this latest move in that particular context: CTSO is an attempt to maintain physical security, and also to hold on to traditional relationships with states with which Russia has long historical and cultural links, and in which the west had precious little interest in until it realised that its own oil and gas stocks were insufficient for future demand.
 
Medvedev has out-finessed the Americans in Kyrgystan, and if the west continues to conduct its politics within a cold war mindset, then he will do so elsewhere. President Obama may yet break the mould, but in the meantime, the Russian leader is displaying a far greater talent for politics then any other world leader, including his own predecessor.