Geopolitics of Central Asia: From Confrontation and Mined Borders to Restoration of Cooperation and Strategic Partnership

Abstract

The article analyzes the geopolitics of Central Asia, the state and prospects of cooperation between the countries of the region. It took enough time and excessive attention to the region from the major powers — China, USA, EU, Turkey, Iran in order for Russia to revise its policy in Central Asia. As for the relations between states within the region itself, they have evolved in different ways over the past period: with downturns and ups, from partnership and friendships to direct confrontation and mining of borders. Having a history of being fraternal nations within the same union, after having gained independence, Central Asian states were not so much concerned with the problems of the economy and raising the living standards of their population, but were more interested in looking for evidence of their own history and culture, unfair division of borders in the past, and a number of other controversial issues, which, of course , far from contributing to the construction of normal bilateral relations between neighboring states.