Security, energy dominate Central Asia summit

Bishkek, Aug 16: The leaders of Russia, China and four Central Asian states sketched out plans to put energy cooperation at the heart of their mutual security during a summit today with anti-Western overtones.

The meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek was heavy on symbolism, not least in inviting Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as a guest of honour.

Resource-rich Central Asia is seen by the United States and Europe as a promising alternative energy source to Russia, while China is seeking oil and gas in the ex-Soviet region and Moscow wants to maintain its grip on export routes.

The SCO states, which two years ago called on the United States to set a date for pulling troops out of Central Asia, are holding joint military exercises to coincide with the summit, prompting leading Russian daily Izvestia to dub the SCO ''the anti-NATO''.

In the most direct barb against the United States, Ahmadinejad said US plans for a missile defence shield ''concern most of the continent, both Asia and the SCO members''.

''There are still some countries used to speaking the language of force,'' he said, according to a Russian translation.

Moscow opposes a US plan to place parts of the proposed missile defence shield near Russia's border in Eastern Europe.

At the summit, Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan also agreed on greater energy cooperation and said they wanted to play a bigger role in helping Afghanistan and in fighting drugs trafficking.

''The energy sector plays an important role as a basis for stable economic growth and security and SCO members pay strong attention to strengthening cooperation in this sphere,'' a declaration said.

ENERGY CLUB

Earlier this year, Russia, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan signed a deal to expand a Soviet-era pipeline system to deliver gas from the Caspian region via Russia.

That deal undermined Western plans for an alternative export route under the Caspian Sea, bypassing Russia.

Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev told the summit the Soviet-era pipelines could become a basis of a common energy market for SCO states.

''Our actions should aim to create an Energy Club, which in our understanding could become one of the key elements of Asian energy strategy,'' he said.

A Kremlin source, speaking ahead of the summit, said the Energy Club would establish ground rules in regional energy -- something Russia has failed to do with the European Union. But there was little detail on how the club would operate.

In the Russian Urals, thousands of Russian and Chinese troops backed by detachments from Central Asian states were training to practice quelling a separatist rebellion.

Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev said such SCO security cooperation was not aimed against third states. He said the European Union and the 56-member Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe could become partners of the SCO.

Russian President Vladimir Putin called on SCO members to introduce legislation enabling further anti-terrorism exercises, the training of security staff for member states and enhancing cooperation with other regional multilateral organisations.

The leader of Mongolia and senior officials from India and Pakistan attended the summit as SCO observers. Turkmenistan's president attended as a guest.

Most of the SCO leaders listed drug traffic from Afghanistan and political instability in the country as a major security threat to the region. Putin suggested holding a special SCO conference on Afghanistan to see how the grouping could help.

REUTERS>