The danger to the authorities in Uzbekistan is not “democrats”, but Islamists – expert
If the situation in Uzbekistan destabilizes, what will come to power is not the pseudo-democratic opposition, whose leaders now live in the West, but radical Islamists.
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Director of the Analytical Center of the Institute of International Studies at MGIMO (U) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, Andrei Kazantsev, stated this today at a round table in Moscow.
“The statements of so-called democratic leaders in exile who are trying to get something out of the situation are unrealistic. The claims of this opposition group to have any influence are not based on anything. There is real opposition, but it is radical Islamists. If there is serious destabilization, these people will come to power, and not representatives of the opposition in the West. And this will become a threat to everyone,” the expert is sure.
At the same time, the expert emphasized, Uzbekistan is fighting international terrorism quite decisively.
“Therefore, he has reason to say that he will cope with this situation on his own. Serious resources have been invested in the development of the army. The Uzbeks have serious resources to hold the Afghan border,” Kazantsev said.
He believes that talk about an imminent crisis in Uzbekistan can be assessed as part of an information war or as hyper-alarmism.
“They (such talk - Ed) are exaggerated. The first stage of the transition of power went quite well. The Uzbek political elite has nominated a candidate who seems obvious. The elite would not have accepted any other candidate, because Mirziyoyev was the number two person after Karimov,” Kazantsev said.
The second stage of the transition of power, according to his estimates, will take up to two years, and will take place in a situation of serious economic and international difficulties. The expert believes that international contacts with all players will help Uzbekistan cope with the risks. At the same time, the country’s foreign policy towards non-alignment will not change.
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