Reference Text
Time Left10:00
The
creation
of
the
Union
caused
a
certain
euphoria
about
the
prospects
of
regional
integration,
and
a
number
of
regional
cooperation
institutions
and
mechanisms
were
established,
such
as
interstate
presidential
and
prime
minister-level
committees,
and
the
Central
Asian
Bank
for
Cooperation
and
Development.
Also,
at
that
time,
relationships
among
the
presidents
could
be
termed
friendly.
The
European
Union
and
other
Western
countries
keenly
supported
the
idea
of
the
Central
Asian
Union,
promising
financial
infusions.
However,
a
black
cat
must
have
crossed
the
path
of
regional
integration,
as
events
followed
a
totally
different
track
from
that
conceived
by
the
designers
of
the
Central
Asian
Union.
Although
Tajikistan
later
joined
the
Union,
all
activity
within
its
framework
was
confined
to
periodical
summits
of
the
presidents
of
its
member
states
without
any
noticeable
activity
by
the
integration
functionaries
between
those
summits.
At
present,
the
Union
could
be
considered
a
failure
in
most
of
its
functions.
There
are
two
plausible
causes
for
the
failure.
The
first
was
the
narrow-minded
egotism
of
the
governments
and
national
bureaucracies
that,
as
it
turned
out,
were
ready
to
take,
not
to
give,
and
at
moments
of
crisis
sought
to
resolve
their
domestic
problems
at
the
cost
of
their
neighbors.
The
second
reason
was
an
active
opposition
to
the
Union
from
Russia,
which
saw
in
it
a
threat
to
the
influence
and
hegemony
to
which
it
was
aspiring
increasingly
from
year
to
year.
Russia
actively
sought
supremacy
in
the
existing
and
newly
created
institutions
of
integration.
Thus,
in
May
1992,
the
Collective
Security
Treaty
was
signed,
strongly
reminiscent
of
the
notorious
Warsaw
Pac;
almost
all
CIS
countries
joined,
except
Turkmenistan
and
Ukraine.
In
February
1999,
when
the
treaty
was
to
be
renewed
by
all
its
parties,
Tashkent
refused
further
membership,
seeking
an
alternative
in
cooperation
with
NATO.
In
response
Russia
took
actions
aimed
at
the
political
and
economic
isolation
of
Uzbekistan
from
the
Central
Asian
countries.
from
the
Toktogul
reservoir,
which
results
in
flooding
a
significant
area
of
irrigated
land
in
Uzbekistan
and
Kazakhstan.
The
creation
of
the
Union
caused
a
certain
euphoria
about
the
prospects
of
regional
integration,
and
a
number
of
regional
cooperation
institutions
and
mechanisms
were
established,
such
as
interstate
presidential
and
prime
minister-level
committees,
and
the
Central
Asian
Bank
for
Cooperation
and
Development.
Also,
at
that
time,
relationships
among
the
presidents
could
be
termed
friendly.
The
European
Union
and
other
Western
countries
keenly
supported
the
idea
of
the
Central
Asian
Union,
promising
financial
infusions.
However,
a
black
cat
must
have
crossed
the
path
of
regional
integration,
as
events
followed
a
totally
different
track
from
that
conceived
by
the
designers
of
the
Central
Asian
Union.
Although
Tajikistan
later
joined
the
Union,
all
activity
within
its