The head of the Tajik Foreign Ministry’s Information Department, Davlat Nazriyev, told Asia Plus that Tajikistan, back on 15 October, received notification about Uzbekistan’s leaving the EurAsECfrom the organization’s Coordination Council.

The article says Uzbekistan justified its decision to quit the EurAsECby saying that the organization’s work was inefficient and that the Customs Union does not take into account all member countries’ interest.

The representative of the Tajik Foreign Ministry expressed regret over Uzbekistan’s exit from the EurAsEC, but emphasized that each country has the right to do this. "We regret that our neighbours have left the organization," he said. "Practice has shown that any such organization is a good area for conducting negotiations. Even the most serious issues can be resolved at meetings of these kinds of organizations. A case in point is the latest summit of the SCO [Shanghai Cooperation Organization], during which the presidents of Uzbekistan and Tajikistan resolved the issue of transiting electricity," Nazriyev said.

Davlat Nazriyev also noted that negotiations on cancelling visa formalities between Tajikistan and Uzbekistan would continue in the previous format.

The Russian press has already explained Uzbekistan’s decision by the fact that there has been a thaw in its relations with the West.

Tajik experts agree with this version. The independent political scientist, Parviz Mullojonov, believes that Uzbekistan’s distancing from Russia and other CIS countries, against the background of a thaw in its relations with the West, is a usual political practice of the Uzbek government.

"Apart from this, the implementation of major economic projects with Russia’s participation has not lived up to Tashkent’s expectations," the expert told Asia Plus. "All Russia’s declared intentions have so far been something for the future; no specific steps have been taken in this field."

Meanwhile, Mullojonov believes that Uzbekistan’s withdrawal from the EurAsEC will not deteriorate relations between Tashkent and Dushanbe. "The status quo has been maintained in relations between Tashkent and Dushanbe," he said.

In the expert’s opinion, the EurAsEC itself has been so far an organization for the future. "There has been little practical help from it so far because the organization planned most of its projects in 2005-2006, when nobody expected that a world economic crisis would break out and affect countries, including Russia and other CIS states," Mullojonov believes.