Tajikistan’s President Emomali Rahmon directed an emotional outburst at Russian President Vladimir Putin, asking him not to treat the Central Asian nations as if they were the former Soviet Union.
President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon to Vladimir Putin: “I ask you not to treat the countries of Central Asia as if they were the former Soviet Union. Each country has its own problems, traditions…” pic.twitter.com/f92zeTKPwM
— Temur Umarov 马铁木 (@TUmarov) October 14, 2022
Claiming that Russia does not treat his nation equally, President Emomali Rahmon personally appealed to President Putin not to continue the Soviet Union’s policy of disrespecting Central Asian countries.
First Russia-Central Asia Summit
The Tajik president expressed his dissatisfaction with Moscow’s policy towards Central Asian nations during the Russia-Central Asia summit held in the Kazakh capital Astana.
During his speech, Rahmon stated that Tajikistan had witnessed the collapse of the USSR, reiterating that “there was no attention paid to small republics, small peoples. Traditions and customs were not taken into account.”
Furthermore, the Tajik president referred to Russia’s earlier comments regarding the nation’s immigrants to Russia, saying: “I wanted to tell you that more than two million of our citizens go to the Russian Federation not only to work. They study and receive medical treatment.”
Rahmon further said that Central Asian countries have always respected Russia and expect similar respect in return.
Acknowledging that Russia was his main strategic partner, Rahmon said: “What, are we strangers? You don’t need to invest a lot of money in us. Vladimir Vladimirovich, I ask you not to pursue a policy towards the countries of Central Asia as a continuation of the Soviet Union.”
He added that each country has its own problems, questions, traditions and customs. “You need to find the golden mean and work with each republic individually,” Rahmon said.
The Kremlin website states that the summit was attended by the presidents of Russia, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. The heads of state discussed cooperation in various fields.
