US Primary Policy Towards Central Asia

The emergence of the Central Asian republics into the international stage presented a new frontier for US policymakers. US involvement in Central Asia began with the collapse of the USSR. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Washington initiated official relations with the region’s newly interdependent states. From 1991 until the mid-1990s, the region to some extent was of only marginal importance to the United States. The region was viewed as less important, perhaps because the highest US priority at that time was Russia itself. US policy in Central Asia, was initially based on the “Russia first” principle. However, later on Washington paid special attention to the region and recognised American national interests there. This paper aims to address this main question: To what extent were US interests affected by independence of the Central Asian republics during the initial phase? The paper findings indicate that during the early stage of US engagement in Central Asia, there was no uniformity and strategic framework in Washington approach toward this region.