"[The West's] plans include the creation of a major hotbed of instability in Central Asia," Patrushev told a meeting of security council secretaries on Afghanistan in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.
To save hegemony, Western countries are also attempting to increase tensions in the South Caucasus to hamper the Armenian-Azerbaijani settlement, the official added.
The South Caucasus is considered one of the most conflict-ridden regions of the globe, primarily due to the long-standing conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region. In September 2023, Azerbaijan took control over the region, populated mainly by ethnic Armenians, prompting almost all local residents to flee to Armenia. The Nagorno-Karabakh authorities declared that the unrecognized state would cease to exist from January 1, 2024. On February 1, 2024, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said a peace treaty between the two countries could be signed only after amendments are made to the constitution of Armenia.
Central Asia is also considered a turbulent region due to military confrontations that occasionally occur on the border between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. In mid-August 2023, relations between Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan deteriorated as well, as Bishkek stopped supplying irrigation water to its neighbor, after which Astana blocked all border crossings.