Boyarkina, O. A. Interstate Contradictions Associated with Using Trans-Boundary Water Resources in the Central Asian Region and the Role of Russia

Abstract: The article is devoted to the interstate conflict of interests in Central Asian countries regarding the joint use of transboundary water resources in the region. The author of the article also evaluates the significance of the region for national interests and security of the Russian Federation and analyzes participation of the international community as well as the role of international law in the sphere of joint use of trans-boundary water resources in the region. The subject matter of the research is the influence of water resources on interstate relations of Central Asian republics. Unsettled disagreements regarding the joint use of trans-boundary water resources and the growing water deficiency trigger interstate conflicts between countries in the Central Asia. The author of the article uses factor analysis, system-functional method as well as the interdisciplinary approach to studying international conflicts arising in the sphere of water management. At the end of the article the author makes a conclusion that the role and the place of the Central Asian region in Russia’s short-term and long-term foreign policies should be reviewed as a result of increasing strategic and economic importance of the region. In this regard, the author of the article offers particular recommendations on regulation of the water conflict in the Central Asian region with the participation of the Russian Federation and for the purpose of preservation and strengthening geopolitical influence of Russia in the territory of the former Soviet Union.

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