In Central Asia (CA), the national interests of Russia, China, the United States, the European Union, Iran, Turkey, Japan, South Korea, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and a number of other states intersect. This is due to the presence of significant reserves of oil, gas, natural uranium, gold and other minerals in the region. Cotton is grown in significant volumes here and electricity is generated from hydroelectric power stations. One cannot ignore the important geostrategic position of this macro-region, which is located between the Middle East, Russia and China. That is why Washington seeks to maintain its military presence in Central Asia, regardless of the situation in Afghanistan. Moscow and Beijing are trying to limit the sphere of American influence here, realizing the impossibility of completely ousting the United States. The contradictions of the main foreign policy players: Russia, the United States and China are actively used by the Central Asian states in their own interests. Turkey deserves special consideration. In the early 1990s. Ankara has tried to take a leading position in Central Asia. However, she didn't have the resources to do so. A similar but less successful attempt was made by Iran. In the second half of the 2000s, both countries once again stepped up their foreign policy in this area. Key words: Central Asia, regional policy, USA, Russia, China, Turkey. EMERGENCE OF CONTRADICTIONS In the early 1990s, Russia made a number of serious mistakes in its policy in Central Asia. In particular, Moscow has stopped providing economic assistance to the states located there and largely curtailed political cooperation with them. At the same time, concerned about the state of regional security, the Russian leadership tried to support the ruling regimes, despite their "flirting" with the West and the abundance of problems of the Russian-speaking population living here. The mass exodus of this population to Russia1 had a negative impact on the economic dev ... Читать далее