1. 1For the purposes of this article 'Central Asia' refers to the five post-Soviet states of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, although this configuration represents only one narrow definition of the region.
2. 3Despite the presidents of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan looking favourably on Tajikistan's candidacy, President Karimov of Uzbekistan succeeded in removing the issue of Tajikistan's joining the CAU from the agenda in 1994 on the grounds of the country's relative poverty and instability. However, as relations between Uzbekistan and Tajikistan improved in 1998, President Karimov reversed his stance on the matter.
3. 5Iu. V. Shishkov , Integratsionnye protsessy na poroge XXI veka: pochemu ne integriruiutsia strany SNG (Moscow: III tysiacheletie, 2001 ), p.124 .