US Attacks Some Central Asia Leaders

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DUSHANBE (Reuters) - The United States accused certain Central Asian leaders of trying to ``sell their souls'' for personal gain on Friday and denied Washington was seeking undue influence in a region rich in oil and gas.

In a sharply worded statement, a U.S. envoy to the region said Washington had no intention of creating its own blocs in Central Asia, where analysts say former imperial master Russia is vying with both the United States and China for influence.

``Some clear-eyed leaders in this region desire strongly to build their nations' independence and sovereignty,'' said Richard Hoagland, U.S. ambassador to Tajikistan.

``Some others are willing to sell their state and even their own soul to the highest bidder for their own and their family's short-term personal and political gain.''

Hoagland did not specify which of the five ex-Soviet ''stans'' of Central Asia -- Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan -- he was criticizing but at least some of his comments appeared to be aimed against President Islam Karimov of Uzbekistan.

Hoagland said his statement, also published in Tajik newspapers, was prompted by events earlier this month at a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) which groups together Russia, China and four of the ``stans.''

Karimov made a veiled criticism of the United States at the summit, saying some countries wanted to shape the region to suit their own interests by dubbing some democratic and others not.

``A faint odor of sanctimony permeates the recent statement that came from a leader interviewed at the SCO summit in Shanghai, who said others should be careful not to force their views on 'new' republics in Central Asia,'' he said.

Lying on some of the world's biggest oil and gas reserves, Central Asia is a region prone to authoritarianism and instability. Most countries are criticized in the West for patchy human rights records. Both Moscow and Washington have military bases there.

U.S. relations with Uzbekistan, formerly a close ally in the ``war on terror,'' soured after Washington condemned excessive use of force when troops fired on crowds in Andizhan last year during an uprising.

Uzbekistan expelled U.S. troops from a military airbase after that and sought closer ties with Russia. The SCO last year called on the United States to name a date for the departure of all its troops from the region.

``The United States has no intention of 'stealing' one or another country from another 'bloc','' Hoagland said.

As its ties with Uzbekistan deteriorated, Washington has sought to bolster relations with its neighbors.

It has praised Kazakhstan -- the largest economy in the region -- for its democratic development and has convinced the country to join a major pipeline that will take Caspian oil to Western markets while bypassing Russia.