Neutrality as equidistance from sources of dependency: Russo-Turkmen relations in the post-Soviet era

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the reinterpretation of the relationship between the former centre (the Russian Federation) and the former periphery (the other 14 republics) of the Union occupied a crucial position in the foreign policy paradigms of the 15 post-Soviet states. The demise of the USSR radically transformed this relationship: what once constituted an intra-Union affair suddenly became a matter of international relations. In determining the content of these relations, post-Soviet foreign policy-makers had therefore to take into consideration new needs and priorities, no longer linked with the necessity of preserving the USSR or facilitating its advancement, but exclusively tied to the specific interests of the newly emerging political entities.