"The Russian analysis has emphasized `external forces'" such as international terrorism in general and the ousted Taliban regime in neighboring Afghanistan in particular as being at the root of the violence in Uzbekistan, the official said.
"We see the roots of this crisis as more internal than external."
As if to confirm the Russian-US strategic tension over Uzbekistan, the head of Russia's FSB intelligence and security service, Nikolai Patrushev, said last week that despite US-led efforts to assert control in Afghanistan the country remained a major source of instability in Central Asia.
"The events that took place in Uzbekistan are the result not just of internal problems" but of external factors, Patrushev said Friday while on a visit to Kazakhstan, another key Central Asian state and long-time Russian ally.
"Despite the measures taken by the international community, the situation in Afghanistan is not stable. There continue to be camps used to train international terrorists," Patrushev was quoted as saying by the Interfax news agency.
Volk said that the strongest card for the US to play at present in the region was its investment power while Russia could still use weapons sales at discount prices, training of military officers and other facets of its long-standing ties with Uzbekistan to sustain influence.
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