Kazakhstan has long coveted chairmanship of the OSCE, and today it came one step closer to obtaining it… or did it? The OSCE’s current chairman told Kazakhstan “that it has a better chance of leading the organization in 2009 than any other Central Asian state,” according to RFE/RL.

Looks like Kazakhstan has narrowly edged out pariah states like Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. The OSCE sported some crack diplomacy by “complimenting” Kazakhstan and keeping engagement ongoing, but without actually saying anything.

The chairman did, however, imply that any chance of chairmanship would be contingent upon extensive reforms in the next couple of years.

If Kazakhstan chairs the OSCE is will be the first Central Asian or Caucasian country to do so. The OSCE has been chaired by Eastern European countries such as Romania, Bulgaria, and Poland, but not by any former Soviet republics.