Given commitment to a multi-vector strategy, five post-Soviet Central Asian countries tend to diversify their foreign policy trajectories. Objective interests determine their gravitation towards closer cooperation with Russia and China, that retain their attractiveness as priority external partners. Among other alternative vectors of Central Asian international policy, Turkey, the USA, and the European Union predominate. As a result, Central Asia turns into an object of multilateral rivalry, while the dependence of the region on external factors often stimulates crises and international antagonisms.