Executive Summary: Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan’s visit to Xinjiang underscores an expanding partnership with China, signaling a shift in Türkiye’s approach to the Uyghur issue and demonstrating a renewed focus on strengthening bilateral ties. Ankara seeks greater Chinese investment and a reduction in their trade imbalance amid severe economic struggles... MORE

Executive Summary: Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, and Uzbekistan have formed a plan for the transmission of green energy to the European Union via the Caspian Sea. The use of Caspian routes to transport energy to Europe has increased following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and the subsequent... MORE

Executive Summary: Russian President Vladimir Putin visited North Korea and Vietnam to neutralize the diplomatic outcomes of the peace summit in Switzerland and prove Russia’s ability to maintain a high international profile. Nuclear saber-rattling and Moscow’s need for more artillery shells were high on Putin’s... MORE

Executive Summary: Georgia faces a civilizational dilemma between democratic and non-democratic worlds specifically exemplified with the developments surrounding the recent adoption of the law “On Transparency of Foreign Influence.” Georgian Dream does not itself want to officially end Georgia’s European course and instead seeks to... MORE

Executive Summary: The Russian Defense Ministry has seen numerous new appointments over the past few months, including the May appointment of new Defense Minister Andrei Belousov and the replacement of ten of 12 deputy defense ministers. These replacements are erratic and are rife with nepotism... MORE

Executive Summary: Over the past two years, Ukraine has weathered Russian strikes on critical targets, and the intensity of Russian missile and air strikes could soon lead to the exhaustion of Ukraine’s missile stocks. As Ukraine’s stocks have dwindled, the effectiveness of air defense has... MORE

Executive Summary: Budapest has long been concerned about the status and treatment of ethnic Hungarians living in neighboring countries and, most recently, has been more outspoken in defense of those Hungarians living in Ukraine. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has elevated that defense to the... MORE

Executive Summary: Moscow’s latest offer to start talks with Kyiv amounts to a set of non-negotiable demands, and Russian President Vladimir Putin is redoubling his attempts to impose the settlement terms discussed in 2022, supplemented by several aggravating conditions. The Kremlin has de-recognized Ukrainian President... MORE

Executive Summary: The issue of domestic violence in Central Asia has increasingly gained attention since a former Kazakh economic minister tortured and killed his wife and was convicted of murder, inspiring reform movements throughout Kazakhstan. Corruption plays a significant role in the condoning of domestic... MORE

Executive Summary: The Summit on Peace in Ukraine, held in Switzerland on June 15 and 16, demonstrated a unified position held by many states worldwide in respecting Ukraine’s territorial integrity and upholding international law. Russian propaganda had tried to raise concerns that the absence of... MORE