Iran has traditionally faced an uphill battle in its struggle with Turkey for influence in Central Asia. But for most of the past three decades, Tehran has successfully exploited two factors in this fight. On the one hand, the Islamic Republic has relied on its... MORE

At the end of August 2023, the Security Service of Ukraine launched a drone strike against the 126th Brigade of the Russian Black Sea Fleet stationed at the Sevastopol base in Crimea (Kyiv Independent, August 26). The attack hit ammunition depots and damaged critical Russian... MORE

Russia’s Caspian Flotilla has been dominant in the inland sea for so long that many have ignored the fact that, over the past several years, it has ceased to be the only national navy that matters. Outside powers, due to the expansion of their navies,... MORE

Kazakhstan recently expressed concerns about the security of the Russian Port of Novorossiysk, which Astana uses to export most of its oil. Energy Minister Almasadam Satkaliyev said that Kazakhstan will discuss the port’s security following the drone attacks on August 4 that led to the... MORE

On July 18 and 19, the Saudi city of Jeddah hosted a historic geopolitical event—the first-ever summit between the leaders of Central Asia and the Arab world. The presidents of the five Central Asian states—Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan—met with the heads of state... MORE

When Moscow announced plans in 2000 for the creation of a north-south trade corridor, its initial goal was to bypass the Suez Canal; however, recently, this passage has been used primarily to evade Western sanctions (Realtribune.ru, November 30, 2022). The Russian authorities have focused on... MORE

Ankara’s recent announcement in June 2023 on reducing Turkey’s heavy dependence on Russian gas has sent shockwaves through regional energy sectors. Berris Ekinci, acting general director of the Turkish Foreign Ministry’s Energy Department, made this groundbreaking statement during an energy security conference held in Washington.... MORE

Russia’s Caspian Flotilla has been dominant on the waters of the inland sea for so long that many are inclined to ignore the fact that, in recent years, it is far from the only national navy that matters. Moreover, until recently, most of the other... MORE

On June 23, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Georgia established a joint logistics company to improve cargo transportation between Central Asia and the South Caucasus in both directions (Bm.ge, June 23). More recently, on July 17, Uzbekistan Prime Minister Abdulla Aripov paid a visit to Georgia where... MORE

Since the countries of Central Asia gained independence in 1991, the Arab world has devoted most of its attention to the region promoting the revival of Islam and thereby promoting the fundamentalist Islam characteristic of much of the Arab East. The effort has prompted the... MORE