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Latest Articles about Central Asia
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The Legacy of Soviet Nuclear Industry in Tajikistan: Opportunities and Challenges
In April, Rustam Latifov, the head of the Tajik Parliament’s Ecological Commission, announced Tajikistan’s intention to seek international donors to help secure more than 50,000 tons of radioactive waste in Taboshar and distribute humanitarian funds for 2,000 people in the immediate vicinity who are particularly... MORE
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Will Common Challenges Force Central Asian States to Integrate?
Meeting with ambassadors on March 2, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev suggested that Central Asian states launch a common free trade zone, saying the region “enjoys a vast potential to be a global center” (tengrinews.kz, March 2). The initiative comes on the heels of an earlier... MORE
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Southern Kyrgyzstan Tinderbox Awaits Next Spark
A recent International Crisis Group (ICG) report on tensions in Kyrgyzstan’s south has raised pointed questions about the country’s underlying stability. The ICG report, “Kyrgyzstan: Widening Ethnic Divisions in the South,” calls the current peace in Osh “superficial,” noting that “neither the Kyrgyz nor Uzbek... MORE
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Logistics and the Afghan Endgame
The United States and its allies have undertaken a sustained effort since 2008 to develop sea, ground, and air transportation routes to Afghanistan’s north, through the territories of the former Soviet Union. This so-called Northern Distribution Network (NDN) now conveys large quantities of non-lethal supplies... MORE
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CIS, CSTO Eye Increased Cooperation Despite Divisions
The latest top-level meetings of post-Soviet regional groupings, the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), pledged to intensify joint efforts to counter security and economic challenges. However, despite continued Russian efforts to sustain the groupings’ unity, the CIS and... MORE
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CSTO Proposes Cooperation with NATO on Afghanistan
Moscow has again proposed formal multilateral cooperation with NATO. On April 6, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov arrived in Astana to attend the council of foreign ministers of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), ahead of the CSTO summit in Moscow on May 15. Lavrov... MORE
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Tajikistan Hosts Leaders of Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan in Dushanbe for RECCA-V
On March 26-27, the Fifth Regional Economic Cooperation Conference on Afghanistan met in Dushanbe, Tajikistan to discuss regional cooperation and efforts to contribute to the stability of Afghanistan. President Emomali Rahmon of Tajikistan hosted counterparts Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (Iran), Hamid Karzai (Afghanistan), and Asif Ali Zardari... MORE
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Kyrgyz Defense Ministry Agrees to Host US Base Beyond 2014
Kyrgyzstan has agreed to retain the US Transit Center at the Manas airport beyond the term of current contract that expires in 2014. At a meeting with James Mattis, commander of US Central Command (CENTCOM) on April 2, Kyrgyzstan’s Defense Council Secretary Busurmankul Tabaldiyev lauded... MORE
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Presidents of Kazakhstan, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia Attend Seoul Nuclear Summit
Several Eurasian leaders were among the 54 heads of state, deputy prime ministers, or foreign ministers who attended the March 26-27 Nuclear Security Summit in Seoul, South Korea. The main objective of the summit was to prevent non-state actors such as terrorists or criminals from... MORE
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Economic and Social Programs Are Underway in Zhanaozen
As the trials against 37 people for organizing and participating in the December Zhanaozen riots are starting in Aktau on March 27, the Kazakh authorities continue implementing a comprehensive program to mitigate the core reasons for the conflict, prevent social tensions in the future, and... MORE