On October 6 the French President Nicolas Sarkozy arrived in Astana on a state visit and met his counterpart Nursultan Nazarbayev. During his one day visit he also held talks with Kazakhstan’s Foreign Minister Kanat Saudabayev and the Minister of Economics and Budget Planning Bakhyt... MORE

Since last month, the Kyrgyz public has been able to watch China’s CCTV channel broadcasting in the Russian language. For now, the channel broadcasts only in Bishkek. But the Chinese government is ready to invest in digital receivers for the southern parts of Kyrgyzstan, in... MORE

The Secretary of the Kyrgyz Security Council Adakhan Madumarov and the Chairman of the National Security Service (SNB) Murat Sutalinov recently proposed legalizing capital punishment. Both officials reject standards promoted by Western organizations such as the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) (www.akipress.kg,... MORE

Russia and Kazakhstan's leadership have reiterated pledges to boost their bilateral economic and energy partnership. However, they remain divided over some divergent interests, notably in gas processing and oil transit. Earlier this month, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and his Kazakh counterpart Nursultan Nazarbayev met at... MORE

As winter approaches, the Kyrgyz Minister of Energy Iliyas Davydov has announced that electricity will be rationed in the upcoming months. Last year, electricity outages reached 12 hours or more in some parts of Kyrgyzstan. Significantly, electricity shortages were largely caused by the poor management... MORE

While the Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev visited the U.S. base in Bishkek on September 11 to pay tribute to growing relations between Washington and Bishkek, more of his opponents are threatened with being physically removed for their criticism. Baktybek Beshimov, a member of parliament (MP)... MORE

Presidents Dmitry Medvedev and Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov met on September 13 in the city of Turkmenbashi to discuss a possible resumption of Turkmen gas deliveries to Russia. The Russian side stopped taking deliveries through the Central Asia-Center pipeline in early April this year, exploiting its monopsony... MORE

Following disappointing presidential elections in July, the Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev is continuing to sideline his political opponents and silence the local mass media. Opposition leaders are persecuted with the help of ingenious techniques. Their relatives are threatened with administrative and criminal charges, while opposition... MORE

Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbayev has instructed the government to form a State Commission on Preparations for Kazakhstan's Chairmanship of the OSCE. Personally chairing an enlarged inter-departmental meeting on this subject, Nazarbayev described Kazakhstan's chairmanship of the OSCE in 2010 as a "national strategic project." The... MORE

Tajikistan's political future is difficult to predict: whether the country will be able to use its economic potential or become yet another failed state owing to its corruption and criminality largely depends on President Emomali Rakhmon's policies. Nonetheless, one thing has become clearer over the... MORE