On March 13 Medet Sadyrkulov, the former head of the presidential administration, died in a suspicious car accident. Sadyrkulov's car was hit by another vehicle in the early morning on a rural highway. The car burned entirely, suggesting that the "accident" was pre-planned. Sadyrkulov's death... MORE

Shortly after Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev and opposition forces agreed to negotiate last week, one of the leading opposition leaders and former Foreign Minister Alikbek Jekshenkulov was arrested and placed in pretrial detention. At the March 10 negotiations, opposition forces sought to ensure that Bakiyev... MORE

On February 17 Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev issued a decree ordering the government to set up the Syrbar foreign intelligence agency. The presidential press service told journalists that Syrbar would be directly subordinate to the president. By the same decree, the Barlau foreign intelligence service... MORE

Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev proposed holding negotiations with opposition forces to discuss future political developments in the country. The opposition, in turn, agreed to the negotiations but demanded that the meeting be held in a neutral location and in the presence of independent observers. The... MORE

On February 24 and 25 Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimukhamedov paid a state visit to Uzbekistan for talks with President Islom Karimov. The discussions, which covered a wide range of issues, signaled a further strengthening of bilateral ties; but this was overshadowed by the confirmation by... MORE

The Kyrgyz government announced that August 18, 2009, would be the final day for the U.S. base's functioning at Manas Airport (www.akipress.kg, February 24). Despite intense criticism from the international community, the Kyrgyz leadership seems is determined to shut down the base as soon as... MORE

General David Petraeus, Commander of the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), held meetings in Tashkent on February 16 and 17 with Uzbek President Islom Karimov and Defense Minister Qobul Berdiyev. Non-military transit routes for the NATO mission in Afghanistan were reportedly on his agenda. The discussions... MORE

Despite low popularity ratings at home but with assured support from the Kremlin, Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev has declared his willingness to run for a second term. He added that he would not mind moving elections up to this year, since several political leaders have... MORE