Latest Articles about Central Asia

KYRGYZ PROTEST GROWING WESTERN INFLUENCE AT HOME

Following the December 6 fatal shooting of a Kyrgyz truck driver at the U.S. military base in Kyrgyzstan, anti-U.S. sentiments have been mounting in the country. That incident has moved beyond a mere diplomatic spat between the Kyrgyz government and the U.S. embassy and has... MORE

UZBEKISTAN CONSIDERS RAPPROCHEMENT WITH THE WEST

Recent events in Uzbekistan seem to point to warming relations with the West and a possible re-adjustment of its relations with Russia. EU sanctions on Uzbekistan will remain in place for another year, despite Minister of Foreign Affairs Vladimir Norov’s recent trip to Brussels. Nevertheless,... MORE

BISHKEK’S MANAS BASE IN CRISIS

On December 6 a Kyrgyz citizen was shot at the U.S.-led international anti-terrorism coalition’s Ganci airbase at Manas. Alexander Ivanov, a 43-year-old truck driver, appeared to be on a routine mission at Ganci when he was killed. He was allegedly shot on one of the... MORE

RUSSIAN MASS MEDIA SHAPE PUBLIC OPINION IN KYRGYZSTAN

Last week Murat Zhurayev, a Kyrgyz parliamentarian from Batken, supported the idea of Kyrgyzstan entering the ruble zone. He thus joined the ranks of Kyrgyz politicians who advocate moving deeper into Russia’s orbit (24.kg, December 2). Given the ongoing economic crisis and political instability in... MORE

PRESIDENT BAKIYEV REASSESSING BISHKEK’S FOREIGN SECURITY RELATIONS

Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev, shaken by recent events within Kyrgyzstan, used the opportunity presented by the November 28 Commonwealth of Independent States summit in Minsk to reassert his efforts to improve national security. During his meeting in Minsk with his Tajik counterpart, Emomali Rakhmonov, he... MORE

The Islamist Underground in Southern Kyrgyzstan

Last year's uprising in the Uzbek city of Andijan was only the first symptom of renewed tensions in the Ferghana Valley. The region has seen an increase in inter-ethnic tensions and in operations by Islamist radicals. Groups such as Hizb-ut-Tahrir, the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan... MORE

KAZAKHSTAN’S EU STRATEGY BASED ON REGIONAL ASCENDANCY

Kazakhstan’s President Nursultan Nazarbayev emphasized regional security as a crucial strategic area of cooperation between Kazakhstan and the United Kingdom, during a visit to London on November 21. “Cooperation between Kazakhstan and Great Britain in the field of security in the region is very important.... MORE

ASTANA PLAYS IT SAFE IN DEVELOPING TIES WITH TEHRAN

Given the tense international atmosphere surrounding Iran, Astana has prudently declined to publicize its expanding ties with Tehran and depicts bilateral relations almost exclusively in economic terms. For example, official sources in Kazakhstan made few comments about the Kazakh-Iranian business conference held in Almaty on... MORE