Even before the late Turkmen President Saparmurat Niyazov was buried last December, foreign government delegations were scrambling to meet with his successor, Gurbanguly Berdimukhamedov, either to get reassurance that earlier energy contracts would be honored or to angle for new ones to exploit the world’s... MORE

On March 27 a joint meeting of representatives from the Secretariat of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and members of the OSCE Center in Dushanbe discussed security measures with the Tajik government. Saidmumin Yatimov, Tajikistan’s first deputy foreign minister, described the... MORE

Following the death of Turkmen President Saparmurat Niyazov on December 21, his successor, Gurbanguly Berdimukhamedov, is carefully opening his country’s Internet access to the outside world. Under Niyazov, Turkmenistan had long been isolated from the World Wide Web. According to the Internet World Stats directory,... MORE

Yesterday, March 28, Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev announced his willingness to conduct a national referendum to reaffirm his legitimacy and support among the population. He also declared that he had sacked a number of key government representatives, including First Deputy Prime Minister Danoyar Usenov, who... MORE

After years of touting successful military reform under the direction of former defense minister Army-General Mukhtar Altynbayev, Kazakhstan has announced plans to change the command structure of its troops. Daniyal Akhmetov, the current defense minister, plans systemic reform in order to bring Kazakhstan up to... MORE

On March 21, Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev agreed to yield to opposition demands after two major opposition blocs, “United Front” and “For Reforms,” announced their intentions to stage a demonstration on April 11 against his government. In the coming weeks the president is expected to... MORE

The widespread fighting between Chechens and Kazakhs that erupted in Almaty's Enbekshiqazaq district on March 18 were the latest in a long string of ethnic-based conflicts upsetting the densely populated southern regions of Kazakhstan. The melee caused several deaths and dozens of serious injuries. According... MORE

Kyrgyzstan's two major opposition blocs, "For Reforms!" and "United Front," have announced plans to stage mass demonstrations against President Kurmanbek Bakiyev this April. For Reforms will demand a revision of the existing constitution, adopted in December 2006, and call for return to the constitution of... MORE

On March 7 Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdimukhamedov met Igor Makarov, the CEO of Russian gas trader Itera. During the meeting Makarov reiterated Itera's interest in expanded cooperation with Turkmenistan. He also suggested that Zarit, a joint venture founded by Itera and Russian state-run companies Zarubezhneft... MORE