Central Asian leaders reiterated pledges to rescue the Aral Sea during a summit meeting in Astana, Kazakhstan, on Friday, September 1. At that meeting, the presidents of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan decided to revive the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea. (Turkmenistan did... MORE

During the past week several individuals were detained by Kyrgyz law-enforcement agencies for distributing religious-ideological leaflets. According to recent reports, the number of detained people linked to radical group Hizb-ut-Tahrir has intensified in Kyrgyzstan’s northern cities, including the capital Bishkek (24.kg, August 14). Small groups... MORE

Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev, constrained in his relations with the West owing to pressures from Russia and China, wants to reshape the perception of Bishkek’s role in Central Asia. Eschewing the perception that his country is becoming the focal point for the conflicting interests of... MORE

With presidential elections in Tajikistan planned for this fall, the current president and leader of the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Emomali Rahmonov, remains the only candidate. The opposition Islamic Renaissance Party will likely put forward its own candidate, although a Rahmonov victory is easily... MORE

Tajikistan, painfully aware of the weaknesses within its border security structures, is embarking on key strategic and operational changes to the Tajik border guard service. These will be evident in the new level of cross-border cooperation with Afghanistan, which has been long overdue in Dushanbe’s... MORE

Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev, having secured a deal over the future of the U.S. military deployment at Manas, is rapidly consolidating his regional reputation for combating terrorism and extremism. He is doing so primarily through his contacts with Uzbekistan, and, by broadening his definition of... MORE

Recently revived security ties between Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan risk becoming yet another pompous declaration made by leaders of both states on regional security, fighting terrorism, religious extremism, and drug trafficking. The experience of the past year shows that political climates in both countries have rather... MORE

When Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev visited Riga on July 18, the overriding topic of discussion was how best to send Kazakh oil to energy-hungry markets in Europe and Scandinavian via Latvia. Nazarbayev did his best to give the impression of a pragmatic leader unburdened by... MORE