Latest Articles about Central Asia
INTERNATIONAL ASSISTANCE FOCUSING ON TAJIK-AFGHAN BORDER
Landmark agreements on border security and combating the narcotics trade were signed on September 26-29 in Dushanbe with a view toward stemming the Afghan heroin flow, the world's largest. Afghan drugs are being trafficked via Tajikistan to Russia and Europe. Following the mid-2005 completion of... MORE
CHANCE MISSED TO SAVE KARSHI-KHANABAD
On September 27-28, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Fried headed an interagency delegation to Tashkent on the first leg of a Central Asian tour. A hoped-for Uzbek consent to continued American use of the irreplaceable Karshi-Khanabad (K-2) air base did not materialize during this... MORE
ASTANA’S OIL STRATEGY REVEALS PREFERENCE FOR UNITED STATES
Kazakhstan hopes to use its privileged position as the largest oil producing state in Central Asia to foster good relations with key members of the international community. This tactic is probably best illustrated by a recent Kazakh-government sponsored conference for American business leaders in San... MORE
ERKINBAYEV’S ASSASSINATION PROVOKES CONTROVERSY IN KYRGYZSTAN
On September 21, Bayaman Erkinbayev, a member of the Kyrgyz parliament with alleged ties to criminal groups, was shot dead in central Bishkek, the Kyrgyz capital. His murder is the third political assassination in Kyrgyzstan since the March 24 Tulip Revolution. The National Security Service... MORE
RUSSIA OFFERS “QUALITY” MILITARY ASSISTANCE TO KYRGYZSTAN
As part of an effort to cement Moscow's relations with newly elected Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov has offered a significant increase in the quality of bilateral military assistance Russia's affords to the country. Ivanov's comments were made ahead of his... MORE
UNPRECEDENTED UZBEK-RUSSIAN JOINT MILITARY EXERCISE HELD
On September 21-23, for the first time since 1991, Uzbekistan hosted a joint military exercise with Russian troops on its territory. Presidents Vladimir Putin and Islam Karimov ordered the holding of the exercise in their capacity as commanders-in-chief, and Defense Ministers Sergei Ivanov and Kadyr... MORE
KYRGYZSTAN CONTENT TO HOST RUSSIAN AND AMERICAN AIR BASES
On September 20-21, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov held talks with Kyrgyz leaders in Bishkek and inspected Russia's Kant air base. Ivanov characterized the mission of the Russian air group there as "combating terrorism and drug trafficking" -- a justification that may be politically unassailable... MORE
CHINA QUIETLY INCREASES MILITARY LINKS WITH TAJIKISTAN
China is quietly and steadily increasing its military links with Central Asian states, including the weak Tajikistani military, in keeping with its policy goals of limiting U.S. influence in the region and promoting its own security agenda. Cao Gangchuan, Chinese defense minister, made his first... MORE
KARIMOV ACCUSES KYRGYZSTAN OF ASSISTING TERRORISTS
Tashkent's latest official explanation blames Kyrgyzstan for the bloody Andijan riots on May 13. At a parliamentary meeting on September 5, the Uzbek Prosecutor-General accused the Kyrgyz government of allowing up to 70 religious extremists to train on its southern territories ahead of the Andijan... MORE
KYRGYZSTAN BANS “EXTREMISM” WITH PRODDING FROM BEIJING
On August 17, three days after his inauguration, Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev signed the new law "On Counteraction against Extremist Activity." official Kyrgyz government newspaper Erkin Too published the text of the law on August 19. Activists from Hizb-ut-Tahrir (the Islamic Party of Liberation) immediately... MORE