In June 2014, Central Asian media (centrasia.ru, June 19; avesta.tj, kursiv.kz, June 20) widely republished a June 18 article by EurasiaNet that analyzed the United States Defense Department’s latest biannual report to Congress regarding the implementation of its Drug Interdiction and Counter-Drug Activities program in... MORE

Since Russia’s “annexation” of Crimea and the start of the Russia-backed “rebellion” in Donbas (eastern Ukrainian region encompassing Donetsk and Luhansk provinces), Central Asian countries have become concerned about their citizens joining the pro-Russia forces in Ukraine as “mercenaries.” Prior to the Ukraine crisis, the... MORE

This year Sino-Mongolian relations have been buffeted by a series of challenging interruptions: the Mongolian government’s standoff with Rio Tinto over expanding underground mining operations at Oyu Tolgoi (OT) which will disrupt development of shipments of copper concentrate supplies to China, another Mongolian postponement in... MORE

During her week-long visit last month (June 2014) to Central Asia, South Korean President Park Geun-hye made further progress in advancing her “Eurasia Initiative,” which she announced in October 2013. The Initiative aims to deepen South Korean ties with Europe through Russia, China and Central... MORE

On June 17, the Mongolian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Mongolia’s Institute for Strategic Studies (ISS) organized an international seminar entitled “Ulaanbaatar Dialogue on Northeast Asia.” The brainchild of Mongolian President Tsakhia Elbegdorj, this new security dialogue mechanism was announced in 2013 at the VII... MORE

Tashkent hosted an international conference on “Vital Reserves in the Realization of Food Program in Uzbekistan” during June 5–6. Uzbekistan’s President Islam Karimov gave an opening speech at the event. As the timing of the conference was chosen at the peak of the fruit and... MORE

Apart from closer economic and trade ties, the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU), which its three founding members—Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus—expect to launch as early as next January, also foresees increased cooperation in the scientific field, with an emphasis on innovations. While Russia and Kazakhstan have... MORE

Russia has used a recent military exercise to rehearse intervention in Central Asia to a strategic depth of 3,000 kilometers (1,864 miles). Since the Ukraine crisis erupted earlier this year, the Kremlin has harnessed the tool of using “snap inspections” of combat readiness in the... MORE

Moscow is using much the same strategy to punish and rein in Tashkent for its pro-Western tilt that it has used against Kyiv: promoting separatism in Karakalpakstan (see EDM, windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com, June 13) and organizing the regional power grid in Central Asia in such a way... MORE

On May 21, two people were killed by law enforcement officers in Tajikistan’s eastern city of Khorog (the capital of the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Province, located in the eastern half of Tajikistan, in the Pamir Mountains region). The police opened fire on a crowd that had... MORE