
Latest Articles about Central Asia

Russia to Double Aircraft at Kant Airfield in Kyrgyzstan
According to General-Lieutenant Viktor Sevostianov, the commander of air forces in the Central Military District, which controls the Kant airbase in Kyrgyzstan, Russia plans to double the number of its aircraft there before the end of 2013 (https://argumenti.ru/army/2013/10/293863). Sevostianov made the announcement during an October... MORE

Mongolian President’s Trip to Pyongyang: Significant Agreements, but No Meeting with Kim Jong Un
Mongolian President Tsakhia Elbegdorj, arrived in Pyongyang on October 28 for a four-day state visit, ostensibly to celebrate the 65th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic relations and the 25th anniversary of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s (DPRK) founder, Kim Il Sung’s, visit to Ulaanbaatar. Several... MORE

Prospects for Turkey Joining the Russia-Led Customs Union
At the October 24 summit of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council in Minsk, Kazakhstani President Nursultan Nazarbayev suggested that Turkey may wish to join the Custom Union of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan. According to Nazarbayev, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan reached out to him... MORE

Emomalii Rahmon Reelected President of Tajikistan Amid Opposition Boycott
On November 6, Emomalii Rahmon was reelected to his fourth term as president of Tajikistan (BBC Tajik, November 7). The 61-year-old incumbent officially won 83.6 percent of the vote, defeating five candidates on his way to securing another seven-year term. More than 500 foreign observers,... MORE

Kazakh Language Comes into Its Own
A press conference by a regional leader in Kazakhstan, unsurprisingly, seldom attracts much attention. But a recent such press briefing by Nurlan Nogayev, the akim (governor) of the Western Kazakhstan Oblast, has drawn significant notice and may prove to be a turning point in the... MORE

Mixed Views of China’s “One Size Fits All” Trade Diplomacy in Central Asia
President Xi Jinping's latest, highly ambitious tour through the Central Asian republics took regional political circles by surprise. From the points of view of Central Asian capitals, it seems clear that Beijing is marching through Moscow's turf in Central Asia, forging close ties by offering... MORE

Russia’s Eurasian Integration Projects Threatened by Internal Dissent
On October 24 and 25, Belarus hosted two high-level meetings of heads of state of the Supreme Economic Council of the Eurasian Economic Community (EurAsEc) and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). While these gatherings enabled their participants to discuss a wide range of issues... MORE

Eurasian Chemical Weapons Threat Persists
In October 2013, Russian authorities reportedly thwarted a possible attack by militant extremists against the Maradykovo chemical weapons (CW) storage and elimination facility in the Middle Volga region of Kirov. The authorities stated that two young males from the North Caucasus allegedly had bomb components... MORE

Afghan and Syrian Links to Central Asian Jihadism
Since September 2013, Central Asian jihadists, including returnees from Syria, have attempted to carry out high-profile attacks in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. Other Central Asian jihadists in Syria have increasingly publicized their activities with al-Qaeda in Iraq and al-Sham (Levant and the Eastern Mediterranean). As the... MORE

Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan: Can Common Interests Push Old Quarrels Aside?
Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan suffered from serious bilateral tensions in the first decade after both Central Asian republics had gained their independence. But following the election of Turkmenistan’s new president, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, personal relations between the two countries’ heads of state visibly improved. A complex series... MORE