Latest Articles about Central Asia
More Young Tajik Radicals Starting to Fight Abroad?
The government in Dushanbe has said that three citizens of Tajikistan were recently killed fighting on the side of the rebels in Syria. Also according to Dushanbe, 11 Tajikistani fighters were killed in Afghanistan and Pakistan during the last several years. Tajikistan’s State Committee for... MORE
Caspian Arms Race Complexities
The Center for Strategic Studies under the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan (SAM) and Germany’s Konrad Adenauer Foundation (KAS) hosted a conference this month in Baku on “Cooperation in the Caspian Region: National Perspectives and Common Challenges.” In his conference keynote speech, SAM director... MORE
Opposition to Customs Union Grows Across Eurasia
While the Customs Union between Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan is seeking to expand its membership, paving the way for the gradual incorporation of the Kyrgyz Republic and Ukraine into its integration orbit, opposition in these countries to the Eurasian integration project has been steadily rising.Several... MORE
Central Asia’s Water Conflicts Come into Focus During Nazarbayev-Karimov Summit
It was not the first time Central Asia’s water disputes have taken a prominent place on the summit agenda of the presidents of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, Nursultan Nazarbayev and Islam Karimov, respectively. But the meeting in Tashkent on June 14–15 (see EDM, June 18) attached... MORE
Karimov-Nazarbayev Summit Signals Shift in Central Asian Security
On June 13–14, Kazakhstan’s President Nursultan Nazarbayev arrived in Tashkent for a summit with his Uzbekistani counterpart Islam Karimov. Although media coverage of this meeting differed in both countries, the summit witnessed the signing of a “strategic partnership” between Astana and Tashkent. Equally, despite the... MORE
Scandal in Scandinavia: Gulnara Karimova’s Shrinking Prospects to Become Next Uzbek President
The issue of power succession in Uzbekistan gained momentum as a serious investigation has been launched in Sweden against Gulnara Karimova, the 40-year old daughter of Uzbekistan’s President Islam Karimov. She is suspected of receiving a $320 million bribe, paid to her company Takilant Limited... MORE
Simmering Border Conflicts Erupt Between Tajik and Kyrgyz Villagers
Just days after the presidents of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan met in Bishkek to confront the periodic conflicts breaking out on their countries’ border (https://news.tj/en/news/tajik-kyrgyz-leaders-outline-main-directions-further-bilateral-cooperation), a new incident occurred between residents of Batken (Kyrgyzstan) and Isfara (Tajkistan) districts in the Ferghana Valley on May 31. Hundreds... MORE
Presidential Election Campaign Starts in Mongolia
Three Mongolian political parties with seats in the current parliament have nominated their candidates for the country’s sixth presidential election, which is scheduled for June 26, 2013, under the 1992 constitution. After the completion of administrative and legal background checks, the General Election Commission formally... MORE
China as Tajikistan’s ‘Lender of Last Resort’
On May 19–20, the President of Tajikistan Emomalii Rahmon paid a state visit to China where he had talks with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, and with several heads of Chinese state corporations. Rahmon’s official visit resulted in several multi-million-dollar investment projects in the infrastructure,... MORE
Kumtor Gold Mine Protests and Unrest Rock Kyrgyzstan
The notorious spring season in Kyrgyzstan was again marked by intensified protest activity this year. On May 31, protesters demanding the nationalization of the locally-based Kumtor gold mine clashed with security forces in a northern district of Jeti-Oguz of the Issyk-Kul province in what was... MORE