On October 8 Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi arrived in Astana, Kazakhstan, to consult with Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev and Prime Minister Karim Masimov in a bid to ease tensions around the Kashagan oilfield. Work at Kashagan was halted over the summer, due to accusations... MORE

While Western powers compete to entice Turkmenistan’s new leadership to share access to the country’s munificent hydrocarbon resources, Moscow is pursing a longer-term goal by attempting to modify the country’s long-standing neutrality stance. The Kremlin apparently hopes to enmesh Turkmenistan in existing post-Soviet defense pacts... MORE

Turkmenistan’s President Gurbanguly Berdimukhamedov delivered a keynote speech at the UN General Assembly on September 25, indicating that Ashgabat wants to “open up” to the outside world and build a more durable environment to further its economic interests. Praising the role of the UN in... MORE

Since succeeding Turkmen “president for life” Saparmurat Niyazov on December 22, 2006, Gurbanguly Berdimukhamedov has swiftly moved to consolidate power and improve Turkmenistan’s international image with an assuredness that has startled analysts. First, on May 16 Ashgabat announced that Akmurat Redzhepov, head of the feared... MORE

The December 21, 2006, death of Turkmenistan’s self proclaimed president-for-life Saparmurat Niyazov set off an intense round of speculation about both the succession process and who might gain access to the world’s fifth-largest energy reserves, responsible for more than $2 billion annually in export revenues.... MORE

On July 17 in Beijing, the Turkmen and Chinese governments signed grandiose-looking agreements on gas field development in Turkmenistan and gas sales to China. Presidents Hu Jintao and Gurbanguly Berdimukhamedov -- on his first visit to China since becoming president in February -- witnessed the... MORE

With the unexpected death of Turkmen-President-for-Life Saparmurat Niyazov on December 21, 2006, many Western governments believed that a new era of openness and access to the country’s natural gas deposits, the fifth largest in the world, was about to begin. Six months later, it appears... MORE

At a summit meeting in the Kremlin on April 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin appeared to press his Turkmen counterpart on a variety of issues, notably Caspian energy. But during his first official visit to Moscow Gurbanguly Berdimukhamedov refrained from making any new commitments. During... MORE