On June 20, after meeting with Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev in Astana, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier announced Germany’s recent endorsement of Kazakhstan’s efforts to create alternative trade routes and transport corridors to Europe while bypassing Russia. Steinmeier declared that such measures would further prevent the Kremlin’s... MORE

The independent Telegram channel “Turkmen News” reports that Ashgabat’s security services recently blocked an attempt at an armed insurrection in Turkmenistan’s capital and have arrested 20 Turkmen citizens. Most prominently, the son of a former agricultural minister was arrested (then later died while behind bars),... MORE

During a regional conference held in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, in May 2023, President Serdar Berdimuhamedov underscored the paramount importance of the Lapis Lazuli international transit corridor. He emphasized how further development of this landmark project would revolutionize the regional transportation system, propelling it to new heights... MORE

Since Russian President Vladimir Putin came to power, Moscow has routinely sought to redirect trade through countries in the post-Soviet space to help its allies and weaken its opponents with the goal of preventing any of the former union republics from becoming regional competitors to... MORE

In May 2023, United States National Security Council spokesman John Kirby announced that Russia is looking to purchase additional Iranian drones and loitering munitions. Kyiv believes that Moscow already received around 2,400 units from its “brother in arms” and has already used over 400 of... MORE

Turkmenistan and Tajikistan plan to collaborate on creating a new transport corridor that will allow both countries to access Europe via the Caspian Sea. On May 10, in Dushanbe, with the participation of both heads of state, Emomali Rahmon and Serdar Berdimuhamedov, 24 new documents on... MORE

Turkmenistan and Pakistan continue their talks on the revival of the Turkmenistan–Afghanistan–Pakistan–India (TAPI) pipeline, and a bilateral meeting on the issue in Islamabad will be announced soon—possibly in late June 2023. For its part, Ashgabat is keen on moving ahead with the project, while energy-deficient... MORE

On April 27, at the Tashkent Investment Forum, Uzbekistani Energy Minister Jurabek Mirzamakhmudov announced that Russia would begin supplying his country with natural gas via its Soviet-era pipelines (TASS, April 28; The Diplomat, May 9). In truth, Moscow is on the hunt for new customers... MORE

At the recent China–Central Asia summit on May 18 and 19, Beijing presented a comprehensive plan for expanding cooperation with the Central Asian states that would usurp Russia’s position in the region (Newscentralasia.net, May 20). The convening of this summit underlined the fact that, at... MORE

The U.S. appears to have succeeded in coaxing its European and Asian allies into adopting a united policy to counter China, even as the Xi Jinping administration flexed its muscle, demonstrating Beijing’s increasing power and influence in Central Asia. At their meeting in Hiroshima, Japan... MORE