Latest Articles about Central Asia
Bakiyev Downsizes Government and Increases Presidential Powers
Kyrgyzstan is currently witnessing a rapid and further centralization of presidential powers. On January 26, the Kyrgyz parliament’s special committee on constitutional legislation approved several new presidential rights. These include the president’s right to appoint a special presidential council that would in turn have the... MORE
Will Tajikistan Successfully Construct Rogun?
In his official address to Tajik citizens, President Emomali Rakhmon announced that 2010 will be the year “when great resources will be mobilized” to construct the 3,600 mw Rogun dam. “The construction of this site, important for our country, has turned into the arena of... MORE
Kyrgyzstan Boosts Cooperation With China
This week a Kyrgyz government delegation, led by President Kurmanbek Bakiyev’s son Maksim, visited Beijing to strengthen economic relations with China. At a meeting with Chen Jian, the Chinese Assistant Minister of Commerce, Maksim Bakiyev expressed strong interest in building links with China in its... MORE
Russia Mends Energy Ties with Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan
Moscow has moved to revive its gas partnership with Turkmenistan and started unprecedented gas imports from Azerbaijan. However, Russia now faces Iranian competition in its gas dealings with both Caspian nations. This month, Russia’s gas giant Gazprom restarts gas imports from Turkmenistan. On December 31,... MORE
Kazakhstan Promotes Security Through the OSCE
Kazakhstan’s chairmanship of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) has begun with a clear indication that the country intends to prioritize security. Astana will present its initiatives for the year ahead to the OSCE on January 14, amid growing signs of pressure... MORE
Kyrgyz Regime Suspected in Journalist’s Death
On December 16 Gennady Pavluk, a prominent journalist in Kyrgyzstan, was forcefully pushed from a sixth floor window in Almaty with his limbs taped. Pavluk was delivered to a local hospital in a critical condition and died within a few days. Several Kazakh media outlets... MORE
Iran and Turkmenistan Inaugurate Gas Pipeline
On January 6 in Dauletabad, Turkmenistan’s President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov and his Iranian counterpart Mahmoud Ahmadinejad inaugurated a pipeline that runs from that giant Turkmen gas field to Iran. The government of Turkey is also interested in that project; and Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz attending... MORE
China Tightens Grip on Kazakh Gas
Profuse eulogies such as a “milestone in Sino-Kazakh’ relations,” “an epoch-making event” were the most frequently uttered by the Chinese President Hu Jintao and his Kazakh counterpart Nursultan Nazarbayev after their talks in Astana on December 12. Hu Jintao had every reason to describe his... MORE
Kazakhstan Poised to Promote Medvedev’s European Security Proposals
On January 1 Kazakhstan’s Foreign Minister Kanat Saudabayev said that the country will advance security as the chair of the OSCE in the “area from Vancouver to Vladivostok.” Kazakhstan’s government has suggested holding an informal OSCE meeting of foreign ministers in Astana in mid 2010,... MORE
Russia Resuming Gas Imports From Turkmenistan on a Small Scale
On December 22 in Ashgabat, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and his counterpart in Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov witnessed the signing of documents on the bilateral gas trade and transportation. The documents mark the end of Russia’s punitive, nine-month halt of gas imports from Turkmenistan. The halt... MORE