Turkmenistan is eager to gin up some good vibes as another year of shortages and economic stagnation draws to a close. But even when wares appear in the market, the problem is finding cash.
The president visits Italy, a disappeared gay doctor reemerges with a suspicious denial, and officials say the cotton harvest was perfect. This and more in our weekly Turkmenistan bulletin.
Following last month’s successful Eurasian Economic Union summit in Yerevan, it was all smiles between the Russian foreign minister and Armenian officials.
Over the past two decades, the president’s office has instituted at least six ad hoc commissions to defuse some kind of political impasse. The latest is not off to an auspicious start.