Central Asian leaders are engaged in a balancing act, showing they are content to live with the Taliban’s ascendancy in Afghanistan while signaling they will deal firmly with any trouble that might spill over.
The only question Georgian journalists had for the prime minister, as he attempted to host a pro-European summit of post-Soviet states: When will you step down?
In many former Soviet states, corruption is not simply a matter of individual officials abusing public power for private gain but, rather, an organizing principle of governance.
From Azerbaijan’s perspective, there are perils to either the reelection of the incumbent prime minister or the return to power of his main rival, former president Robert Kocharyan.
A border commission, including Russian mediation, is in the works. And given the sensitivity over issues of land and territorial concessions, it’s going to have its work cut out. Post-War Report.