Tajikistan has struggled for over a decade to raise funds for the world's tallest dam, leaving its population freezing each winter and skimping on basic social services.
While the decision isn’t likely to have a practical effect on people’s freedom to travel, it does signal a potential shift in Brussels’s approach to Georgia’s breakaway territories.
A man who tried against all odds to build a successful business on the Tajik-Kyrgyz border was killed in fighting last month. Matisa Nadyrov told Eurasianet of his dreams just a few months ago.
Kyrgyz villagers believe Tajikistan is trying to make life so miserable and unbearable that they will up sticks and move away, ultimately ceding the land by default.