Eurasianet

Despite Ashgabat’s fervent diplomacy, one ingredient is missing from its dream project across Afghanistan. Our weekly briefing.

The embassy says it refuses to give back the cash.

The conscripts, generally Tajikistan’s poorest young men, are brutalized into service. And they are the country’s first line of defense.

As hopes for an Afghanistan gas pipeline fade again, there is more upbeat news to the west.

Letters from Washington, cybersecurity cooperation with China, and negotiating with a bankrupt Taliban. This and more in our weekly briefing.

Arbitrary collective punishment, breadlines before dawn, and a resurgence of diplomacy. This and more in our weekly Turkmenistan briefing.

The UN began transferring aid supplies through Termez this month.

If the Taliban fail at creating a viable state, Uzbekistan has much to lose.

That sets them apart from Afghanistan’s other post-Soviet neighbor, Tajikistan.

Tajikistan faces its own shortages each winter.

In our weekly briefing: doing business with Afghanistan and Uzbekistan. Plus, it’s reprimand season.

The 30th anniversary of independence was evidently not deemed an appropriate time for future planning. All the focus was instead on the past.

Kyrgyzstan has sent a delegation to the Taliban, while neighbor Tajikistan flirts with the Afghan resistance.

Ashgabat has pursued a notably distinct line in its engagements with the Taliban. Our weekly Turkmenistan briefing.

Cotton quotas, measuring COVID mortality from space, and the dauphin takes on the economy. This and more in our weekly Turkmenistan briefing.