Eurasianet

Tashkent has also announced it will not return Afghan aircraft flown by pilots fleeing the Taliban last summer.

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

Iran and Georgia considered as alternatives.

The Taliban has assured the region’s governments that it has no designs on them, but can it keep more hostile groups in check?

The documents focuses on viruses, droughts, water shortages and food deficits as potential crisis flashpoints.

New pressure from Washington will make China look even closer at Central Asia.

A facile and naïve plan being discussed in Washington risks backfiring on Iran’s minority Christians.

This week in our Turkmenistan bulletin: Ashgabat and Moscow suddenly ratify an aged security agreement. Plus budgets, boasts and bribes.

The government’s lack of capacity helps explain the about-face.

Some hard talk from the Russian foreign minister has led to recriminations in Yerevan and the prospect of Azerbaijan’s foreign minister getting sacked.

Supporters of the move think it will provide a useful outlet for the momentarily unemployed.