Eurasianet

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

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

While clumsy on COVID-19, Turkmenistan is being more sure-footed, or consistent at least, on the Afghanistan front. Plus, unsustainable agriculture. Our weekly briefing.

Iran and Georgia considered as alternatives.

With the Taliban at the border, the president heads in the other direction to oversee defense operations on the Caspian Sea. Our weekly Turkmenistan briefing.

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

That Central Asia's presidents seemed to enjoy themselves together was itself a breakthrough. This and more in our weekly Turkmenistan briefing.

The president’s latest stunt highlights how Turkmenistan is increasingly devoted to military aviation acquisitions from Italy. Our weekly briefing.

Ashgabat has great confidence these days in its Europe-bound exports. Plus, a mysterious tragedy on the Afghan border. Our weekly Turkmenistan briefing.

Ashgabat may hope expending energy to attain international respectability will improve its chances of tapping global financial institutions for investment.

Ecological conservation is a matter of pride in Turkmenistan. But a disconnect between rhetoric and reality is a hallmark of the Berdymukhamedov era.

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.

After rewarding himself with a more pliant constitution, the president held a massive military parade. This and more in our weekly Turkmenistan briefing.

Instead of being transparent about the economic crisis, the president is, in the manner of an unaccountable manager incapable of long-term planning, trying to do the same with less.