The idea that the president is concerned for the health and wellbeing of his people is undermined by the merry song-and-dance on which he has led the WHO.
Authorities say they wish to resume trade, but continue to prevent trucks carrying essential items from entering the country. This and more in our weekly Turkmenistan column.
The president may be deluded, but even he has come to realize that the crisis already upon his heavily energy exports-dependent economy is going to be very difficult to weather without help.
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.
Armenia went farther than most of Iran’s neighbors, closing its border for two weeks. Azerbaijan, meanwhile, was the only country to have not closed its border with Iran at all.
The hidden impact of coronavirus, a new secret police chief, and reading the government’s imagined data to understand its priorities and mindset. This and more in our weekly Turkmenistan briefing.