While encouraging educational exchanges and agricultural innovation, Washington's first ambassador to Turkmenistan found government suspicion overwhelming.
The government signals it is taking COVID a bit more seriously, without admitting the virus is running rampant. And Ashgabat gets down to business with the Taliban. This and more in our weekly briefing.
Turkmenistan is embracing the Taliban takeover next door and refusing to get involved in humanitarian operations. This and more in our weekly briefing.
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.
Ashgabat has great confidence these days in its Europe-bound exports. Plus, a mysterious tragedy on the Afghan border. Our weekly Turkmenistan briefing.
Abu Dhabi invests in green energy, China gets another drilling contract, and Ashgabat cuts funding to universities. This and more in our weekly Turkmenistan briefing.
Legacy and death must linger perennially even in the minds of the most megalomaniacal autocrats, and this is why preparations for Turkmenistan’s future are proceeding apace.