Russia and Central Asia
EU-Central Asia Ministerial Meeting Highlights Enhanced Cooperation and Strategic Priorities
The 20th EU-Central Asia Ministerial Meeting took place on March 27 in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, reaffirming the parties’ strong political will to deepen engagement and strengthen cooperation in strategically significant areas. The meeting brought together the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas, along with the foreign ministers of Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, and the deputy foreign ministers of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. A key item on the agenda was preparation for the inaugural EU-Central Asia Summit, scheduled for April 4, 2025, in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. Kallas and Central Asian ministers discussed a broad spectrum of mutual priorities under the EU’s Global Gateway Flagship Initiatives, including trade, transport, energy, water resource management, climate change, digitalization, and critical raw materials. Both sides also highlighted advancing cooperation in education, vocational training, research, and skills development to foster deeper people-to-people ties. Click here to read...
Kazakhstan continuing to ship oil via CPC system without restrictions - Energy Ministry
Kazakhstan is continuing to supply its oil via the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) system as usual and without restrictions, according to the Kazakh Energy Ministry's press service. "There are no restrictions for Kazakh oil from the CPC. It is taking [Kazakh oil] as usual,". The Russian Defense Ministry said earlier that Ukrainian forces tried to attack the CPC's Kropotkinskaya oil pumping station in the Krasnodar Territory last night. The attack drone was intercepted seven kilometers from the facility. The previous attempt to attack the Kropotkinskaya station was undertaken on February 17. The station then sustained damage and had to suspend operations in order to undergo repairs. On March 19, three fixed-wing drones attacked an energy facility in the Krasnodar Territory's Kavkazskaya village, which transfers oil from tank cars to the CPC pipeline system. Click here to read...
Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan Reach Agreement on Amu Darya Water Usage
A delegation from Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Water Resources visited Turkmenistan on March 13-14 to discuss bilateral cooperation on water management, Dunyo reports. Officials from both countries met in Türkmenabat to address key issues, including the maintenance and modernization of water infrastructure, flood prevention, riverbank reinforcement, and efficient water use. As part of the discussions, the sides reaffirmed their commitment to implementing agreements reached during the fourth Uzbek-Turkmen intergovernmental meeting on water management. They agreed to collaborate on hydrotechnical projects aimed at minimizing water losses in the Amu Darya River and optimizing resource use. Click here to read...
President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev received Shen Yanfeng, the General Director of CNNC
During the meeting with the head of the China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC), prospects for cooperation in the field of nuclear energy were discussed. Kassym-Jomart Tokayev informed Shen Yanfeng about Kazakhstan’s plans to develop the industry, emphasizing the importance of the recently adopted decision to establish a Nuclear Energy Agency to systematically address the strategic tasks facing the national economy. The Kazakh President noted that Kazakhstan is interested in the extensive experience of CNNC, a flagship of China’s nuclear energy sector. Click here to read...
Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan Reach Border Agreement After Years of Negotiations
After nearly two decades of discussions, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan have officially determined the junction point of their shared borders. Kamchibek Tashiyev, head of the Kyrgyz National Security Committee, presented the final border demarcation to Kyrgyz lawmakers, AKIpress reported. On March 19, Tashiyev stated that trilateral negotiations on this issue had been ongoing since 2007. Government delegations from the three countries held six meetings before reaching an agreement. The dispute over the exact location of the border junction remained unresolved until a March 2025 meeting in Dushanbe, where representatives of Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan finalized the demarcation. This breakthrough follows a March 13 border agreement between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, aimed at ending long-standing tensions that had made their shared border the most volatile in Central Asia for over a decade. The deal was underscored by Tajik President Emomali Rahmon’s first visit to Bishkek in nearly 12 years, highlighting its importance. Click here to read...
Trump highlights growing US-Turkmenistan ties in the run-up to UN Conference
The U.S. will attend the Third UN Conference on Landlocked Developing Countries, which will be held in Turkmenistan, Trend reports. The US President Donald Trump confirmed this in a letter addressed to Turkmen President Serdar Berdimuhamedov on the occasion of Nowruz.
"The American people are inspired by your ongoing reforms, and I highly value our cooperation on many important issues. We look forward to working with you and sending a delegation to the great, beautiful, white city of Ashgabat to represent the United States at the Third United Nations Conference on Landlocked Developing Countries. Thank you for hosting this event," Trump wrote. Click here to read...
Kazakhstan makes Top 40 list of arms importers – survey
Kazakhstan is the only country in Central Asia and the Caucasus to rank among the Top 40 arms importers over the past five years, according to a recent study published by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. Over the same period, Russia has seen its position as a global arms supplier erode severely. Astana’s purchases accounted for just under 1 percent of total global arms imports during the 2020-2024 period, good for 26th place in the Top 40, according to the SIPRI update. Russia was Kazakhstan’s dominant arms supplier, accounting for 88 percent of Kazakh purchases. The country’s worldwide share of imports during the just-completed, five-year period was slightly lower than during 2015-2019. Click here to read...
Iran and the South Caucasus
Iran, Turkmenistan discuss expansion of economic, transport ties
During the trip of Iranian Transport and Urban Development Minister Farzaneh Sadeq to Turkmenistan, officials from the two countries discussed the expansion of relations in different economic and transport areas. In a meeting between Sadeq and Turkmenistan’s Foreign Affairs Minister Rashit Meredow, on Friday (March 28), the two sides reviewed the roadmap for economic cooperation between the two countries, the portal of Iran’s Ministry of Transport and Urban Development reported. The Iranian minister announced the hosting of the next meeting of the two countries Joint Economic Committee in Tehran in the last week of the next Iranian calendar month (mid-May) and discussed issues related to transportation cooperation and the export of technical and engineering services. Issues related to energy, electricity, and gas were also discussed by the officials of the two countries. Click here to read...
Azerbaijani FM warns Armenia's revanchism bents as primary hurdle to normalization process
The revanchism tendency in Armenia poses the main obstacle in finalizing the normalization process, Azerbaijan's Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov said in the article titled "Azerbaijan's Independent and Sovereign Foreign Policy Model" published in the Azerbaijani parliament's analytical information journal, Trend reports. In his article, the minister spoke about the negotiations related to the text of the Azerbaijan-Armenia peace agreement. "Despite the progress made in the framework of bilateral negotiations on a peace agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia, the ongoing tendency of revanchism in Armenia, along with the failure of the Armenian side to demonstrate political will to amend provisions in the country's constitution and other legal acts that include territorial claims against our country, as well as Armenia's rapid militarization with direct support from foreign powers, remains the most serious obstacle to the completion of the normalization process. Maintaining constant attention to these threats remains one of the primary objectives of our diplomacy. Click here to read...
Pashinyan briefs Kobakhidze on completion of Armenia-Azerbaijan peace agreement negotiations
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze has arrived in Armenia on a working visit. According to the Armenian Prime Minister’s Office, a private meeting between Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Irakli Kobakhidze took place. Pashinyan expressed gratitude to his Georgian counterpart for accepting the invitation to attend the match between the Armenian and Georgian national football teams, which will be held in Yerevan on March 20. The Prime Ministers noted that the match has aroused great interest among fans and emphasized that such games contribute to the further strengthening of the centuries-old ties between the Armenian and Georgian peoples. During their private conversation, the two leaders discussed issues on the Armenia-Georgia agenda. Click here to read...
