https://carnegieendowment.org/russia-eurasia/politika/2025/09/afghanistan-water-supply-central-asia
Generally speaking I'm not a fan of the Carnegie Center or the many think-tanks like it. On one level they are all in service to the Establishment, producing work for policy makers and yet very much affected by values, commitments, and sometimes stated agendas connected to powerful interests in government and finance.
https://www.euractiv.com/news/armenia-to-start-eu-bid-in-near-future/
The struggle over Armenia and the Caucasus continues. The region has been caught in geopolitical wranglings since the fall of the Soviet Union thirty-five years ago.
The UK plan to outsource its immigration crisis to Rwanda collapsed and was cancelled by Keir Starmer. Despite this, Rwanda is still looking to sign up and receive European funds. And Paul Kagame has his takers as nations such as Denmark, Austria, Greece, and Germany have expressed interest.
https://www.euractiv.com/news/taliban-envoy-abdul-qahar-balkhi-to-lead-delegation-to-brussels/
The Taliban does not want to do business with the United States. Given the bad blood connected to the horrific war of the 1980's, it's surprising that Kabul would want anything to do with Moscow either, but indeed it would seem the two nations are proceeding on the basis of common interests. China looms over all and while the Taliban looks to Beijing as its primary foreign investor, the Afghan leadership knows that it's in their interest to diversify - lest they become wholly dependent on Beijing.
https://www.euractiv.com/news/kyrgyzstan-in-eu-crosshairs-over-russia-sanctions-circumvention/
The EU has been trying to establish better ties with Central Asia, but all of this has been sidetracked by the Ukraine War and the West's anti-Moscow posture. The nations of Central Asia deal with both Russia and China which are their neighbours with some nations leaning toward Beijing and others toward Moscow.
This is a story unlikely to get any attention in US media but it has American fingerprints all over it.
https://evangelicalfocus.com/world/33581/baptist-church-raided-twice-in-kazakhstan
My heart goes out to Christians being put under pressure by wicked governments and we should be in prayer for the Church in Kazakhstan and throughout all of Central Asia.
That said, there are some problems with this story.
https://eurasianet.org/trump-brokers-potentially-game-changing-deal-with-armenia-azerbaijan
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/08/07/us-deal-armenia-azerbaijan-00499285
I must say if this deal holds and comes to fruition, it will be quite the feather in Donald Trump's cap. Or if it goes wrong, it may be viewed by historians in terms of folly and provocation.
https://eurasianet.org/us-strikes-mineral-deals-with-uzbekistan-tashkent-report
https://eurasianet.org/kyrgyz-pm-gets-polite-brush-off-by-us-business-executives
https://www.eurasiantimes.com/china-intrudes-in-russias-backyard-as-moscow/
https://www.asianews.it/news-en/Central-Asia-and-Beijing-after-the-Astana-summit-63374.html
https://eurasianet.org/united-states-and-russia-angling-for-influence-in-turkmenistan
https://eurasianet.org/rumors-of-chinese-land-deals-spark-public-unease-in-uzbekistan
As Ankara seeks to work with Azerbaijan in the creation of a new energy and trade corridor connected to Central Asia, the other big players are also quite active and the region is astir.
There's so much that could be said right now about events in the Middle East and the conflict between Israel and Iran and the potential for a wider war including the United States and others.
For my part I think about scenarios in which the war could go sideways or the aftermath of a regime collapse.
https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/menasource/syria-assad-hts-china-future/
Foreign Policy magazine and The Economist have articles on this topic but due to firewalls there's little point in linking them.
Instead I'm linking this piece from (of all places) The Atlantic Council. It's biased to be sure (and even misleading at points) but given that it's readership is a little more high-brow, it's intelligent and touches on things that an AP story, let alone something from CNN or CBS wouldn't even address.
https://eurasianet.org/kyrgyzstan-authorities-seek-expanded-powers-to-regulate-religious-affairs
This new set of laws is in keeping with everything we've come to expect with the authoritarian states of Central Asia which emerged with the fall of the Soviet Union. The Eurasianet article is incorrect. Kyrgyzstan is not a secular society at all, but rather one in which Islam is the officially favoured religion with other traditional groups (such as Eastern Orthodoxy) tolerated.
https://www.asianews.it/news-en/The-Turanian-World-advance-in-Central-Asia-60912.html
Neo-Ottomanism is not exactly the same as Pan-Turkism but the concepts can and often do overlap. Neo-Ottomanism is about leveraging Ankara's placement, the fact that Türkiye straddles Europe, the Caucasus, the Middle East, and the Mediterranean. Via the Black Sea and the Caucasus it is able to access the Turkish populations of Central Asia - and this is where the Pan-Turkism comes in. Ankara is able to exert itself culturally into the region and it's natural that economic and other diplomatic relations would ensue.
https://eurasianet.org/china-kyrgyzstan-uzbekistan-railway-project-gets-off-the-ground
The key statement this article is the reference to the Trans-Afghan corridor. This railroad and its relationship to the larger question of Central Asian infrastructure represents a strategic defeat for the US Empire.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0j4x4hy
Within moments of turning on this BBC podcast I knew it was going to be a case of spin. There was from the onset a dishonest narrative about the origins of ISIS and the panel failed to probe or explain how the group grew out of al Qaeda and how its vision is different - the more extreme nature of the group is found in its apocalyptic understanding of the world.
Investment is always viewed through the lens of economic
legitimacy – both as a means and an end. But it also needs to be understood that
a flood of money invariably generates corruption.
This reporting relies on Forum 18 which as I contended last
year is problematic, as the organisation is a little too cozy with the European
Establishment. That said, (as with the Mariupol pastor story from October 2022),
this is not to say the story isn't true. It's more of a warning to be sceptical
of the source and to realize that despite their claims – they're not neutral or
apolitical observers.
The US media and Washington's political mouthpieces can
downplay this question all they want but the discussions are happening and at a
greater pace than seen before.
https://eurasianet.org/blinken-strikes-reassuring-tone-in-dialogue-with-central-asian-partners
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken made a recent trip to
Central Asia and despite attempts by Western media to spin the visit in a
positive light – it is being almost universally acknowledged as a failure. The
Central Asian states refuse to back US-sponsored resolutions in the UN that
would condemn Russia's invasion of Ukraine and they clearly rejected Blinken's
overtures – recognizing them for what they are, an attempt at warmongering.
