President Islam Karimov made a state visit to Turkmenistan October 20-21, extolling the two nations’ common "ancient and glorious history" and similar positions on global issues.
President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov made a state visit to Qatar October 11-12 where he was received by the Emir of Qatar Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, who praised the Turkmen leader for his reforms and said how impressed Arab business people were with Turkmenistan's economic achievements.
Elections in Kyrgyzstan on October 10 went surprisingly peacefully, according to international monitors and EurasiaNet correspondents who covered the poll. Ethnic Uzbeks in the Osh region appeared able to cast their ballots, despite fears that they might be intimidated or reluctant to participate after so many unresolved issues following the pogroms in June.
Although still basking in the praise the international community has heaped on him for handling the refugee crisis during the June violence in Kyrgyzstan, at home President Islam Karimov is ruthlessly presiding over a wave of trials of journalists and human rights activists who have criticized his regime's suppression of any form of independent civic activity, whether political, social, or religi
As Kazakhstan prepares to host an OSCE summit in December, it is facing criticism of its record on press freedom. One watchdog group is contending that Astana’s restrictive policies risk undermining the organization’s credibility.
President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov held a telephone conversation with India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh last week, the third leader he has spoken to this month among the states participating in the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) pipeline. The Turkmen leader had visited India in May, and now has the cooperation of India's leadership in the pipeline project.
The International Crisis Group released a new report August 23, The Pogroms in Kyrgyzstan, on the violence in southern Kyrgyzstan in June, finding much damning evidence that the attacks involved Kyrgyzstan’s security forces, including military, were well-planned and targeted mainly e
Uzbekistan is chairing a meeting of the five Central Asian nations with Japan, the state news site gazeta.ru reported. This is the first such meeting of Central Asian foreign ministers with Japan's foreign minister since 2004. The meeting's agenda includes discussions on regional security and advancement of various economic programs.
Forced to leave the shelter of hastily-made refugee camps in Andijan region and border areas of Uzbekistan, more than 75,000 ethnic Uzbeks, traumatized and wounded, made their way back to Osh to vote in the June 27 referendum.
The recent death of a 24-year-old man in police custody in Armenia is prompting human rights activists to renew calls for an end to police abuse of prisoners. The push by rights activists is causing law-enforcement officials in Yerevan to back-peddle.
