Ready to help. Russia is prepared to use its Tajik military base to defend Tajikistan from spillover violence originating in Afghanistan, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said. In addition, Russia hopes to provide instruction to more than 1,000 Tajik soldiers by the end of the year. It’s unclear whether the training exercises were previously scheduled […]
Energy inflation. Concerns are growing in Europe about rising energy prices. In Germany, the price of electricity has doubled since March 2020. Gasoline prices...
U.S.-Taiwanese trade talks. Taiwan and the U.S. formally restarted talks on a free trade deal. China, meanwhile, continues to lag on meeting its purchase...
Diplomacy by other means. U.S. forces in Syria and Iraq are bracing for Iran-backed militias’ response to recent U.S. airstrikes along the Iraqi-Syrian border....
Breakthrough in subsidies dispute. The United States and European Union agreed on a cease-fire in their 17-year battle over subsidies for Boeing and Airbus,...
Speed bumps on the road to recovery. The European Central Bank released its biannual Financial Stability Review on Wednesday, which laid out some of...
Background: Russia historically sees Central Asia as sitting within its sphere of influence, both economically and militarily. The region’s post-Soviet states, however, value their...
Meeting in the works. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov spoke by phone with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday. They discussed North...
Israeli-Palestinian crisis. The Israeli air force said it destroyed at least 500 targets in Gaza and killed Hamas intelligence figures, including the head of...
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After the collapse of the Soviet Union, five independent states were formed in Central Asia, the boundaries of which were artificially established...