Turkmenistan has among the world’s largest gas reserves, but the land-locked country’s main customer is China and exports are limited by existing infrastructure. Ashgabat is perpetually desperate for new customers, swaps, and pipelines, as I noted in a piece for The Diplomat Magazine in January, and a recently announced dealContinue Reading
Central Asia is in the proximity of restive regions on Chinese and Indian peripheries, making it a key factor in Beijing’s and New Delhi’s security calculations. To pursue their fundamental interests, China and India have used various tools – defense diplomacy, joint exercises, and military agreements – to bolster theirContinue Reading
Global electric vehicle (EV) sales hit a record high in 2024, driven by a 40 percent surge in China, which sold 11 million EVs. While some Western countries imposed tariffs to curb Chinese EV imports, Central Asia embraced them, offering tax breaks and facilitating local production. Kazakhstan saw a 36-foldContinue Reading
On December 25, 2024, Azerbaijan Airlines flight 8432 crashed, killing 38 people. Preliminary reports suggest the plane was shot at by Russian air defenses, forcing it to deviate from its planned flight path from Baku to Grozny. The aircraft limped across the Caspian Sea and crashed short of a runwayContinue Reading
