Politics
Power and governance
Kazakhstan’s Senate ratifies a border-regime deal with Uzbekistan
Kazakhstan’s Senate ratified the agreement governing the regime along its 2,356-kilometre border with Uzbekistan on 11 June, the last legal step in a demarcation the two finished in 2022.
In one day, Kazakhstan courts Washington, Beijing and Moscow
On a single day this week Kazakhstan opened a US-led minerals dialogue, banked 6 billion dollars from China for a new city, and offered to pump more Russian gas to its neighbour. That is multi-vector foreign policy as a daily schedule.
US House passes a bill on Chinese and Russian influence in Georgia
The US House passed the Countering China’s Control of the Caucasus Act on 8 June, ordering a classified report on Russian and Chinese intelligence activity in Georgia. It is the sharpest sign yet of Washington’s rift with Tbilisi.
Turkmenistan, one of the world’s most closed states, talks AI with OpenAI
A Turkmen education delegation met OpenAI this week to discuss using AI in schools. For one of the planet’s most isolated governments, even the conversation is a departure.
Kyrgyzstan on the Security Council and under EU sanctions: the week the contradictions converge
The UN seat is confirmed for 2027. The EU compliance seminar is tomorrow in Bishkek. Two tracks that should be unrelated — and are not.
Pashinyan wins — and the margin tells the real story
The final results of Armenia’s parliamentary elections have cemented Nikol Pashinyan’s third consecutive term, but the tight mathematical metrics reveal a complex legislative landscape ahead. While his Civil Contract party secured enough seats to form a government single-handedly, it fell short of the constitutional supermajority required to reshape the country's institutional framework. The razor-thin margin shows that while voters backed his westward shift, they refused to hand him absolute domestic power.
Four days out: Washington names Moscow's play in Armenia
Secretary Rubio told the Senate on Tuesday that Russia wants Pashinyan to lose. The claim lands in the middle of the dirtiest election campaign Armenia has seen in years.
The EU goes to Ashgabat: what rights groups want from the June 22 dialogue
The 18th annual EU-Turkmenistan Human Rights Dialogue takes place in Ashgabat on June 22. IPHR and TIHR published a briefing this week telling Brussels what to demand.
Campaign over, silence begins: what Armenia goes into June 7 with
Pashinyan leads by a wide margin among decided voters. A third of the electorate is still undecided. Tomorrow is the day of silence. Sunday is the vote.
Armenia T-3: Civil Contract Leads by a Distance, But a Third of Voters Are Still Undecided
The latest polling aggregate puts Pashinyan at 46% of decided voters. The undecided bloc is large enough to change the outcome. Campaign ends tomorrow.
Kyrgyzstan Wins UN Security Council Seat — 142 to 49 Over the Philippines
Four rounds of voting. A result that Central Asian diplomats called historic. Bishkek joins the Council for the first time since independence in 1991.
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The Silence Before the Vote: What Armenia's Campaign Tells Us About June 7
Pashinyan leads but is weaker than at any point since 2018. The opposition is fragmented but financed. The campaign ends Thursday.
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Kyrgyzstan vs Philippines: UN Votes Today for Asia-Pacific Security Council Seat
The ballot in New York opens at 10am local time. A Kyrgyzstan win would put Central Asia on the Council for the first time since Kazakhstan's 2017–2018 term.
The First Country: What Happened After the EU Made an Example of Kyrgyzstan
Brussels activated a tool it had never used. Six weeks later, Bishkek shut down 50 companies. The experiment is being watched across the region.
The Train to Brussels Runs on Russian Rails
Armenia wants to end Moscow’s monopoly on its railways, electricity and gas. The June 7 election will determine whether it can
Putin Ends Astana Visit with Ukraine Warnings and EAEU Posturing
The Russian president used the Eurasian Economic Forum platform for some of his sharpest public language on Ukraine in months — delivered from Kazakhstan’s capital
Armenia Election Roundup: Flower Bans, Citizenship Scandals and Bribery Arrests
With nine days to go, Russia tightens economic pressure while Strong Armenia faces new legal trouble
EAEU Summit Convenes: Armenia in the Room, Pashinyan Not
The Supreme Eurasian Economic Council meets today to discuss, for the first time, a member state's EU trajectory — with the Armenian elections nine days away
Armenia's Election: Eleven Days, Three Stories
What the polls, the party platforms and the money trails reveal about June 7
Kobakhidze Meets US State Department Delegation — Again
Second visit in May signals Washington is not ready to abandon Tbilisi, despite the diplomatic freeze