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China's fuel promise to Mongolia gets a number: 17,000 tonnes for September, and a 20-year frame around itKazakhstan pauses collecting its $5.2 billion Kashagan fine after NCOC takes the bailiff to courtBaku moves the start of work on the Trump route to 2027, 6 days before Armenia's court takes up the dealKazakhstan's energy ministry says CPC loading stopped on 2 buoys after Tuesday's drone incident and resumed after checks

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160 results
  1. Kazakhstan's Senate ratifies a border-regime
    PoliticsBrief11 Jun

    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.

  2. In one day, Kazakhstan courts Washington, Beijing and Moscow
    PoliticsAnalysis11 Jun

    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.

  3. US House passes a bill on Chinese and Russian influence in Georgia
    PoliticsBrief10 Jun

    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.

  4. Turkmenistan talks AI with OpenAI
    PoliticsBrief10 Jun

    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.

  5. Kyrgyzstan on the Security Council and under EU sanctions: contradic
    PoliticsBrief8 Jun

    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.

  6. Armenia Elections
    PoliticsAnalysis8 Jun

    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.

  7. Washington Names Moscow's Play in Armenia
    PoliticsAnalysis6 Jun

    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.

  8. Turkmenistan · European Union · Human rights
    PoliticsBrief5 Jun

    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.

  9. Campaign over, silence begins: what Armenia goes into June 7 with
    PoliticsBrief5 Jun

    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.

  10. Armenia T-3: Civil Contract leads, but a third of voters undecided
    PoliticsBrief4 Jun

    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.

  11. KYRGYZSTAN · UN SECURITY COUNCIL
    PoliticsBrief4 Jun

    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.

  12. The Silence Before the Vote: what Armenia's campaign tells us about June 7
    PoliticsBrief3 Jun

    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.

  13. Kyrgyzstan vs Philippines: UN votes for Asia-Pacific Security Council seat
    PoliticsBrief3 Jun

    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.

  14. The First Country: what happened after the EU made an example of Kyrgyzstan
    PoliticsBrief2 Jun

    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.

  15.  Nikol Pashinyan Vladimir Putin
    PoliticsBrief1 Jun

    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

  16. Putin Ends Astana Visit
    PoliticsBrief1 Jun

    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

  17. PoliticsBrief29 May

    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

  18. EAEU Summit Convenes: Armenia in the Room, Pashinyan Not
    PoliticsBrief29 May

    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

  19. Armenia's Election: Eleven Days, Three Stories
    PoliticsAnalysis27 May

    Armenia's Election: Eleven Days, Three Stories

    What the polls, the party platforms and the money trails reveal about June 7

  20. Kobkahdize meets with US State Department delegation
    PoliticsBrief26 May

    Kobakhidze Meets US State Department Delegation — Again

    Second visit in May signals Washington is not ready to abandon Tbilisi, despite the diplomatic freeze